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.
Bureau of Vital Records
930 Wildwood
PO Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Telephone (573) 751-6400
Certified copies of Missouri birth and death records and certified statements relating to Missouri marriages and dissolution of marriages are available for a fee of $15.00.
Make your check or money order payable to Missouri Department of Health. Do not send cash. Allow approximately two weeks for processing and receipt. Send to:
Births 1910 to present
Deaths 1910 to present
Marriages July 1, 1948 to present
Divorces July 1, 1948 to present
Certified copies of most Missouri birth and death records are also available from local county health departments or the St. Louis City or Kansas City Health Departments. For further details please contact these offices directly.
Ancestry.com Missouri Database
A large collection of databases of births, deaths, marriages, census, obituaries, directories, estate records, and service records. Get 14 Days Free Access!!!
Missouri Stillborn Birth & Death Records Database
The Missouri Birth and Death Records Database is an abstract of the birth, stillbirth, and death records recorded before 1909 and that are available on microfilm at the Missouri State Archives. The database currently contains over 185,000 records from 87 counties. (Free)
Ancestry.com Missouri Marriages to 1850
This database of Missouri marriages to 1850 contains over 125,000 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.
The marriage date is usually the date of marriage as given in the original entry. However, when no marriage date is given (e.g., the “marriage return” was not provided to the record keeper), the date of the license is used. In a few cases, a marriage will be listed twice, but in two different counties. This most often happened when a couple obtained a license in one county, but were actually married in another. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership) Get 14 Days Free Access!!!
Ancestry.com Missouri Marriages, 1851-1900
Missouri is often called one of the friendliest states in the country because it borders eight other states. Its central location, navigable waterways, and variable terrain have attracted settlers from every part of the country, as well as abroad. This database update adds records from Jackson, Reynolds, Barry, and Worth counties to previously posted records from Clark, Dade, Dunklin, Lafayette, Pettis, Ray, Stoddard, Phelps, Platte, Ripley, Saline, Boone, Grundy, Mississippi, Webster, St. Charles, Taney, Newton, Johnson, and Stone counties. Taken from microfilm copies of original county documents, each record provides spouses’ names, marriage date, and county of residence. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership) Get 14 Days Free Access!!!