Guide to Ordering Georgia Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Certificates
GA Department of Health • How to Order GA Records • GA Vital Records Resources
Georgia vital records includes birth, death, stillbirth, marriage and divorce records. Certificates are registered with either the local county register in which they were filed or from the Georgia Division of Public Health.
In 1875 Georgia tried to institute county registrations of deaths, marriages, and births for all counties. However, the law was repealed the following year. Some of the 1875 vital records for 14 of the counties can be found at the Georgia Archives.
Birth and Death Certificates
A 1919 law required that all deaths and births be registered on a statewide level, but some of the counties did not comply immediately. Full compliance didn’t begin until 1928. Some cities also had early death and birth certificate requirements. They were:
- Atlanta: Births - 1896; Deaths, 1887
- Augusta: Births, 1823 to 1896
- Savannah: Births, 1890; Deaths, 1803
- Macon: Births, 1891; Deaths, 1882
- Columbus: Births, 1869; Deaths, 1890
- Gainesville: Births, 1865; Deaths, 1909
The Vital Records Unit of the Georgia Department of Human Resources can supply death and birth certificates.
Georgia marriage licenses are recorded by each county. Some marriage bond records were kept prior to 1805, even though it was not required before that year.
Even after the law changed in 1805, some officials didn’t follow it. So, some marriages were not properly recorded. Several courthouse fires have also led to the loss of marriage records over the years.
Marriage records from years before 1900 can be found at the Salt Lake City Family History Library (FHL) and the Georgia Archives. Some loose county records can also be found at the Georgia Archives.
Civil marriages up until 1810 can be found in the Heritage Papers’ periodical called the Georgia Genealogist.
Ancestry.com has an database contains over 165,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.. Subscribers can access this database at Georgia Marriages, 1754-1850
Marriage Records from Microfilm are records scanned from microfilm in the Georgia Archives. Most of the records are in the possession of the county court which produced the records. Some are in the possession of the Georgia Archives.
Between the years of 1793 and 1832 the county superior court had to approve divorces, and then they were still subject to approval by the legislature. The county superior court offices still hold those divorce records.
Georgia Death Certificates, 1919-1927 – Georgia Death Certificates from 1919 through 1927. The collection also includes a number of certificates from 1914-1918, with the bulk dating from 1917 and 1918.
Georgia Non-Indexed Death Certificates, 1928-1930 – This Death Certificate search system is provided as an interim solution until the records for 1928-1930 can be indexed and added to the Death Certificate Collection. Many users have asked for these records, so we are providing them with scanned images of the original Vital Records index.
Georgia Division of Public Health Records
Georgia Department of Health, issues, documents, and stores certified copies of vital records including birth, marriage, divorce death certificates for occurrences that took place in Georgia. To verify current fees or for information on how to expedite a document, call (404) 679-4702 .
- Ordering Georgia Birth and Death Certificates: The Department of Health has Birth Certificates from January 1919 to present. The fee is $25 with additional copies at $5 each when requested at the same time. If a Birth record is not found, you will be issued a “not found” statement in lieu of the certification
- Ordering Georgia Marriage Certificates: The Department of Health has Marriage Certificates from June 9, 1952 to present. The fee is $10 with additional copies at $5 each when requested at the same time. Records prior to June 9, 1952 must be requested at the Office of the Probate Judge in the county where the license was issued . The fee for the copy varies.
- Ordering Georgia Divorce Certificates: The Department of Health does not issue certified copies of divorce records. For certified copies, contact the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the divorce was granted. The fee for the copy varies.
How to Order Georgia Vital Records
- Physical and Mailing Address: Georgia Division of Public Health, Vital Records, 2600 Skyland Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30319; (404) 679-4702; Fax: (404) 679-4730.
- Website Address: http://health.state.ga.us/
- Ordering Vital Records by Mail: You can download an application online for Georgia Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Divorce Certificate, Death Certificate Applications. Please allow up to 4-6 weeks for processing of all type of certificates ordered through the mail. All mail orders should include a Personal check or money order made payable to Georgia Department of Public Health. Do not send cash.
- In Person: Each Georgia county has a vital records registrar and vital records custodian appointed by the state registrar. Depending upon the county, the vital records registrar or custodian may be located at the county health department or in the office of the probate judge. Most certificates can be issued while you wait.
Georgia Vital Records Online
You may find the following resources helpful in your research of Georgia Birth, marriage or death certificates data and records.
U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 currently contains over 94 million records. The database is created from Social Security Administration records of deceased persons possessing social security numbers and whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration.
Ancestry.com has a few collections of marriage records available including:
- Georgia Marriages, 1699-1944 database contains marriage information from selected areas of Georgia from 1699-1944. Information that may be found in this database for each individual includes their name, spouse's name, marriage date and location, and where to locate copies of the original marriage record.
- Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 This database contains marriages records from 45 Georgia counties. The list of included counties is available in the browse menu. Marriage records were kept on a county level and required by law to be recorded beginning in 1805 (though compliance was not always the order of the day). You can typically find the following details on the record:
- bride’s maiden name
- marriage date and county
- Georgia Marriages, 1754-1850 database contains over 165,000 names. Each entry includes groom, bride, marriage date, county, and state. Every name is indexed so you can search for one name, or two names that are linked.
- Georgia Marriages, 1851-1900 collection of records contains marriage data from several Georgia counties between 1851 and 1900. This update adds records from Meriwether County to those of Berrien, Catoosa, Coweta, Dodge, Dougherty, Early, Elbert, Fannin, Fayette, Gilmer, Henry, Houston, Irwin, Macon, Mitchell, Pierce, Pulaski, Schley, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Towns, Troup, Wayne, and Worth counties. Each record provides the names of bride and groom, the marriage date, and the county. Taken from existing copies of the original records, this collection is a useful source of information about Georgian ancestors.
- Georgia Deaths, 1919-98 database is an index of more than 2.7 million deaths recorded by the state of Georgia from 1919 to 1998. The index includes the name of the deceased, the volume of the certificate number, the death date, the race of the deceased, the deceased's gender, the county of death, the death certificate number, the date the certificate was filed, and the deceased's age.
- Georgia, Deaths Index, 1914-1927
- Georgia, Deaths Index, 1914-1940 This database contains an index extracted from various death records from the state of Georgia.
FamilySearch.org has a few collections available online for free to the public (Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed) including: