Colorado genealogy records

Births and deaths

According to the Library of Congress, statewide registration of births in Colorado began in 1908, and death registration began slightly earlier depending on the county and became statewide in 1908. The Library points to the Colorado State Archives for these records. The National Center for Health Statistics lists the state vital records office at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) as having birth records since 1910, plus earlier birth records for some counties, and death records since 1900.

For events before statewide registration, some early vital records are in county courthouses or county health departments, but where they ended up varies from county to county. History Colorado has a small card index to births, deaths, and marriages that appeared in Colorado newspapers between 1860 and 1940, and the General Index at the Denver Public Library also includes many births, marriages, and deaths, mostly from newspaper references.

Who can get a death certificate

Under Colorado Revised Statutes 25-2-118 and Board of Health rules, an applicant must have a direct and tangible interest in the record. The State Registrar's list, as printed on El Paso County's 2026 death certificate application, includes a current spouse or parent named on the certificate, siblings with a birth certificate showing a shared parent, and children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with birth certificates showing the relationship.

Two rules matter most for family historians. A genealogist needs a notarized, signed release from an immediate family member plus proof of that person's relationship, and the certificate is marked For Genealogical Use Only. In-laws, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and cousins need proof of a direct and tangible interest for a death 25 years ago or less; for a death more than 25 years ago, proof of relationship is enough, and a family tree is acceptable. Those copies are also marked For Genealogical Use Only.

As of 2026, El Paso County Public Health charges 25 dollars for a first death certificate and 20 dollars for each additional copy of the same record issued the same day. Getting a record under false pretenses can bring a fine of up to 1,000 dollars, up to a year in county jail, or both.

Marriages and divorces

Each county's clerk and recorder keeps marriage records, generally from the early days of the county. A statewide list of marriages and divorces, indexed by the groom's name, covers 1900 through 1939, with about a quarter of the entries from before 1900. It is at the Colorado State Archives, the Denver Public Library, and the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. The state health department does not issue certified copies of marriages or divorces; copies come from the county clerk, and divorce copies from the clerk of the district court in the county where the divorce was granted.

Divorce records are in the district courts or at the Colorado State Archives, depending on the county and the year, and the Denver Public Library has indexes that help locate them.

Census records

Colorado Territory was formed in 1861, and the National Archives lists Colorado among the places with surviving 1870 population schedules. The 1870 census is on National Archives microfilm M593 and on the major genealogy websites. Use each census to find the county before you write to a county clerk, court, or health department.

Census records also show where people came from. The Library of Congress notes that in 1860 the largest group of migrants to Colorado came from Ohio, followed by Illinois, New York, Missouri, and Indiana, and that by 1880 one fifth of the population was foreign born.

Courts, probate, land, and naturalization

Wills and probate are generally kept at the county courthouse, and deeds by the county clerk and recorder. Tax records are generally with the county treasurer, with earlier ones searchable by county at the Colorado State Archives. For naturalizations, the Library of Congress lists records from 1861 to 1989 at the National Archives Rocky Mountain Region and from 1860 to 1958 at the Colorado State Archives. Civil and criminal cases are in the district courts.

For federal land, the Denver Public Library points researchers to the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records for land patents, tract books, survey plats, and field notes.

Military records

The Colorado State Archives services Colorado Volunteer and Colorado National Guard military records. Its service records can give name, rank, age, organization, physical description, date of enrollment, length of service, mustering out, and discharge. Federal service records are at the National Archives.

Newspapers and obituaries

The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, a service of the Colorado State Library, includes more than 740 Colorado newspapers published from 1859 to 2023, among them the Rocky Mountain News from August 27, 1860, to December 31, 1972, excluding 1945 and 1946. The Denver Public Library has an index of obituaries and funeral notices from The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News for 1913 to 2016, a statewide index of about 50,000 non-Denver obituaries mostly from the 1970s through 1990, and transcribed obituaries covering many non-Denver deaths from 1934 to 1963. You can ask its Special Collections and Archives for a copy of an obituary.

For Catholic families, the Archives of the Archdiocese of Denver holds parish sacramental registers for the Archdiocese.