Colorado Vital Records Research Guide

Colorado Birth, Marriage, Divorce along with Death records, generally known as vital records, give specifics about significant occasions in your ancestors life.

Colorado Vital records, typically kept by a civic office, gives a person a far more complete picture of your ancestor, help you distinguish concerning two people with the identical name, and enable you to uncover links to a completely new generation. They could consist of information like the occurrence date and place, parents’ names, occupation and residence. The cause of death is also provided in the majority of Colorado death records.

Colorado vital records certainly are a basis of Colorado genealogy and family history research because they were typically recorded at or near the time of the occurrence, helping to make the document more likely to be reliable. This web page includes links, details that can help you obtain copies from Colorado state and county vital records keepers. Vital records (births, deaths, marriages, and divorces) mark the key events of our lives and are the foundation of family tree and ancestors research.

Colorado Department of Health, issues, documents, and stores certified copies of vital records including birth, marriage, divorce death certificates for occurrences that took place in Colorado.  To verify current fees or for information on how to expedite a document, call (303) 692-2200.

• Ordering Colorado Birth  Certificates: The Department of Public Health has Birth Certificates from July 1910 to present. The fee  is $17.75, additional copies of the same record, when requested at the same time, are $10 each.
• Ordering Colorado Death Certificates: The Department of Public Health has Death Certificates from 1900 to present. The fee  is $20, additional copies of the same record, when requested at the same time, are $13 each.
• Ordering Colorado Marriage Certificates: Certified copies are not available from Department of Public Health, but there is an index that covers the years 1900-1939 and 1975 to the present. Fee for index verification is $17.00. Certified copies are available from Clerk of District Court in county where the marriage license was issued. The fee for the copy varies.
• Ordering Colorado Divorce Certificates:  Certified copies are not available from Department of Public Health, but there is an index that covers the years 1900-1939, and 1968 to the present.  Fee for index verification is $17.00. Certified copies are available from Clerk of District Court in county where divorce was granted. The fee for the copy varies.

• Physical and Mailing Address: CVital Records Section, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, HSVRD-VS-A1, Denver, CO 80246-1530; PH (916) (303) 692-2224 General, (303) 756-4464 Information. All mail orders should include a Personal check or money order made payable to Vital Records Section. Do not send cash.
• Website Address: https://www.colorado.gov/
• Ordering Vital Records Online – get the certificates within 2-5 days with a credit or debit card from USAVital.com or VitalChek.com
• Ordering Vital Records by Mail: You can download an application online for Colorado Birth Certificate, Marriage Verification, Divorce Verification, Death Certificate Applications. Please allow up to 4-7 weeks for processing of all type of certificates ordered through the mail.
• In Person:  Certified copies of certificates are available from county offices or Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Most certificates can be issued while you wait. List of County Clerks & Recorders Office locations.

Vital records in Colorado were not required to be recorded until a law was put into place in 1875. Even though that law required deaths and births to be registered, it still wasn’t followed consistently. The location of recorded vital records in the state of Colorado is also inconsistent. Some can be found in the health department offices in each county, while others might be found in the county courthouses.

Statewide death registration didn’t begin in Colorado until 1900. Statewide birth registration didn’t begin until ten years later, in 1910. Colorado became a member of the national death registration system in 1906. Although, it had its own health departments in each county beginning in 1900. Colorado births were not registered on a national level until 1928.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has records of both deaths and births on file. However, there is restricted access to some of those records, especially the records of birth. The policy on death record research is a little more lenient. The application form lists the people who are potentially eligible to view those records on the back of it. For example, if an individual has passed away, the relatives of that individual may be able to get a copy of the death certificate for that individual from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Some of the health departments in the various Colorado counties have given their birth records, including some records that predate statewide recording, to the Colorado State Archives. However, some health departments in the state have retained those records and have them on file in their offices.

Marriage records are on file with each county’s clerk, while divorce records are held at the district court clerk’s office.

Some vital records were listed in Colorado newspapers before registrations were recorded. There is a card catalog index of such listings from 1860 to 1940 at the Colorado Historical Society. Many records of marriages, deaths, and births are also on file in the History and Genealogy Department of the Denver Public Library. Several of them were taken from newspapers across the state.