About Vital Records

The Tennessee Office of Vital Records registers and maintains the original certificates of births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in Tennessee. Certified copies of the original records are available to the person named on the record and to certain family members or legal representatives.

Vital Records requires identification for all requests for birth and death records.  A photocopy of a government issued form of identification, which includes the requestor's signature, must accompany all requests.

Other Services

The Office of Vital Records provides other record services including the filing of a delayed certificate of an event if more than one year has passed since the date of the event and no certificate is on file; the creation of a new birth certificate subsequent to adoption, legitimation or court ordered parentage; the addition of a father's name to a child's birth certificate with a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; the correction or amendment to facts shown on a certificate; and providing verification of information from a record. Call or write to obtain more information about these services and the fees.

Types of Records and Fees

• Birth Records

  Records are available beginning with January 1914 births. A certified photocopy of the original record may be obtained at a fee of $15.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. For persons born from 1949 to the present, a certified copy produced by computer is also available at a fee of $8.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time.

  Both types of copies (photocopy and computer produced) are certified and include a raised, embossed seal.

• Death Records

  Death records are available for the past 50 years. The fee is $7.00 per certified copy. The cause of death is not normally included on a certified copy unless specifically requested and then is available only to certain family members or legal representatives.

• Marriage and Divorce Records

  Marriage and divorce records are available for the past 50 years at a fee of $15.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time.

• Older Records

  Some earlier birth and death records are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Early Tennessee county records including marriages can also be obtained from the Tennessee State Library and Archives. To learn more, check out the following links:
• Birth and Death Records
• Marriage Records

Fees

Fees include a search of the records for the year before and the year after the event date you provide. If, after searching three years of records, the requested certificate cannot be located, you will be sent a letter certifying that no record was found. The fee will not be refunded because it is charged for the search of the records.

Genealogy Research and Verification Information

Most information from Tennessee births, deaths, marriages, and divorces can be provided to any requestor as a hand written transcript. This is called a verification.

Requests for verification should be made in writing to the Vital Records office.  You must provide enough information so that our staff can locate the record you would like verified.  The fee is $15.00 per record per year searched.  This fee is charged for the search for the record and is not refunded even if no record is found.  The Vital Records Office keeps birth records for 100 years and keeps death, marriage, and divorce records for 50 years; after that time, the records are sent to the Tennessee State Library and Archives for public access and family research.

Cause of death is not verifiable and is not released except to immediate family members or their legal representatives for certain reasons as specified by state law.

Request a Copy

For your convenience, applications for certificates which can be obtained from the Office of Vital Records are now available on the Internet.

You may make your request by providing the Office of Vital Records with:

• the type of certificate (birth, death, marriage or divorce) being requested
• the name(s) on the record
• the date of the event
• the city or county where the event occurred
• for births, the mother's maiden name and the father's name
• the number of copies you want
• a check or money order made payable to Tennessee Vital Records
• your signature and relationship to the person named on the record
• a photocopy of a government issued form of identification which includes the signature of the requestor (for birth and death requests)
• the address to which the copy should be mailed
• a daytime telephone number

Using a Credit Card

Tennessee Office of Vital Records does not directly accept credit cards or online orders; however, for your convenience, you can process online requests through an independent company that we have contracted with to provide you this service. An additional fee is charged for using this service and Tennessee Vital Records charges an expedite fee for processing credit card orders. All major credit cards are accepted, including American Express®, Discover®, MasterCard® or Visa®.

If you have an immediate or emergency need for a certified copy and are willing to pay the additional fees for expedited service, you may complete an online request by clicking here. Your request will be processed within 3-5 business days of being received. Should you not require immediate service by credit card and you are a Tennessee resident, please see the "Other Offices which have Vital Records" tab above for information on obtaining birth and death records from your local health department. To proceed with a credit card order click below or call toll free 866-233-0740.

Click here to order vital records certificates online.

By Personal Visit

If you are in the Nashville vicinity, you may visit the office between the hours of 8:00 a.m.. to 4:00 p.m.. Central Time. Most requests will be handled while you wait; other services will be handled by 3:00 p.m.. if you are in the office before 10:30 a.m.. If after 10:30 a.m.., the copy will be available by 3:00 p.m.. on the next working day.  A government issued form of identification, which includes the requestor's signature, must be presented with requests for birth or death records.

There are parking meters located on 5th Ave. with additional parking in the Music City Central parking garage with the entrance located on Charlotte Street between 4th and 5th Avenue.

By Mail

Mail your request to the office at the address shown below. For all requests for birth and death records, please include a photocopy of a government issued form of identification, which includes the requestor's signature.  Certificates requested through the mail are usually returned to the customer within four to six weeks of the day received. The certificate of a recent birth, death, marriage or divorce is often not available from the Office of Vital Records until several weeks after the event.

Tennessee Vital Records
Central Services Building
1st Floor
421 5th Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee  37243
Phone (615) 741-1763

Other Offices With Vital Records

Within Tennessee, most county health departments issue birth certificates. Click here for local health departments in Tennessee that issue birth certificates or accept your application for issuance through a regional office.  All county health departments issue death certificates for deaths which occurred in that county within the past three years, and a few county health departments keep death records for longer periods of time.

Marriage license records are available from the county clerk who issued the marriage license. Court divorce orders may be obtained from the clerk of the court that granted the divorce.

To inquire about records of events from early years that are not maintained by the Office of Vital Records, contact the Tennessee State Library and Archives at (615) 741-2764.