Tennessee Vital Records

United States   Tennessee    Vital 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 Tennessee Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Tennessee Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

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

Birth Records
Before 1874

No births were recorded by government agencies prior to 1874. See Substitute Records below.

1874 to 1908

Four cities recorded births and as indicated in the chart below. These records are available from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Most of these records are also available at Family History Library.

1908 to 1912

Most counties kept birth records beginning in 1908. During the month of July, the clerk of the Board of School Directors was required to collect and report the births and deaths that had occurred in his district during the previous year. Their reports were sent to the Secretary of the County Board of Health (County Clerk) and from there to the State Board of Health.

Tennessee State Board of Health. Births (Enumerator Record Series), 1908–1912.   The index is in  soundex. The record usually lists the child’s name, birth date and county, certificate number, and name of mother.

1913  During 1913, the state legislature failed to pass a statute requiring the gathering of birth and death information. However, Davidson County and Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville cities all collected birth and death infomation during 1913.

1914 to present

Beginning 1 January 1914, statewide registration of vital statistics began but was not generally complied with until 1927. Tennessee birth records are closed for 75 years. Births more than 100 years old are maintained by the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Three types of birth records are available from the Tennessee Department of Heath. All births 1914 to present can be ordered in long form. Births after 1949-present can also be orderd in short form. The short form is a computer-generated copy of the birth certificate. Both types of certificates are certified. Certifed records are available only to the person named on the record and to certain family members.

In addition, a "verification of birth facts" is available for genealogical research. Most genelogical information found in a Tennessee birth certificate can be provided to any requestor of a "verification of birth facts". This is a hand-written transcript of the birth record.

Adoption Records
Tennessee adoption law requires that the original birth record and all other legal documents related to the adoption are sealed and are not accessible except under certain procedures specified by state law. The Department of Children's Services is able to provide access to adoption records, sealed adoption records, sealed records, post adoption records, or records from any other information source that were created on or after March 16, 1951. The adoption record includes sealed adoption records, post-adoption records, court records, adoption agency and Department of Health Vital records. Eligible adoptees must be 21 to access their records.

For more information call the office of Post Adoption Services at 615-532-5637.

Death Records
Before 1872

No deaths were recorded by government agencies before 1872. See Substitute Records below.

1872 to 1908

Four cities collected death information and maintained these records on the city level. These records are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The Family History Library collection also includes these records.

1908 to 1912

Most counties kept death records beginning in 1908. During the month of July, the clerk of the Board of School Directors was required to collect and report the births and deaths that had occurred in his district during the previous year. Their reports were sent to the Secretary of the County Board of Health (County Clerk) and from there to the State Board of Health. Death records for 1908–1912 do not list the names of parents. This register is at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Tennessee State Board of Health. Deaths (Enumerator Record Series), 1908–1912. The records are arranged by enumerator record number. An index to these early death records is found at the Tennessee State Library and Archives listing 98,000 deaths. Copies can be orderd from the State Library and Archives.

1914 to Present

Tennessee began registration of deaths after 1914. Originally, deaths were reported by the local undertaker. If a family buried their dead without the use of an undertaker, often the death was not recorded in state records. Some deaths were unreported as late as 1936. Also check vital records on the county level. Occasionally deaths recorded at the county level were not returned to the state. Certificates more than 50 years old are housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Certificates newer that 50 years can be ordered from the Tennessee Department of Health. These records are available to any requestor with the exception of cause of death.

The Family History Library collection includes death certificates 1914-1950 and 1951-1958. Some years are indexed by soundex. Convert the surname to its soundex equivalent; search the index first by surname, then by given name. Note the certificate number. Then, locate the appropriate film for the death year and certificate number.

The Shelby County Clerk website has an online statewide death index 1949-2005.

includes extracted information from death certificates. This is a pilot program which does not allow searches for variant name spellings at this time. A surname search within a specific county often yields better results than a search with multiple counties or a search with both surname and given name. Always search for variant spellings if you do not find your expected record.

Marriage Records
County marriage records are the earliest and most complete vital records for Tennessee. The records that have survived usually begin within a few years of each county’s organization. Marriage records from the earliest dates to the present are kept by the county clerk for each county. Since 1 January 1949, duplicates have been sent to the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of the existing county marriage records from the beginning dates to the early 1900's. Access these records through the FHL catalog Tennessee&gt;County Name Many early Tennessee marriages are extracted and found in the International Genealogical Index.  This index is accessed at FamilySearch.

Beginning in 1945, Tennessee required statewide registration of marriages. These records have been indexed and are at the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library does not have copies of these records.Reels of microfilm containing marriage records can be borrowed on inter-library loan from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Many county marriage records are indexed at Ancestry's Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. $

RecordSearch at FamilySearch now includes indexed Tennessee marriages. This is a pilot site and still under construction. At this time, it is best to search from the main page, indicate a surname, marriage and a county name. The search is exact. You will need to supply any variant spellings of the name in separate searches.

You can find early Tennessee published marriage records through:


 * Early East Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 20 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Early Middle Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 27 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Early West Tennessee Marriages. This source indexes pre-1861 marriages from 15 counties, listing the bride and groom and the date and county of the marriage. There is a separate index for brides and grooms.


 * Marriage Records. Contains marriage records for several Tennessee counties from the late 1700's to 1926, as well as marriage records from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Dates vary with the county.

Marriage Records: Early–1850. Contains marriage records for Tennessee, as well as marriage records from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Divorce Records
Divorces are found in legislative papers prior to 1834. The state constitution of 1834 then gave authorized courts the power to grant divorces. They are normally found in individual county circuit courts. Divorce records for the past fifty years are available at the Tennessee Office of Vital Records. Some 750 statewide early divorce records extracted from legislative papers can be found in Gale W. Bamman and Debbie W. Spero, Tennessee Divorces, 1797-1858 (Nashville: G. Bamman, 1985).

Guide to Vital Records
The Tennessee Library and Archives Internet site listed in the “Archives and Libraries” page identifies many of the state’s vital records. See the “Vital Records” section of the United States Research Outline for more detailed information on the value and content of vital records. For divorce records, see the “Divorce Records” page.

Lost and Missing Records
Bedford County by fire and tornado; Bledsoe County in 1908; Bradley County in 1864; Dickson County in 1835; Giles County W.; Henderson County in 1865 and 1895; Hickman County in 1865; Humphreys County in 1876 and 1898; Marion County in 1822; Putnam County in 1899, Stewart County W.

Substitute Records
Tennessee Church Records

Tennessee Cemetery Records

Tennessee Census

Tennessee Newspapers

Tennessee Periodicals

Tennessee Military Records

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 Tennessee 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
Tennessee Archives and Libraries

Tennessee Societies

Family History Library Vital Records Collections
To find vital records, consult the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:


 * TENNESSEE - VITAL RECORDS
 * TENNESSEE, [COUNTY] - VITAL RECORDS
 * TENNESSEE, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - VITAL RECORDS