New Jersey Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Records

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See Also Researching in Vital Records - 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.......

Among the Mid-Atlantic states, New Jersey has the longest continuing run of statewide registration of births, marriages, and deaths, which began in May 1848. The New Jersey State Archives has these records with indexes through 1923 for births and through 1940 for marriages and deaths. Transcriptions of vital records only for May 1848 to May 1878 can be requested by mail for the current fee of $4. For the period 1848 to 1878 there are consolidated indexes by event, but they vary in the type and amount of identifying detail they provide. There are also consolidated indexes for births and marriages, 1878-1903 (but for grooms only, 1901-03). All death indexes are arranged by place within the registration period July through June, with an alphabetical index for 1901-03. Since 1903, records are filed yearly in alphabetical order for each event, with marriages arranged by name of groom.

Like the other Mid-Atlantic States, New Jersey had a colonial law that provided for the recording of births, marriages, and deaths in town records from about the 1670s, but this was rarely followed, as was a later law of 1799. The only known early records are those for Woodbridge and Piscataway. The former begin in the 1660s and were published to 1750 in Woodbridge and Vicinity by the Rev. Joseph W. Dally (New Brunswick: A. E. Gordon, 1873), pages 315-57, and reprinted as Vital Records of Woodbridge, New Jersey (Lambertville: Hunterdon House, 1983). Those for Piscataway were published in Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, 3d Series, beginning at 2 (1896): 73, although the original records do not seem to have survived. Other early public vital records include marriage bonds for the period 1711-95, available at the New Jersey State Archives. Information from these bonds, together with some church and other marriage records, was published as volume 22 of Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey, 1st Series, 42 vols. (Newwark, Paterson, and Trenton, 1880-1949), popularly known as the “New Jersey Archives.” It was reprinted as William Nelson, New Jersey Marriage Records, 1665-1800 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967), and these should be supplemented by the bonds published for 1727-51 by Charles Carroll Gardner in The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, volumes 14 through 23, and by the originals at the state archives.

The originals often show additional information not included in the published version, such as the names of bondsmen, and although more rarely, a parents' consent for a minor, or a prior marriage. Marriages were also to be kept by the county clerks from 1795. Most of these are available in published books or on film at the state archives, which also has the originals for Atlantic (volume 1 missing), Cumberland, and Somerset counties.

The originals for Middlesex County are in the Department of Special Collections and Archives, Alexander Library, Rutgers University. Individual books of marriage records have been published for Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Monmouth, and Salem counties. Others have been published in The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey (earliest records for Essex, Monmouth, and Morris) and the Somerset County Historical Quarterly (Somerset). For Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties, see also H. Stanley Craig, comp., South Jersey Marriages (Merchantville, N.J.: Pub. by compiler, n.d.). At the state archives are some records of slave births that were mostly recorded in the counties in the early 1800s. The slave birth records for Monmouth County are being published by that county's clerk Black Birth Book of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1804-1848 (1989); see also The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey 54 (1979): 83-94, for slave births for Sussex and Warren counties. The Guide to Vital Statistics Records In New Jersey, compiled by the New Jersey Historical Records Survey, 2 vols. (Newark, 1941), while dated, is helpful in determining what records existed for what communities.

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For the period 1743 to 1850, divorces in New Jersey were granted by the chancery court or act of the legislature and are available at the state archives. Legislative divorces for 1778-1844 are indexed in John Hood, Index of Colonial and State Laws of New Jersey Between the Years 1663-1903 Inclusive (Camden: Sinnickson, Chew and Sons, 1905), pages 390-94, available at the New Jersey State Library, county law libraries, and elsewhere. This list is also found in George E. McCracken, “New Jersey Legislative Divorces, 1778-1844,” The American Genealogist, 34 (1958): 107-12. The original laws to the 1830s are on microfilm at the state archives and state library. Inquiries about later divorces should be addressed to Clerk of the Superior Court, Matrimonial Section, Hughes Justice Complex, CN 971, Trenton, NJ 08625-0971.

The State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration maintains Birth, marriage & Death Records from 1878 to the present. For copies of vital records from 1848 to 1877, please contact: New Jersey Department of State, Division of Archives and Records Management at P.O. Box 307, Trenton NJ 08625-0307, or call (609) 292-6260.

Getting Copies of Genealogical Records Birth, Death, and Marriage

STEP 1

Identifying the genealogical record: You must be able to identify the record by providing, at minimum, the information listed below on the application form. You may also provide more exact or complete information, if you wish.  However, your request cannot be accepted unless you provide the minimum information below.

  • Full name on the record
  • City or county where the event occurred
  • Year the event occurred

Acceptable Identification: You must provide acceptable ID in order to get a copy of any vital record.  The following are acceptable forms of ID:

  • A current, valid photo driver's license or photo non-driver's license OR
  • A current, valid driver’s license without photo and one alternate form of ID with current address OR
  • Two alternate forms of ID, one of which must have current address.

Alternate forms of ID are:

  • Vehicle registration
  • Vehicle insurance card
  • Passport
  • Voter registration
  • Green card/Immigrant visa
  • Federal/County ID
  • School ID
  • Court documents
  • W-2 for current/previous tax year
  • Utility/bank statement from within the last 90 days

Please do not send in original ID documents. Only copies are required.

Proof of Relationship: Proof of relationship is not required if you are asking for a certification, which is an uncertified informational copy of the vital record not valid for establishing identity or legal purposes.  However, you must still provide proof of identity when requesting a certification.

To get a certified copy of a person’s genealogical vital record, you must provide proof of your relationship to the person listed on the record and the proof must establish you are one of the following:

  • The subject of the record
  • The subject’s parent, legal guardian or legal representative
  • The subject’s spouse/civil union partner; child, grandchild or sibling, if of legal age
  • A state or federal agency for official purposes
  • Pursuant to court order

See the How to Prove Relationship tips at the bottom of this page for information on how to prove your relationship. This is a key requirement to getting a certified copy of a vital record. Failure to provide proof of relationship is the number one reason applications must be rejected.

Payment of fees: Fees for copies of vital records issued by the Local Registrar’s Office vary by municipality. Please contact the specific office to learn more.

The State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration charges $25 for the first copy of a vital record and $2 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. Additional years can be searched for genealogical applications at a fee of $1 for each additional year searched.

Applications mailed to the State may be paid by check or money order made payable to: “Treasurer, State of New Jersey.”  Applications made to the municipal office should be made payable to the municipality. We cannot accept credit card payment by mail.  Also, please do not send cash through the mail.  Our authorized vendor, VitalChek, can accept credit cards. Please see the following information about submitting your application. 

STEP 2
There are several ways to get a copy of a vital record:

  • Expedited Service -- Mail, Phone, Fax or Internet Orders: Use our vendor VitalChek. Your document will be shipped faster than if you apply in writing to the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration.  Once your order is received by VitalChek it is usually processed and your documents returned within 25 business days. There is an additional $10.95 processing fee for this service, and you will need a credit card, check or money order to place your order. You can go directly to the VitalChek web site now to place your order.  The website will walk you through the process.  You will not have to return to the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration web page.
  • Non-expedited Service -- Mail Orders Only: Genealogical records by mail from the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration are typically processed within 14 to 16 weeks. You can mail your completed "Application for a Certification or Certified Copy of a Vital Record" (Birth, Marriage, Civil Union, Domestic Partnership, or Death Certificate) [pdf 54k*] [doc 47k] to the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration or to the Local Registrar in the city or town where the vital event took place. The records you requested can only be sent to the address listed on your identification documents.
    • For a Local Registrar, call the Registrar’s office first for information on processing times and fees. (This service is currently not available in Jersey City for births.  You must order Jersey City birth records from the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration.)
    • For the State Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration, mail to:
      Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration
      Customer Service Unit – Non-Genealogical Requests
      PO Box 370
      Trenton, NJ 08625-0370
  • Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically Online to obtain a certified copy of a birth, marriage, death or divorce record with a credit or debit card and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering from VitalChek Express Certificate Service.

Regardless of the where you place your order you will have to send with your application:

  • all required copies of ID establishing your identity
  • copies of documents proving your relationship to the person named on the record and
  • the correct fee.

Your application will be returned if you do not send in all required information.

Links For Birth Records

Links For Marriage Records

Links For Death Records

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