Civil Registration - Canada, Alberta

Reference Centre, Quick Reference Charts

Civil Registration - Canada, Alberta

Registrations commenced of Births 1853, Marriages 1875, Deaths 1883

See "How to Obtain" below chart

Name of Individual				Note: Births recorded as early as 1850. Very stringent privacy laws govern who can apply for current BMD certificates requiring greater passages of time since the time of the event than in most other provinces. The Provincial Archives holds records of the civil registration of births, marriages and deaths for Alberta from about 1870 to the 1980s for some communities. There are alphabetical name indexes available for the records created up to 1905. Records created after 1905 are organized by place; therefore, it is necessary to know where in Alberta and approximately when the event took place. The Provincial Archives does not hold records for every year, or for every community in Alberta. Records not held by the Provincial Archives are still in the custody of the Vital Statistics Office.
Marital Status
Age		including place of birth of each party
Occupation
Date of Event
Place of Event			with usual place of residence and date and place of burial
Name of Father
Father's Occupation
If Father Living
Place of birth of Father
Name of Mother
Maiden Surname of Mother
Mother's Occupation
If Mother Living
Place of birth of Mother
Witnesses
Relationship of Witnesses to Individual
Addresses of Witnesses
Name of Informant of Event
Relationship of Informant to Individual
Address of Informant
Changes to Information on certificates	Not all early births were registered. Records become more plentiful around 1915.	Some marriage returns were taken in some parts of the province as early as 1878. Not all early marriages were registered. Records become more plentiful around 1920.	Cause of death and age at death only included on Medical Certificate of Death, not on routine death certificates. Not all early deaths were registered. Records become more plentiful around 1905. Stillbirth records begin in 1914 with records becoming more plentiful around 1945.

How to Obtain

By Telephone:
Service Alberta - Vital Statistics:
310-0000 (toll-free anywhere in Alberta)
780-427-2711 (outside of Alberta)
Fax: 780-423-2567

Online:
Service Alberta - Vital Statistics:
Application only, online

By mail:
Service Alberta - Vital Statistics:
Alberta Registries,
Vital Statistics
3rd floor, 10365 - 97 Street
P.O. Box 2023
Edmonton, AB
Canada
T5J 4W7
Email: vs@gov.ab.ca
Notes:
1. To obtain complete information on any certificate you must request a "certified photographic print" of the event.
2. If you live in Alberta you must obtain records from your local registry office, not from the Edmonton office.

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