Vital records document key life events -- including births, deaths, marriages, and domestic partnerships. The Maine CDC prioritizes privacy and security, ensuring that records are securely stored, confidentially managed, and protected from unauthorized access.
Whether you're requesting a certified copy, correcting existing records, registering as a genealogist, or accessing adoption information, our secure online services make it easy to manage your request while protecting your sensitive information every step of the way.
Welcome to the official website for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), Data, Research, and Vital Statistics (DRVS) office. We hope you find this website both helpful and informative. If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail DRVS at DHHS.VitalRecords@maine.gov.
All Maine's vital records (birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce and domestic partnerships) are housed at DRVS and most municipal offices statewide. Maine officially started preserving vital records on January 1, 1892. Vital records created prior to 1892 may be obtained from the municipal offices where the vital event took place or from the Maine State Archives.
Each State maintains its own vital records. If you are looking for a birth or death record from another State, you must contact that state's vital records office. Events that occurred in another State or Country are not available from Maine DRVS.
Vital Records provides vital registration services and technical services for the public, health care professionals, funeral directors, hospitals, state agencies, court officials, and municipal clerks in the registration of vital records from which statistics are gathered.
State and federal statutes require registration of births, deaths, fetal deaths, abortions, miscarriages, acknowledgement of parentage, court determinations, adoptions and a population estimate for each town and city.
Activities
- Collect and maintain record of births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and divorces from 1892 to present, issuing certified copies on request. Since 2004, the Maine CDC vital records office also maintains a Domestic Partner Registry.
- Provide other vital registration services: acknowledgements of parentage, corrections, supplemental cause of death, divorces, delayed registration of records, court determinations legal name changes on birth records, preparation of new birth certificates after adoption or legitimization, maintains the adoption reunion registry and maintains the domestic partner registry. Vital Records houses all sealed adoptions and legitimizations.
- Ensure all statutes, rules, and policies are compiled for transportation and disposition of human remains.
- Ensure all marriages occurring in Maine are legal joinings.
- Ensure the statutes, rules, and policies are complied with for acknowledgements of parentage in order to add a parents' name to a birth record.
- Ensure the vital statistics information for the interstate exchange agreements are processed on births and deaths.
- Prepare newsletters for hospitals, courts, municipal clerks, and funeral directors.
- Prepare pamphlets to assist individuals through various processes approved by Vital Records i.e.- corrections, legal name changes, marriage packets, delayed filing of records and authorized pamphlets.
- Requests: Approximately 11,000 certified copies are issued each year, 7,000 requests for services are processed and 40,000 telephone calls for information are received.
Contact
Division of Data, Research, and Vital Statistics
220 Capitol Street
Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
Phone: (207) 287-1919 or 1-888-664-9491