The Georgia Archives does not have birth certificates or any index to birth records. Statewide registration of births began in 1919. For birth records from 1919 to the present, researchers may contact the
Georgia Department of Public Health - Vital Records
1680 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30349 Telephone: 404-679-4702
You may also request a birth record from the Vital Records Office in the county where the birth occurred. A list of county offices is available online at: Vital Records
In general, there are no official birth records before 1919. However, there are some exceptions. Included in the Georgia Archives microfilm holdings are widely scattered birth records for the localities listed below. These records are not complete for the indicated dates.
An 1875 Act of the Georgia General Assembly mandated statewide registration of births, deaths, and marriages. Few counties complied with this law and even fewer citizens within those counties reported the required information. This effort for statewide registration of vital records was funded by the legislature for only two years and after 1876 it was largely abandoned by the counties.
The few extant birth records from this period are available on microfilm for the locations below.
The City of Macon (Bibb County) began recording births in 1891. For more information, please contact the
Macon (Bibb County) Health Department
171 Emery Highway
Macon, GA, 31217
Tel.: 478-745-0411
The City of Savannah has birth records beginning in 1890. For more information, please contact the
City of Savannah
Municipal Archives P.O. Box 1027 Savannah, GA, 31402
Tel.: 912-651-4212
The City of Atlanta (Fulton County) began recording births in 1896. For more information, please contact the
Fulton County Government Center
141 Pryor Street, SW
Suite 1029A
Atlanta, GA, 30303
Tel.: 404-613-1260
The City of Columbus (Muscogee County) began recording births in August 1890. An index to these birth records is available at
Chattahoochee Valley Public Libraries (Columbus) Genealogy Room
3000 Macon Road
Columbus, GA 31906
Tel.: 706-243-2681
The City of Gainesville (Hall County) recorded births from 1908 to 1911 and these records are included in the Georgia Archives microfilm holdings (Drawer 245/Box 65). These records are not to be considered complete for the indicated time period.
When birth records are not available, researchers are encouraged to search the following sources which may prove useful:
Federal census records
Federal census records can be helpful in the absence of birth records. Federal census records through 1930 are available at the Archives and through many public libraries.
Beginning with the 1850 census, an attempt was made to enumerate every person in every household and include their ages at their last birthday prior to the census date (June 1 for 1850 through 1900, April 15 for 1910, and January 1 for 1920 and 1930). The 1900 census gives the month and year of each person’s birth.
Cemetery records
Tombstone inscriptions can provide dates of birth and death. These often are published in genealogical magazines and books.
Church Records
An approximate date of birth can be derived from the records of churches that practice infant baptism, such as the United Methodist Church, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic churches. The actual date of birth may also be given. Some baptismal registers are available on microfilm in the Georgia Archives
Family Bible records
In the 1930s the Georgia Society Daughters of the American Revolution began compiling Bible records for Georgia families. Forty-five typescript volumes have been deposited in the Georgia Archives
