Also known as BMD records, use this tag for general questions about finding or using birth, marriage and death records. If the question is about one specific record type, such as birth-records, use that tag instead.
Vital records is a term common in American English for birth, marriage and death (BMD) records created, or held, by recognized authorities. In British and Australian English, the preferred term is BMD records. May be extended to include records of other key life events, such as adoption or divorce.
Vital records kept by governments may be termed civil records while similar records that pre-date civil registration of life events are sometimes called church records.
Use vital-records for general questions about finding or using BMD records. If the question is primarily about one specific record type, use that more specific tag:
- birth-records
- marriage-records
- death-records
- adoption-records (tag not yet created)
- divorce-records (tag not yet created)
