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Vital Records Research at the Library of Michigan

Vital Records Research at the Library of Michigan

Beginning April 5, 1867, the State of Michigan required cities and townships to take an annual assessment of births and deaths. Statewide registration of marriages also started in 1867. Michigan instituted a statewide divorce registration in 1897.

Vital Records at the Library of Michigan
From the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Births

Index (mfm F 565 .I5 1960)

1867-1915

Marriages

Index (mfm F 565 .I54 1960)
Index (mfm F 565.I54 1950)
Returns (mfm F 565 I54 1867a)
Registers (available on Ancestry Library Edition)
Licenses/Certificates (available on Ancestry Library Edition)*

1867-1921
1950-1969
1867-1925
1868-1925
1926-1952*

Divorces

Index (mfm F 565 .D58)
Summary (mfm F 565 .D57 1897)
Summary (available on Ancestry Library Edition)*

1897-1969
1897-1922
1897-1952*

Deaths

Index (mfm F 656 .I532)
Index (available on Ancestry Library Edition)
Returns (mfm F 565 .I53 1868)
Certificates (mfm F 565 .I53 1960z)
Registers (available on Ancestry Library Edition)
Certificates (available on Ancestry Library Edition)*

1867-1914
1971-1996
1867-1897
1897-1920
1867-1897
1897-1952*

*Due to privacy laws, images are only available for records that are more than 75 years old in these online collections.

To obtain additional Michigan vital records online:

  • Michiganology has Michigan death certificates, 1897 to 1946; indexing to 1952.
  • Family Search includes a growing number of Michigan vital records as part of its ongoing digital records project.

To obtain additional Michigan vital records:

  • Contact the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Vital Records Requests, P.O. Box 30721, Lansing MI 48909, or call 517-335-8666. Order forms are available online on the MDHHS website, too.
  • Contact the county clerk in the county where the event occurred. Find a directory of Michigan county clerks on online.

Updated May 21, 2020