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Vital Statistics Records

Birth and Death Records

On January 1, 1906, the newly established Pennsylvania Department of Health officially began to issue birth and death certificates. Prior to 1906, Pennsylvania births and deaths were recorded only sporadically by the counties and some cities such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Genealogists must rely on county records or nongovernmental sources such as church registers, gravestone inscriptions and newspapers to obtain data for this earlier period. The State Archives holds the following birth and death records:

Birth Certificates, 1906-1917
Death Certificates, 1906-1972

Original birth certificates for 1906-1917 and death certificates for 1906-1972 are available at the State Archives. Digital copies of the 1906-1913 birth certificates and the 1906-1969 death certificates may be found on Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania residents can access these records free of charge through Ancestry.com Pennsylvania.

  • 1906-1917 Birth Indices
  • 1906-1972 Death Indices
  • To request uncertified copies of 1906-1917 birth certificates and 1906-1972 death certificates, use the Vital Records Request Form via (PDF) or (Direct Submit). 
  • To request certified copies of birth or death certificates, 1906-present, contact the Division of Vital Records
  • To request copies of post-1917 birth records or post-1972 death records, contact the Division of Vital Records (NOTE: The Division of Vital Records does not issue uncertified copies)

1893-1906 - births and deaths were recorded by the Clerk of Orphans Court at each county courthouse. While the State Archives holds microfilm copies of these records for some counties for use by on-site researchers, mail inquiries should be directed to the courthouse of the county in which the birth or death occurred. Staff of the State Archives does not search microfilmed county records. For a complete list of county (Record Group 47) and municipal (Record Group 48) vital records found on microfilm at the Archives, consult the Archives website.

1852-1854 - grouped by county and record type, then arranged by certificate number, these records of birth, marriage and death were kept by the Register of Wills for each county with returns (Record Group 26) sent to the Department of State. These returns are available for 49 of the 64 counties existing at that time; however, they are not complete for each county. Digital images of the records along with a search capability are available at Ancestry.com.

Marriage Records

Since September 30, 1885, marriage licenses have been issued by the Clerk of Orphans Court at each county courthouse. While the State Archives holds microfilm copies of these marriage records for some counties for use by on-site researchers, mail inquiries should be directed to the courthouse of the county in which the marriage took place. Staff of the State Archives does not search microfilmed county records. For a complete list of county marriage records found on microfilm at the Archives, consult the county records microfilm (Record Group 47) listing on the Archives website. The State Archives also holds the following marriage-related records: