Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Information

The Missouri Adoptee Rights Act was enacted on August 28, 2016. The Act allows an adopted person or the adopted person’s attorney to obtain a copy of an adopted person’s original certificate of birth from the state registrar beginning January 1, 2018. On October 1, 2017, the Bureau of Vital Records (BVR) began accepting applications for adoptees wanting a copy of their original birth certificate. The certificates will not be provided until after January 2, 2018, but early submittal will allow BVR to research the request in advance. To make a request, an adoptee shall complete the Application for Non-Certified Copy of an Original Birth Certificate form and pay a non-refundable $15 fee. The adoptee should allow between 3 to 6 months from the date of submitting their application to receive their original birth certificate due to the demand for these records and the research required to find and process these records.

The application form and additional information regarding the Missouri Adoptee Rights Act are available here.

Walk-in Customer Service hours are from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST. Telephone customer service hours are 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding state and federal holidays.

  • Most certificate requests can be processed the same day if you arrive in the Vital Records office by
    3:30 p.m. and have all required information needed to search for the certificate.
  • Same day service is not guaranteed for certificate requests such as genealogy, paternity affidavits, adoption processing, corrections, amendments, birth/death certificate registration, etc.

Consumer Alert

Missouri birth, death, marriage and divorce records are maintained by the Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Vital Records.

Services include:

  • Maintaining a central registry of Missouri births, deaths and fetal deaths reported from January 1, 1910 to the present (some delayed filings from births and deaths prior to 1910 are available)
  • Preparing new certificates for adoptions and legitimations
  • Maintaining a central registry of Missouri marriages and divorces (since July 1, 1948)
  • Correcting vital records as authorized by state law
  • Issuing certified copies of vital records
  • Maintaining the Putative Father Registry

Note: In the State of Missouri, vital records are not open to the general public and can only be obtained by the individual, guardian or other legal party.

Research Requests
Policies and procedures for release of vital records information for legitimate research purposes can be found at Data, Surveillance Systems & Statistical Reports.  Scroll to the heading Data Release Policies, Procedures and Guidelines. 

Obtaining Vital Records Locally
Many Missouri residents can obtain their birth, marriage and divorce records locally. People born in Missouri can obtain a copy of their birth certificate from any local public health department.

Please note: Vital Records are not available at the St. Louis City Health Department. Missouri born citizens can obtain records in the St. Louis City area at the Recorder of Deeds office at:

Recorder of Deeds Office
City Hall
1200 Market Street, Room 127
St. Louis, MO 63103

Call (314) 613-3016 to speak to them by phone.

Certified copies of marriage licenses are available from the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the license was obtained. Certified copies of divorce decrees are available from the Circuit Clerk in the county where the decree was granted.

For more information about obtaining these records locally, contact the offices directly. Contact information can be found on the following web pages:

Fees for copies of vital records will be collected by the local agency providing the document. Fees for birth and death records are the same as those charged by the Bureau of Vital Records. The fee for marriage and divorce records are set by the agency issuing the documents, so the cost may vary.

This office does not accept credit cards or online orders. However, for your convenience, documents can be requested by phone or online through an independent company that we have partnered with to provide this service -- VitalChek Network, Inc.  An additional fee is charged by VitalChek for using this service, and all major credit cards are accepted, including American Express®, Discover®, MasterCard® or Visa®. To further expedite the request, overnight services are offered. Applications can be placed on-line at https://www.vitalchek.com or by phone, toll-free at 1-877-817-7363.