Nevada Vital Records

United States Nevada  Vital Records

Nevada Birth, Marriage and Death Records


Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Nevada Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Nevada Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

Vital Records Reference Dates
Nevada vital records start the following years:

* Some Nevada counties have birth and death records beginning on this date.

Nevada Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online
The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Nevada Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Most online resources for Nevada Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.


 * Nevada Links from fhlfavorites.info - Free
 * Nevada Databases listed on Rootsweb.com - Free
 * USGenWeb.org Nevada Site- Free
 * Search the Historical Record Collections on FamilySearch.org for Nevada records - Free
 * The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for Nevada - Free/$
 * See Joe Beine's links to online Nevada Birth &amp; Marriage and Death Records - Free/$
 * Linkpendium Links for Nevada Genealogy and History, including individual Counties - Free/$
 * Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F on the keyboard to search for Nevada or NV - Free/$
 * Search the Nevada Birth, Marriage &amp; Death Records at Ancestry.com - $
 * Find Nevada marriages listed in the Western States Marriage Index - Free
 * Order Nevada Certificates online - $

Birth Records
Early - 1904

1904 - Present

Birth and Death Records
Statewide registration of vital statistics began in 1911. You can obtain birth and death certificates by writing to:

Office of Vital Records 4150 Technology Way, Suite 104 Carson City, Nevada 89706 Telephone: 775-684-4242 Fax: 775-684-4156 Health Division Internet - Office of Vital Records:

State your relationship to the individual and the reason you want the information. The records are restricted to immediate family members.

The current fees for obtaining copies of the state's records are listed at VitalRecords.com. For records prior to 1911, contact the county recorder's office, or in some counties, the county health department. Some county records begin as early as 1887.

The Nevada State Library and Archives has a partial list of birth records in Washoe County for 1887 to 1911 and Lander County birth and death records for 1887 to 1910.

Adoption Records
open / closed/ state statues

Marriage Records
Statewide registration of marriages and divorces began in 1968; however, many Nevada counties began keeping records at a much earlier date. To obtain a marriage or a divorce record, write to the county recorder of the county where the event took place. Nevada marriage records are open to the public. When consulting the originals one may find licenses in one county office and the certificate series in another location. The Family History Library has microfilmed many of the early county marriage registers.

The Nevada State Library and Archives has marriage licenses for Washoe County for 1862 to 1872.

Many of the early marriages for the state are indexed/abstracted online at no cost at FamilySearch.

The cities of Elko, (Elko County) Las Vegas (Clark County) and Reno (Washoe County) served many eloping couples. There was no paper work, or waiting period between the time of issuing a license and the performance of the marriage. Many couples from Nevada, California, Arizona and Utah eloped to these Nevada cities.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Nevada, Marriage Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Divorce Records
Divorce cases were handled by the probate courts until 1864 and by the district courts after that date. The Nevada State Library and Archives has the early probate court records.

To obtain a record of a divorce since 1864, write to the clerk of the district court in the county. The documents are open to the public.

Death Records
Early - 1904

1904 - Present

Substitute Records
Nevada Church Records

Nevada Cemetery Records

Nevada Census

Nevada Newspapers

Nevada Military Records

Nevada Periodicals

Nevada History

Tips

 * Information listed on vital records is given by an informant. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s)  and whether or not the informant was present at the time of the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
 * If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial. A family BIble may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
 * Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records. Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
 * Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records. Search for Nevada to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Archives, Libraries and Societies
Nevada Archives and Libraries

Nevada Societies