Pennsylvania began state-wide birth and death registrations in the early 20th century, which was later than many other states. However, earlier attempts at registration were made at both the state and local levels, giving researchers other opportunities to find earlier vital records in the commonwealth. This guide to Pennsylvania vital records can be used to locate birth, marriage and death records throughout Pennsylvania in different time periods.

1852-1854: First attempt at state-wide birth, marriage and death registration in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania made its first attempt at requiring registration of births, marriages and deaths beginning in 1852. However, there was little compliance with the law, likely because many births and deaths still occurred in the home and therefore, the law was difficult to enforce. The law was soon repealed in 1854.

The Pennsylvania State Archives has some of these records from 49 counties. This collection has been digitized and made available on Ancestry.com in these collections:

• Birth Records: Pennsylvania, U.S., Births, 1852-1854 
• Death Records: Pennsylvania, U.S., Deaths, 1852-1854
• Marriage Records: Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1854

Pennsylvania residents can access the States Archives’ digitized collection on Ancestry for free by creating an Ancestry.com Pennsylvania account. You can create your free account here: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/phmc/pa-state-archives/ancestry-pa.

Note: Cameron, Lackawanna and Snyder counties did not exist until after 1854. The following counties existed in 1852-1854 but are not included in this collection. Check with the Register of Wills in the appropriate county to ask about the availability of vital records from 1852-1854. (Links included below).

• Blair
• Clarion
• Clinton
• Crawford
• Erie
• Fayette
• Forest
• Fulton
• Jefferson
• Lebanon
• Philadelphia
• Pike
• Potter
• Sullivan
• Wyoming

What you’ll find in the 1852-1854 vital records

While this record collection is small, the surviving records contain a wealth of information. The birth records typically include the following information about the child:

• Full name
• Sex
• Race
• Name of father
• Occupation of father
• Names of siblings who are living
• Maiden name of mother
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Name and residence of attending physician

1852-1854 Pennsylvania death records often include the following fields:

• Full name
• Race
• Sex
• Age
• Names of parents
• Occupation
• Place of birth
• Name of spouse
• Names of living children
• Birthdate
• Date of death
• Cause of death
• Place of death
• Place of burial

1885: Beginning of county marriage licenses in Pennsylvania

Marriage licenses in Pennsylvania have been issued by the Clerk of Orphan’s Court in each county since September 30, 1885.¹ What you will find in the applications for the marriage license likely varies by the time period, but an application from 1949 asked for the following information from both the bride and groom:

• Full name
• Relationship of parties, if any
• Race
• Occupation
• Birthplace
• Age
• Residence
• Previous marriages
• Date of death or divorce of former spouse
• Transmissible disease
• Parents’ names, including mother’s maiden name
• Residence of both parents
• Race of both parents
• Occupation of both parents
• Birthplace of both parents
• Mental health history and whether the applicant is currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Additionally, the groom was asked:

• Has applicant within 5 years been an inmate of any county asylum or home for indigent persons
• Is applicant physically able to support a family?

To find complete sets of these records, contact or visit the Clerk of Orphan’s Court where the marriage took place. The ease of access will vary depending on the county. Some counties have records digitized and searchable on computers, while others may need to be searched for manually in large books of indexes.

1893-1905: Pennsylvania county birth and death registrations

Before state-wide vital registration began in Pennsylvania, births and deaths were recorded at the county level with the county’s Clerk of Orphan’s Court between 1893-1905.

In the birth records you are likely to find the following details about the child:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Race
• Gender
• Father’s name
• Mother’s name
• Parents’ residence
• Father’s occupation
• Date that the birth was recorded

The death records typically contain the following information about the deceased person. Note, the parents’ names are only given in these county death records if the decedent was a minor. 

• Full name
• Race
• Sex
• Age
• Marital status
• Place of birth
• Occupation
• Date of death
• Place of death
• Cause of death
• Duration of last illness
• Place and date of burial
• Parents’ names (only for minors)
• Date the death was recorded

Like the county marriage records, these records are available at the Clerk of Orphan’s Court office in the county where the death took place. County archives in larger counties (Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Franklin, Lancaster, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton & York counties) will likely hold the records for these counties. The records may be digitized, or may need to be searched manually in index books.

Tip: Take a portable scanner with you to perform courthouse research. These scanners are shaped like wands, which are slowly run over a page to scan the document. The scans will be saved as images to a small memory card that can be viewed later on your computer. Large index books are difficult to place in large traditional scanners, but most courthouse offices allow researchers to use these portable scanners. See below for examples of PA county death records scanned using a portable scanner.

1906: State-wide registration of births and deaths begins in Pennsylvania

Finally, in 1906, Pennsylvania mandated state-wide registration of births and deaths. Ancestry holds digitized collections of both the birth and death registrations. The digitized birth records include the years 1906-1917 and the death records include the years 1906-1972. Later records need to be requested by the state’s Department of Health. Visit their website for more information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/programs/vital-records.

Pennsylvania’s city birth and death records

Some cities in Pennsylvania have collections of vital records that pre-date the county and state registrations. Contact the local historical society, or city or county archives to ask about searching these records.

Pennsylvania cities with separate record collections include:

• Chester Birth Records (1889-1906)
• Lancaster Birth Registrations (1881-1906)
• Philadelphia Birth and Death Records (July 1, 1860-June 30, 1915)
• Pittsburgh Birth and Death Records (June 1870-1905)
• Scranton Birth and Death Certificates (1878-1905)

Vital record substitutes

If you are unable to locate a vital record in any of these collections, or if you are researching an event that took place outside of these time periods, these other sources could also provide birth, marriage or death information:

• Family bibles
• Newspapers, including obituaries, birth, marriage or death announcements, and items about birthday or anniversary celebrations
• Delayed birth records (FamilySearch has a collection of Pennsylvania, Delayed Birth Records 1780-1977)
• Military records (Pension applications could include birth, marriage and death information, while draft registrations often record birthdates)
• Clues can be found in census records
  • 1900 census asked for month and year of birth
  • 1900 and 1910 censuses asked how many years people had been married
  • Mortality schedules recording deaths in the previous year were part of the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 federal censuses
• Church records (Baptisms, marriages, and funerals)
• Passport applications
• Social Security Death Index
• Other death records (Funeral home, cemetery, or coroner’s records)
• Special record collections (Family letters and diaries)

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Additional Reading:

Pennsylvania State Archives: Vital Statistics Records

1 “Vital Statistics Records,” Official Website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, https://www.pa.gov/agencies/phmc/pa-state-archives/research-online/vital-statistics-records.