Massachusetts Vital Records From
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Certified or transcribed records of Massachusetts birth, marriage and or death events from 1931 - 2023, can be ordered quickly from this website. What about birth, marriage and death records occurring before 1930?
Beginning in 1841, the state government required copies of each vital record be forwarded to a central state office. What this means is basically, two sets of records exist for almost every birth, marriage and death since 1841. Location of state copies of vital records: Location of town or city copies of vital records: (This link takes you to an alphabetic list of city and town websites, with phone, email, and physical address.) Massachusetts Vital Record Research Basics The basic requirement for a successful search at the DPH is that you must have a first and last name. The more common the surname, i.e. John Smith, the more identifying information needed to locate the correct John Smith. Researchers should have as much identifying information as possible. A middle name or initial, the city, town or at least the county in which the event occurred are all highly recommended. Lastly, an approximate year, or at least a range of years, i.e. 1931 - 1940 in which the event occurred is helpful, but not mandatory. A computer index is available for births from 1953 - 2022; marriages from 1983 to 2021; divorces from 1983 - 2017; and deaths from 1977 - 2022. Certified copies - ONLY - are available for purchase. There is no photocopying allowed at the DPH. Records can also be hand transcribed by researchers. In addition to the cost of any certified records, there is an hourly research fee.
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"Massachusetts law requires town and city clerks to record all vital events occurring in that town or city."