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Virginia Death Records
A Virginia law requiring the systematic statewide recording of births and deaths was passed by the
General Assembly on April 11 1853. Every commissioner of revenue registered births and
deaths in his district annually and forwarded the information to the clerk of court, who
then supplied the information to the state Auditor of Public Accounts. This law continued
in effect until 1896. The Auditor turned the lists over to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 1918
and the registers were later transferred to the state archives.
Virginia did not collect vital statistics before 1853, nor collect birth and death statistics
between 1896 and 1912. To locate vital statistics during this period, you must
consult alternate sources. Several metropolitan areas continued to
keep records of births and deaths after 1896. The cities of Lynchburg, Newport News, Norfolk,
Petersburg, Portsmouth, Richmond, and Roanoke, and the county of Elizabeth City, kept records
for all or part of the period between 1896 and 1912. Contact the public health departments in
these localities for information concerning available records.
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State Records Office:
VDH, Office of Vital Records
and Health Statistics,
P.O. Box 1000,
Richmond, Virginia,
23218-1000
Phone: 804-662-6200
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