Florida Vital Records

Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.

Office of Vital Statistics, Dept of Health
Dept of Health
P.O. Box 210, 1217 Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32231
(904) 359-6900
Make check payable to Office of Vital Statistics

Ancestry.com Florida State Database
A large collection of databases of births, deaths, marriages, census, obituaries, directories, estate records, and service records.

Birth $9.00 Since April 1865

Use their new birth certificate request (pdf format - 2 pages)
Upon completion of this request, mail or fax to Vital Statistics. Address and fax number are listed on the application.

You must explain your relationship to the person whose record you are requesting.

• By law, birth records can only be issued to the person to whom the record is filed, if at least 18 years old, or a parent, guardian or legal representative or upon court order.
• Limited Florida births were recorded between the years 1865 and 1917
• Birth records become public records 100 years following the birth.
• If the person for whom the record is filed is deceased, upon receipt of death certificate, the birth certification can be mailed to the spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, if of legal age, or a legal representative of any of these persons as well as to the parent.
• Priority Service - Order a Birth Certificate Online

Death $5.00 Since Jan 1917
Office of death records: (904) 359-6934

The death you are requesting must have occurred in Florida.

• If the death did not occur in Florida, contact the vital statistics office in the state where the death occurred.
• Limited Florida deaths were recorded between the years of 1877 and 1917.
• Cause of death information becomes public information 50 years following the death. Prior to that time frame, cause of death is considered confidential by Florida law.

If you are requesting the cause of death, you must explain your relationship to the person whose record you are requesting. If a relationship is not stated, you will be issued a certified copy excluding cause of death information.

• By law, certification of death records which includes cause of death information can only be issued to the following:
   
  • the decedent's spouse, parent, and (if of legal age) child, grandchild, or sibling, or any person who provides a will, insurance policy or other document demonstrating their interest in the estate of the decedent or any person who provides documentation that he or she is acting on the behalf of any of the before named persons.)
  • or by court order directing Vital Statistics whom to issue a death record to.

To order a death certificate by either mail or fax, provide a signed letter which includes the following information:

Information about the person whose record is being requested:

• full name of the deceased person
• sex
• date of death (month, day, year or series of years to be searched)
• city or county of death

1. Information about the person making the request:
    

   • full name
   • relationship to the decedent, if requesting cause of death information
   • mailing address
   • telephone number where you can be reached during our office
2. Send a check or money order made payable to the "Office of Vital Statistics"
3. Priority Service - Order a Death Certificate Online

Marriage $5.00 Since June 6, 1927

The marriage record you are concerned with must have occurred in Florida.

• If the marriage did not occur in Florida, contact the vital statistics office in the state where the marriage occurred.
• Marriage records dating back to June 1927. Records before this date are only available from the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the marriage license was issued.
• Marriage records filed in the office beginning 1972 also include the marriage application.

To order a marriage certificate by either mail or fax, provide a signed letter which includes the following information:

Information about the record being requested:

• full names of the husband and wife, including wife's maiden name
• date of marriage
• city or county where marriage license was issued

Information about the person making the request:

• full name
• mailing address
• telephone number where you can be reached during our office hours

Send a check or money order made payable to the "Office of Vital Statistics."

• Send the information described above along with the fee to above address.

Divorce $5.00 Since June 6, 1927

The divorce you are concerned with must have occurred in Florida.

• If the divorce did not occur in Florida, contact the vital statistics office in the state where the divorce occurred.
• Florida divorces dating from June 1927. Divorces occurring before this date are only available from the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the divorce was granted.

The fee for a divorce report is $5.00 for one certification and $4.00 for each additional certification of the same record when ordered at the same time.

• No restrictions exist for ordering these records.
• The fee is required for a search of our records and is non-refundable, even if the record requested is not located. In such a case, a certified "not found" statement will be provided.
• Duplicate copy fees for records "not found" may be refunded if the applicant sends a letter of request.

To order a divorce record by either mail or fax, provide a signed letter which includes the following information:

1. Information about the record being requested:
   • full names of the husband and wife, including wife's maiden name
   • date of the divorce
   • city or county where divorce was granted
   • The name of the husband is required because divorce records are indexed under the name of the husband only.
2. Information about the person making the request:
   • full name
   • mailing address
   • telephone number where you can be reached during our office hours
3. Send a check or money order made out to "Office of Vital Statistics"
   • Send the information described above along with the fee to

Office of Vital Statistics, Dept of Health
Dept of Health
P.O. Box 210, 1217 Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32231
(904) 359-6900