Important Research Notes:

• Tennessee required birth and death certificates in 1908, but enforcement did not occur until 1914.  Still, rural areas have spotty records until about 1921-1922. 
• The state Department of Health is responsible for administration of birth and death records.  They were only administered for a short period of time at the local level.

 
Click here to read more details and consult on-line indices at the Tennessee State Library & Archives.  You may also order available closed certificates through TSLA.

FamilySearch images are sourced from microfilm created by the Tennessee State Library & Archives or the Genealogical Society of Utah.  The images are available for viewing and downloading free.  You will require a free FamilySearch login to browse the records.

---

Births

Volume Date Span	TSLA Film No.	Source
1881 – 1912		FamilySearch Link
1913 – 1922	Available from the TN State Library & Archives
1923 – present	Available as permitted from the TN Department of Health, Office of Vital Records

 

Delayed Birth Certificates

Volume Date Span	TSLA Film No.	Source
1869-1909	N/A	Ancestry.com — free access if your Internet connection is in Tennessee
1910-1922		Available from the TN State Library & Archives

Deaths

Volume Date Span	TSLA Film No.	Source
1909 – 1912		FamilySearch Link
1914 – 1933	N/A	TSLA Staff-generated Index
1914 – 1966	N/A	FamilySearch index search Ancestry.com images — free access if your Internet connection is in Tennessee
Death Certificates 1914-1966 can be browsed via FamilySearch links to individual rolls of microfilm.  Before using this option, we suggest you try to narrow to a film number by first searching the index for a place and date, then select a random record that will point you to the film number (digital folder number)