DESCRIPTION:

This database is an index to over 7 million births occurring in North Carolina between 1913 and 2000. Delayed births are included as well and extended as early as 1800. For a list of the counties and years covered in this database, please see the bottom of this page. Information contained in this index includes:

• Child's full name
  
• Gender
  
• Race or color
  
• Birth date
  
• Birthplace
  
• Occasionally one or both of the parents' names
  
• Source information (usually includes a book or volume number and page number. Sometimes a certificate number will also be listed.)
  

With the information provided in this index, you may be able to obtain a copy of a birth certificate. If possible, it is important that you do this because often more information is provided in an original record than is provided in its index. For information on how to order a copy of a birth certificate, visit the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records Division website. However, only post-1913 certificates are available from this institution. Pre-1913 birth records must be obtained from the Register of Deeds in the county in which the birth occurred.

On 10 March 1913, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified an act requiring the registration of births and deaths in the state; virtually full compliance was achieved by 1920, with some delayed birth records for earlier dates eventually added. The indexes to these records are available in the county where the event took place or on microfilm at the North Carolina State Archives and the Family History Library.

Original copies of birth certificates can be obtained from Department of Environmental, Health and Natural Resources, Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 29537, Raleigh, North Carolina 27626. The register of deeds in the county where the birth was filed also may be able to provide a copy of the birth certificate.