Minnesota genealogy records

Birth records

Minnesota law required births to be recorded beginning in 1870, and each county kept its own registers. Many counties were formed after 1870, so a birth in what became a newer county may be recorded in the parent county. Only a few pre-1900 births are in the MNHS online index; the society has birth records on microfilm for a few counties, which can be borrowed through interlibrary loan, and some early records are still held by the counties.

Statewide records begin in 1900. The birth cards from 1900 to 1907 are transcripts compiled later by the Minnesota Department of Health, and many were filled out very incompletely. Birth certificates, filled out at or just after the birth, run from 1907. The MNHS index covers the cards and the certificates through 1934 and lists the child's name, birth date, county of birth, mother's maiden name, and certificate number. A full certificate can be viewed on the Reading Room computers at the Gale Family Library, or ordered online for 9 dollars plus tax, as of the MNHS page in 2026.

For a birth after 1934, MNHS cannot provide copies. The Gale Family Library offers on-site access to the Department of Health's birth portal for 1935 to the present, which shows basic public facts such as the child's and parents' names, birth date, and county. MNHS also warns that many births of American Indian children were not recorded in state records, especially from 1900 to 1918.

Death records

Deaths were recorded by Minnesota townships, villages, and cities from 1870 to 1953, by the counties from 1870 to the present, and by the state Department of Health from 1899 to the present. MNHS holds statewide death registers for 1899 and death cards from 1900 through 1907 on microfilm. The cards cover the whole state but are not complete.

The MNHS index covers death cards from 1904 to 1907 and death certificates from 1908 to 2001. A certificate may give the person's birth date and birthplace, occupation, spouse, parents' names and birthplaces, causes of death, and burial place. Viewing the certificates on microfilm at the Gale Family Library is free, and printing a copy yourself costs 35 cents a page; an online order costs 9 dollars plus tax and is usually emailed within 15 business days, as of 2026. Note the year of death and the certificate number from the index, since you need both to find the right reel. MNHS warns that many 1996 deaths are missing from the index even though the certificates exist.

For a death after 2001, contact the county vital records office where the death happened or the Department of Health. Minneapolis and Hennepin County have their own birth and death records from 1870, and St. Paul and Ramsey County have births from 1867 and deaths from 1870.

Ordering from the state and who can get what

The Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) takes orders by mail or fax only; it does not offer in-person service, but county vital records offices do. Births from 1900 and deaths from 1908 are available from any vital records office in the state, while earlier births and deaths come only from the county where the event happened. On the MDH fee table as of 2026, a certified birth certificate costs 26 dollars, a noncertified birth record 13 dollars, and a certified or noncertified death record 13 dollars each.

For family history, the noncertified (informational) copy is usually enough. MDH says all Minnesota death records are public, so anyone may buy a noncertified death record, and anyone may buy a noncertified copy of a public birth record. Births to married parents are public, but births to unmarried parents are confidential unless the birth parent chose to make them public at the time of birth. A certified certificate is limited to eligible requesters, such as the person named, a parent, a grandparent or grandchild, and for death certificates the spouse named on the record or a sibling, and the request must be signed in front of a notary or county vital records staff.

Marriages and divorces

The Laws of Minnesota of 1849 included an act regulating marriages, which required marriage certificates to be sent to the clerk of the district court in the county where the marriage took place. Records begin in counties formed in the 1850s, and Ramsey and Washington counties have records including 1849. A file may hold the application, the license, and the officiant's return, and usually gives the names and county of residence of the bride and groom, sometimes their ages, the date and place of the marriage, and the officiant's name.

The Department of Health does not record marriages or divorces. To find a marriage, search the Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS), an online index whose date range varies by county; some counties, such as Ramsey, are not included, and MNHS staff will search their partial Ramsey index for the 1850s to the 1940s on request. Certified copies come from the county office that issued the license. Divorces are in the district court records of the county where the divorce was finalized; MNHS holds pre-1950s civil case files for a majority of counties and judgment books for most counties until about 1982.

Territorial and state censuses

Minnesota took territorial censuses in 1849, 1850, 1853, 1855, and 1857, and after statehood in 1858 a state census every ten years in years ending in 5, from 1865 to 1905, the last one. All of them can be searched and viewed free through the Minnesota People Records Search. The 1849 census names only the head of household, the 1853 census is very incomplete, and most of the 1855 census was lost. The 1857 census named every person but apparently included fictitious names in seven counties to boost the population for statehood.

Coverage grows with the state: 42 counties are missing from the 1865 census, either because they were not yet organized or because the schedules have not been found. The later censuses are rich. The 1895 census asks how long each person had lived in the state, and the 1905 census adds the street address and the birthplaces of each person's father and mother.

Land, probate, and newspapers

Minnesota is one of the 30 public land states, where land passed from the federal government to private owners. Patents can be searched on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records website, which only includes patented land; for a cancelled or relinquished entry, contact the National Archives. For Minnesota, the BLM holds the tract books and patents, arranged by township, range, and section.

MNHS holds probate records such as will books and final decrees of distribution for certain counties and years; search its catalog with the county name and "probate court." It also has the largest single collection of Minnesota newspapers, from 1849 to the present.