Nevada Vital Records

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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 www.vitalrec.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.

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 in the Western States Marriage Index.

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.

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 Archiveshas 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.

Websites

 * Death Records: Online Searchable Death Indexes & Databases
 * Online Birth & Marriage Records Indexes for the USA