Births & Deaths Before 1908

There was no official statewide registration of births and deaths in Tennessee before 1908. Four cities did keep some earlier birth and death records, which are available through the Tennessee State Library & Archives. Searches of these records can be requested by mail, if the year of the event is known.

Pre-1908 Births		Pre-1908 Deaths
Chattanooga from 1879		Chattanooga from 1872
Knoxville from 1881		Knoxville from 1881
Nashville from 1881		Nashville from 1874
Memphis from 1874 (TSLA has years 1874-1883)		Memphis from 1848*

*The web site for the Memphis Public Library has an online index to Memphis death records that covers the years 1848-1945.

 

Delayed Birth Records

When the Social Security Administration was created in 1935, the agency asked for birth certificates as proof the applicant qualified for entry into the program. Most Tennesseans who wished to apply, however, were born prior to the 1908 law that first required the keeping of birth certificates. Beginning in 1935, Tennessee began to issue Delayed Birth Certificates. These certificates were not issued automatically; the applicant had to request the record from the state, and must supply supporting documents or letters.

Searches of the Delayed Birth Certificates for birth years 1869-1907 can be requested by e-mail, if you can provide TSLA with specified information: name of the individual, an approximate date or year of birth, the county of birth (if known), and (if known) the name of the mother.

Delayed birth records for the birth years 1908 on are held by the Office of Vital Records, Tennessee Department of Health.

Births & Deaths 1908 - 1912

These records were kept across the state by clerks in each Tennessee county. They have been microfilmed and are available at the Tennessee State Library & Archives. Searches can also be requested by mail.

The Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908 - 1912 is available on the TSLA web site. The index gives the individual's name, county of residence, year of death, and the death certificate number.

Davidson County (as distinct from Nashville) began keeping their own death records in 1900 and continued to do so through 1913. An index to Davidson County Death Records 1900-1913 is available on the TSLA web site.

Births & Deaths 1913

The law requiring birth & death registration expired in 1913, and no records were recorded for that year.

Davidson County (as distinct from Nashville) began keeping their own death records in 1900 and continued to do so through 1913. An index to Davidson County Death Records 1900-1913 is available on the TSLA web site.

Births 1914 - Present (Long Form Copies)

These records are available from the Office of Vital Records.

Births 1949 - Present (Short Form Copies)

These records are available from the Office of Vital Records.

Deaths 1914 - 1957

These records are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Searches can also be requested by mail.

The Statewide Index to Tennessee Death Records 1914 - 1926 is a long-term project to index Tennessee death records for the years 1914 on.   The index lists name of deceased, county of death, and volume and page number of the certificate; beginning with death certificates issued in 1926, the certificate number is listed instead of the volume and page. (The Statewide Index has replace the Partial Index to Tennessee Death Records 1914-1925, which covered only 38 counties and did not include children under two years of age.) 

The web site for the Shelby County Register of Deeds has posted an online index to Shelby County death records for the years 1848-1956 and to state-wide Tennessee death records for the years 1949-2005.

Deaths 1958 - Present

These records are available from the Office of Vital Records.

Always provide NAME, YEAR and COUNTY when requesting a search.

Tennessee State Library & Archives
403 7th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243-0312
(615) 741-2764

Updated September 24, 2008