| What if I don’t know the date or location of a record? (Searching Procedures)
The State of Ohio, Office of Vital Statistics, maintains birth and death certificates as well as marriage and divorce indexes (1954 to present). The following chart illustrates the beginning dates of vital records that are kept in our office.
Birth Certificates |
Dec. 20, 1908-present |
Death Certificates |
Jan. 1, 1954-present |
Marriage Abstracts |
Jan. 1, 1954-present |
Divorce Abstracts |
Jan. 1, 1954-present |
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Birth or death records prior to 1908 are located in the probate court of county where birth/death occurred.
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Death records from Dec. 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953 are at the Ohio Historical Society. Visit their website at http://www.ohiohistory.org/
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Marriage records prior to 1949 are located in the probate court of county where marriage occurred.
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Divorce records prior to 1949 are located in the county clerk of courts where the divorce occurred.
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Marriage and divorce abstracts from Jan. 1, 1949 to Dec. 31, 1953 are at the Ohio Historical Society.
To request a search, a $3 fee is assessed for every 10-year period searched. If the spelling of the last name is unknown, then each spelling difference will require an additional searching fee (e.g. Green, Greene-$3 for each name searched). If the request is located and you would like a certified legal copy, an additional charge of $21.50 is required with the order (for birth and death records only).
Searches for certified copy(s) of records can take 3-12 weeks to process (due to the volume received and the extensive efforts required to research).
Click here to complete a searching application. If all information is not known, simply give as much information as possible. Send the application with payment, made payable to Treasurer, State of Ohio, to:
Ohio Department of Health
Revenue Room
246 North High Street
P.O. Box 15098
Columbus, OH 43215-0098
Last reviewed: 11/18/11
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