Get Marriage, Birth, and Death Records (2024)

FAQs

Are marriage records public in NY online? ›

accessible only by in-person visits and are limited to records relating to all Marriage Licenses issued by our offices from 1996 to the present. obtain your Marriage Record. The fee for a Marriage Record for domestic use (short certificate) is $15 for the first copy and $10 for each additional copy.

Death records are not public records and New York State Public Health law protects their confidential nature. Death records cannot be mailed to a P.O. Box or third-party address unless the applicant's signature is notarized.

For the fastest service, order certified copies online through VitalChek, which is the only vendor authorized by the Health Department to process death certificate orders. There are unauthorized vendors charging customers high fees for help getting a death certificate.

FamilySearch is a free website with indexes and some images to many FamilySearch Library vital records collections. GenWed is a free genealogical research database for marriage records and a directory to other marriage records online for the United States.

How to Check if Someone is Married. Check for public marriage records online or at the county courthouse where the marriage may have taken place. Try looking the person up online or checking their social media for signs of a relationship. If you're still curious, just ask the person directly if they're married.

Databases. New York Public Library subscribes to many databases that can help researchers locate obituaries and death notices. The most useful are our newspaper databases. Oftentimes obituaries can be located by entering a person's name and week of death into the newspapers databases.

Access the official web site of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services. Content includes historical records, government records, exhibits and education. It has quick links to order vital records.

A written record is made of the autopsy findings including the microscopic and laboratory tests, and the reports of consultants. Copies of these reports are available upon request by next of kin or other authorized individuals.

Once you find a death certificate, note the name under “informant." This is the person, usually a friend or family member, who provided the information about the deceased.

Death in a foreign country or territory

U.S. court-issued documentation is required to collect funds. Foreign country estate documentation will not be accepted for distribution of funds.

Can anyone get a copy of a death certificate USA? ›

This includes a spouse, siblings, and children. But death certificates can be requested by anyone when they become public record. In some states, death certificates are released 25 or more years after death. Check with your state's vital records office to find out when death certificates become public record.

Funeral home records vary in format and content, but they can all be valuable for determining someone's death date. Check genealogical and historical societies; state, county, and local libraries; and municipal archives for possible holdings.

Confirming death:

Check for response to painful stimuli. Check if pupils are fixed, dilated and unresponsive to light. Look, listen and feel for breath sounds and respiratory effort for 2 minutes. Look, listen and feel for central pulse and heart sounds for 2 minutes.

You can also sms the letter M followed by your ID number (example: M 5001010050080) to 32551 A reply sms will be sent back to your cellphone to confirm your marital status and the date of your marriage.

Divorce records are not open to public inspection. You can get more information from the County Clerk's Office.