Birth, marriage and death registrations

Find and order certified copies of Ontario birth registrations up to 1919, marriages to 1943 or deaths to 1953.

A row of five sleeping newborn babies tucked between sheets and pillows atop an inspection table inside a hospital room.

About vital statistics registrations

Since 1869, the Government of Ontario has registered births, marriages and deaths of the people of the province. These registrations are known as vital statistics.

Vital statistics are the source of information that the government uses to produce official documents, including birth, marriage and death certificates.

A copy of a vital statistic registration that has been certified by the Archivist of Ontario can be used in place of the original certificate for legal, government or humanitarian purposes.

We hold the original registration books of Ontario:

births until 1919
marriages until 1944
deaths until 1954

Registration records after these dates are held by the Ontario Registrar General and can be requested online through ServiceOntario.

What a registration might tell you

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A government birth registration typically includes:

birth year

name

assigned sex

registration number

father’s name and mother’s maiden name

father’s occupation

county or district of registration (an exact city, town or township is normally not given in the earliest records)

signature and residence of informant (usually a relative)

accoucheur’s name (the person assisting with the birth)

registration date

registrar’s signature

Search archived registrations online

Ancestry

We’ve partnered with Ancestry to digitize and make available our current and future registration holdings.

Ancestry currently has Ontario:

births until 1917
marriages until 1942
deaths until 1952

Ancestry has also digitized a very small number of birth, marriage and death records we hold from before 1869. These include baptism records, marriage filings with county courts and congregation records kept by religious institutions.

Start your search

Search by name or date of event.
Matches are listed on the right side of the window.
Select “view” on the left side of the window to view the actual registration.

Access Ontario registrations via:

Ancestry Institution (free to use at Archives of Ontario and public libraries in Ontario).
Ancestry.ca (paid subscription required)

FamilySearch

FamilySearch has digitized their microfilm copies of our vital statistics holdings. Their collection is extensive and available online for free (with account sign-up), but does not include the latest releases of registrations to the public.

FamilySearch has Ontario:

births until 1912
marriages until 1927
deaths until 1937 (domestic) and 1947 (overseas)

FamilySearch has also digitized a very small number of birth, marriage and death records we hold from before 1869. These include baptism records, marriage filings with county courts and congregation records kept by religious institutions.

Access Ontario:

Order a certified copy of a registration

You can order a certified copy of a vital statistics registration for a fee.

A certified copy is a paper copy guaranteed by the Archivist of Ontario to be a true reproduction of the original registration. This means it can be used in place of a birth, marriage or death certificate for legal, government or humanitarian purposes.

All years of our vital statistics holdings are available for order.

Information you need to order

To order a certified copy of a registration, you need to provide the following information:

name of individual (enter in the “title” field)
reference code
- RG 80-2 for births
- RG 80-5 for marriages
- RG 80-8 for deaths
date of birth, marriage or death (enter in “other information” box)
registration number (enter in “other information” box)

Note: you can still request a certified copy of a registration for years that aren’t yet available online. Contact us to arrange a search. Provide the name of the individual and date of the birth, marriage or death.

Order a copy of a registration

Find registrations in person on microfilm

We have microfilm copies of vital statistics records available for self-service research in our Reading Room.

Finding registrations is a two-step process.

Search the annual birth, marriage or death registration index to find the registration number of the individual you’re looking for.
Search the microfilm reel that contains the the matching registration number.

Find microfilm reel listings and detailed search instructions on our archived webpages:

Learn more about using our microfilm collection.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for or want to conduct further research, you can try researching related records.

Other records of vital events
We have some records of births, marriages and deaths kept by religious congregations, townships as well as some court and cemetery records. Most pre-date 1869. They are few in number and do not cover the entirety of the Province of Ontario.

Get research help

We can point you to resources to help you with your research. Contact us. 

For professional research help, we have a list of private companies and freelance researchers who can do research on your behalf.