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.
*While we try and keep our pages as current as possible, there are instances when policies change before we find out about them. It is highly recommended that you call the record offices BEFORE sending money in to purchase a vital record.
Office of Vital Records
1818 West Adams
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Arizona is a “closed record” state. That means that vital records are not public record. However, a family member, or relative of the registrant engaged in research for genealogical purposes who provides proof of relationship to the registrant may request a copy of a certificate. |
The Bureau of Vital Records is responsible for issuing certified copies of vital records, including birth and death certificates for events that occurred in Arizona. The Bureau began recording birth and events in July, 1909. However, it maintains a sampling of delayed birth records of Arizona citizens from 1855 and death records from 1877 from other sources.
Arizona Birth Records
- Arizona Genealogy Birth Certificates, 1855-1942
Arizona is now providing access to digital images in the form of pdf files for any public record birth. The covered years are birth records from 1855-1942. - Arizona, Births and Christenings, 1909-1917
Name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state of Arizona. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.
Arizona Death Records
- Arizona Genealogy Death Certificates, 1870-1967
Arizona is now providing access to digital images in the form of pdf files for any public record death. The covered years are death records of 1870-1967. - Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951
Another source for digital certificates of Arizona deaths. Digital copies of originals housed at the Arizona Department of Library, Archives and Public Records, Phoenix, Arizona. - Arizona Deaths and Burials, 1910-1911; 1933-1994
Name index to death and burial records from the state of Arizona. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 10,168 records. - United States Social Security Death Index 1962-2014
Name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962. Current as of February 28, 2014. - U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, ($).
This database picks up where the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) leaves off by providing more details than those included in the SSDI. It includes information filed with the Social Security Administration through the application or claims process, including valuable details such as birth date, birth place, and parents’ names. While you will not find everybody who is listed in the SSDI in this database, data has been extracted for more than 49 million people.
Arizona Marriage Records
- Arizona Marriages, 1865-1949
This is an electronic index of marriages for the years 1865-1949. This index is not complete for any particular place, region or time period. This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index. - Arizona, County Marriages, 1871-1964
Images of county marriage records acquired from county courthouses. This collection does not include Coconino, Navajo and Yuma counties. - Western States Marriage Index
Over the past decade, the BYU-Idaho (formerly known as Ricks College) Family History Center has been extracting early marriage records from counties in the western part of the United States. Virtually all of the pre-1900 marriages are included in the index for Arizona, Idaho and Nevada. Many Idaho, Nevada and Utah counties have been extracted into the 1930’s and some, much later. A significant number of marriages from Wyoming, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, western Colorado and selected counties in California are also included. For more details, see “List of Counties by State”. - Arizona Marriage Collection, 1864-1982 ($)
This database contains information on individuals who were married in Arizona between 1864 and 1982. It is comprised of information compiled by the following two agencies: Upper Snake River Family History Center and Ricks College – The records compiled by this group include marriages from select counties of Arizona between 1864 and 1982. Not all counties are included and within the counties that are included not all years may be covered. These records were extracted from marriage books located at county courthouses. No images are available for these records. State of Arizona- These records are an index to marriages from Maricopa County (Phoenix area) and cover the years 1969-1978 (includes images of the index pages).