Alabama Genealogy Records

To begin, add a genealogy record or view a list of locations and resources for Alabama genealogy records.

People are becoming more interested in tracking down their genealogy in an effort to better understand their past and their family. In the state of Alabama, State Code 22-9A-2 mandates that the Office of Vital Statistics be run by the State Board of Health and it is the sole office that oversees matters of health and vital statistics. The Office of Vital Statistics oversees the data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, induced terminations of pregnancy, marriage, divorce, and related reports, all of which are essential to genealogy research in the state of Alabama.

It's important to note that it wasn't required by law that the state record births or deaths until 1908. Birth certificates list limited information that will not necessarily make a genealogical search easier. The birth certificates do not list a name, however, they do list names of parents, sex, race, place and date of birth of individual, and sometimes the physician/midwife attending are listed. Death certificates are more assistance as they list the name and the age of the individual at death. Marriage certificates in the state date back to 1936. Divorce certificates date back to 1950. While the Alabama Department of Archives and History keeps an index of both of those, copies can only be obtained from the Alabama Center for Health Statistics. This makes searching for Alabama genealogy records very difficult.

You can find additional information with each county's historical or genealogical society. This will be of great assistance when searching for Alabama genealogy records.