Vital records are documents related to a person’s birth, marriage, divorce and death. Public libraries are not archives for the actual documents, but instead have indexes to help find basic information about the records.
Using the library's indexes
Keep the following in mind when searching the indexes.
- These indexes provide the names of people, the county in which the event occurred, the date and the record number.
- These indexes don't cover all time periods. The most recent year is 2008 for most Oregon records.
- Some indexes are available only at the Central Library. Some can also be found using the Ancestry Library Edition database at any library location.
See the specific sections for each type of vital record, as indexes vary.
The state of Oregon began recording births in 1903. However, there is no statewide index to birth records.
The library does have the Ledger Index to City of Portland Births for the years 1881-1917. This only has information on births that occurred within the smaller city boundaries of that time period.
If you need your own or an immediate family member’s birth certificate, contact the Oregon Center for Health Statistics.
- For more recent birth certificates, you will need to provide personal information and identification.
- Historical birth certificates over 100 years old can be ordered by anyone (not just family).
The library has indexes to deaths that occurred in Oregon from 1903-2008. There is no public database or index of Oregon deaths after 2008. The library cannot find out if someone has recently died unless they have an obituary.
- The library has the Oregon Death Index for the years 1903-2008. This index is also available through Ancestry Library Edition (accessible only in the library).
- The library also owns the Ledger Index to City of Portland Deaths for the years 1881-1917.
- The Oregon Death Index does not list cause of death, or a person’s age at death.
If you need a copy of an immediate family member’s death certificate, contact the Oregon Center for Health Statistics.
- Many Oregon death certificates over 50 years old are available through Ancestry Library Edition, available at the library free of charge.
- For historical records not included in Ancestory Library Edition, death certificates over 50 years old can be ordered by anyone (not just family).
The library has indexes for Oregon that cover the years 1906-2008.
- The library has the Oregon Marriage Index from 1906-1924 and 1946-2008. It is also available through Ancestry Library Edition (accessible only in the library) from 1906-2009.
- This index is organized by the name of either the groom or bride.
For marriages that occurred in Multnomah County from 1990 to the present, there is an online lookup tool that will show the date of the marriage. You can order a certified copy for $4.00 from the county, a less expensive alternative than the State Archive. Images of marriage licenses are not available through this site.
Otherwise, to get a copy of your own or an immediate family member’s marriage certificate, contact the Oregon Center for Health Statistics.
- Many Oregon marriage certificates that are over 50 years old are available through Ancestry Library Edition at the library free of charge.
- For historical records not included in Ancestory Library Edition, marriage certificates over 50 years old can be ordered by anyone (not just family).
The library has indexes that cover the years 1925-2008.
- The library has the Oregon Divorce Index for 1925-2008. A part of this index is also available through Ancestry Library Edition (accessible only in the library) for the years 1961-1985.
- It is only searchable by the husband’s name.
If you need a copy of your own or an immediate family member’s divorce certificate, contact the Oregon Center for Health Statistics.
- Many Oregon divorce certificates over 50 years old are available through Ancestry Library Edition at the library for free.
- For historical records not included in Ancestory Library Edition, divorce certificates over 50 years old can be ordered by anyone (not just family).
If you need the full court record and divorce decree, please go to the section Court records for divorce.
If you need the full court record and divorce decree, you will need to contact the issuing court, usually the county circuit court. Some counties have all of their circuit court records, but other older documents are at the Oregon State Archives.
To help, Multnomah County Archives & Records Management has prepared a handy guide to obtaining divorce records and decrees.
Getting copies of vital records
Most Oregon vital records can be found through the Oregon Center for Health Statistics. They charge fees for copies.
Having accurate information from the indexes may speed up an order with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics. This can mean fewer fees because it will take their staff less time to locate the record.
- Anyone may request a copy of their own or a family member's recent vital records.
- For copies of recent Oregon records, personal information is required.
- Copies of historical records can be requested by anyone. See the specific sections for each type of record, as the time period for “historical” varies.
Beyond Oregon
For vital records in states other than Oregon, check the Centers for Disease Control's list Where to Write for Vital Records.