Richmond City death register for the year 1888 (Acc. 26232). State Government Records Collection.
Before 1853, systematic statewide recording of births, marriages, and deaths did not occur in Virginia. Many pre-1853 marriage records survive, but birth and death records are rare.
On April 11, 1853, the General Assembly passed a law requiring the statewide recording of births, marriages, and deaths. Between 1853 and 1896, counties and cities maintained birth, marriage, and death registers. Annually, a copy of each register was sent to the Auditor of Public Accounts for state recordation.
On March 4, 1898, per an Act of Assembly, the state halted the recordings of births and deaths. As a result, the majority of counties and cities did not record births and deaths between 1897 and 1911, but some metropolitan areas did maintain records during this time. The state's recording of marriages was uninterrupted.
Virginia reinstituted the recording of births and deaths in 1912.
The Library has the following birth, marriage, and death records on microfilm. Microfilm is available to borrow through Interlibrary Loan.
The Library also has select birth and death records recorded by cities between 1897 and 1911, as well as a range of pre-1853 marriage records.
The Library cannot make copies of birth, marriage, and death registers on microfilm, nor can we search these records on behalf of researchers.
Certified copies of birth, marriage, and death records for the periods of 1853 through 1896 and 1912 through the present must be obtained from the Office of Vital Records.
Select birth, marriage, and death records available at the Library of Virginia and Office of Vital Records are also available online:
Includes select 19th- and 20th-century Virginia birth, marriage, and death records. Requires free registration.
Ancestry for Virginians This link opens in a new window
Free access to select Ancestry.com materials from the Library of Virginia's collections. Available to Virginia residents who are authenticated using GeoIP validation. Users may need to enable geolocation services on their browser to gain access. Please note: The 'Ancestry for Virginians' content is included in Ancestry.com personal subscriptions.
