Maryland Birth Records

Learn what birth records are available for Maryland, where to find them, and step-by-step tips on how to locate post-1875 birth certificates online.

Accessibility

Civil birth records in Maryland become public records after 100 years. Most publicly available birth records are held by the Maryland State Archives (MSA) and are available on several websites as discussed below. Still restricted records (less than 100 years old) are available to specified individuals only and are held by the Maryland Division of Vital Records.

Timeline

In the 17th century and the mid-19th century, Maryland passed laws to mandate statewide registration of births. However, relatively few such records exist due to poor compliance with the laws and/or the passage of time. View more information on what is available. During this early time period, church records are the best source for birth information.

The majority of Maryland civil birth records begin in 1875 for Baltimore City and in 1898 for Maryland's 23 counties. These records from the Department of Health of Baltimore City and the Maryland State Board/Department of Health are available (to varying degrees) on three websites as discussed in detail below.

Duplicates of some of these birth records are available at MSA for Baltimore City and some of the counties. These duplicate records can be consulted if an indexed certificate is missing or a certificate is illegible. View more information on what is available.

Baltimore City Health Department Bureau Of Vital Statistics (Birth Record) CM1135-13.

Note - the name of the child is not listed on Baltimore City birth certificates prior to a transition period of 1903-1910.

Delayed birth certificates can be issued upon request to Individuals whose births were not recorded as required. Most delayed birth certificates are still at the Maryland Division of Vital Records. However, MSA has Baltimore City delayed births for 1876-1925 (C2145), but they are not available online. Delayed births are indexed in the Baltimore City birth certificate indexes as annotations. For Maryland counties, MSA has a separate card index (SM29) for 1860-1921.

The Maryland State Archives website page on Birth Records provides further in-depth guidance about the history of birth records in Maryland and FAQs.

Online Birth Certificates

As shown below, birth certificates and indexes for Baltimore City from 1875 and Maryland counties from 1898 are available on four websites - MyHeritage, Ancestry, the Internet Archive, and MSA. Although only birth certificates over 100 years old are publicly available, the indexes provide evidence to help in researching later births.

Step-By-Step Guidance for Finding a Birth Certificate Online

STEP 1: Check MyHeritage and/or Ancestry

The quickest and easiest search options for Maryland birth certificates are on the MyHeritage and Ancestry websites. MyHeritage has records for the entire state. Ancestry currently provides access only to Baltimore City births.

Access to both sites is by paid personal subscription or through their library editions. The Ancestry Library Edition may only be accessed on site at host libraries. The MyHeritage Library Edition may be accessed not only at participating libraries but also at home if you have a library card for one of those libraries. 

In Maryland, only Howard County subscribes to the MyHeritage Library Edition, however, any Maryland resident can apply for a free Howard County library card in order to use MyHeritage at home. Upon applying online you get immediate six-month access to online databases pending picking up your card. (If you don’t eventually come to a branch to pick up your card, you will lose access after six months.) MyHeritage is accessed among the "Research Tools" in the Howard County "Digital Library."

Keep in mind when using MyHeritage and Ancestry that AI was used to read the original certificates, resulting in transcription errors.

If you can't access MyHeritage or Ancestry - or can't find the record you're looking for and fear it may be incorrectly indexed on those sites - there are other options for finding and viewing a birth certificate online, as outlined below.

STEP 2: Check the Baltimore County Genealogical Society (BCGS) Birth Index

BCGS is creating an online Maryland Birth Index database. The index does not link to images of the certificates, but provides the information needed to find the original certificate. A work in progress, the index currently includes several decades of Baltimore City births.

If you locate an entry in the BCGS index, go on to Step 4. Otherwise, consult the original indexes as discussed below.

STEP 3: Check the Original Indexes

While the original birth certificate indexes are available on the Internet Archive website (here for the counties and here for Baltimore City), the following indexes on the MSA website tend to be easier to navigate. For any index entry of interest you that locate, be sure to record the name, date, county/city, and certificate number (if any).

Baltimore City birth indexes are listed by the names of the parents, not the child. County indexes are by the name of the child.

Maryland Counties Indexes (Baltimore City births are indexed separately from births in the Maryland counties - see indexes below.)

• 1898-1909: SM199
• 1910-1953: SM27 (The description of this series says that the index runs to 1950, but it actually contains records through 1953.)

Baltimore City Indexes

• 1875-1941: CM1134  (For missing pages for 1887, see C2-9)
• 1942-1949: No index is available at the Maryland State Archives. 
• 1950-1972: T1344 

The Maryland State Archives has developed tutorial videos to explain two indexing systems used in some of the indexes, the vowel indexing system and the soundex indexing system. Also see, "Types of Indexes Found at the Maryland State Archives."

STEP 4: Locate the Birth Certificate

First, use the following Maryland State Archives website links to find the batch of records that contains the certificate you need based on the date, county/city information, and certificate number (if any) you found in the index. Note the "MSA Citation number" for that batch of records. (Example MSA Citation numbers include S1988-5 and CM1135-103.)

Maryland Counties Certificates

• 1898-April 1910: S1963 
• May 1910-1913: S1988  
• 1914-[1925]: SM35 (Links to additional records are being added after records reach 100 years old.)

Baltimore City Certificates

1875-[1924]: CM1135  (Links to additional records are being added after records reach 100 years old.)

Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics (Birth Record, Counties), Maryland State Archives, SM35-7

The age of a certificate determines whether you can view it online and where.

• Through 1922: Either the MSA website or Internet Archive website.
• After 1922: Only the MSA website, once the certificate is at least 100 years old.

Viewing Certificates on the Maryland State Archives Website

Batches of certificates at least 100 years old should have a "Links" hot link that you can select to move on to viewing the certificates. There will be options for viewing the certificates as part of large PDFs or as individual certificates.

Viewing Certificates on the Internet Archive Website

Follow one of the following Internet Archive links depending on the date and place of the birth.

• Certificates for Maryland Counties (1898-1922)
• Baltimore City Certificates (1875-1922)

From the resulting list of files, choose the link for the time period you are interested in. You'll then have access to batches of PDF files identified by MSA Citation number. The links will appear in the left-hand navigation bar. Select the correct MSA Citation number for the certificate you're seeking. Finally, scroll through that PDF to locate the certificate you need.