Vermont Vital Records:
Regarding Vermont Marriage Records, statewide vital registration began in 1857, when the General Assembly passed a bill
requiring that towns report to the Secretary of State all births, marriages, and deaths occurring
in their jurisdiction.
Prior to that time, some towns kept such records in order to resolve questions concerning the
distribution and inheritance of property. Vital records, particularly death records, gradually
became recognized as an important tool in studying the location and spread of epidemics.
In 1896, the Legislature transferred responsibility for the vital statistics system to the newly
formed Board of Health, the forerunner of the Vermont Department of Health. The Health Department
has retained this responsibility to the present day.
Until recently, the Vermont vital records system included six types of vital events: births,
deaths, marriages, divorces, fetal deaths, and abortions.
In 2000, with the passage of Act 91, the establishment and dissolution of civil unions and
reciprocal beneficiaries relationships were added to the list.
Vital records are maintained by two state agencies: the Health Department and the Division of
Public Records in Middlesex, Vermont.
The Health Department keeps the most recent five years of records. After five years, records are
transferred to Public Records.
Therefore, certified copies of births, deaths and other vital events that occurred within the past
five years are available from the Health Department; older records are available from Public Records.
Public Records charges $9.50 per certified copy; the Department of Health charges $7.
St. Mary's Church of the Nativity, located just minutes from the borders of Canada and New York
in Vermont, is an important part of Franklin County. This database is a collection of death
records from the church between 1872 and 1934. Each record provides such valuable information
as the individual's death date, parents, spouse, age, residence, and page number. It contains
the names of over 1,800 persons.