Birth and Death Records
The State of Tennessee did not require the filing of birth and death certificates until about 1914. To obtain copies of either of these documents contact:
Tennessee Vital Records
421 Fifth Avenue North
First Floor, Central Services Building
Nashville, TN 37247-0450
Telephone: 615.741.1763
Click on this link to go to the Tennessee Department of Health's Web Page on vital records.
If the birth or death did not occur in Tennessee, contact the Department of Health in the state where the birth or death took place. Many of them have Web sites that can be accessed via that state's "home" page. Links to these sites can be easily found using one of the Internet search services.
Copies of birth and death certificates can be obtained from the Knox County Health Department, Vital Records Office, 140 Dameron Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917, phone: 865-215-5100. Click on the link in the previous sentence to jump the the Health Department's Web site on Vital Records.
Both the State and Knox County charge a fee for providing certified copies. They also will not provide copies unless specific information is given such as date of birth, parents' names, place of birth, etc.
SPECIAL NOTE: Many older individuals who were born at home or in rural areas never had birth certificates submitted to Vital Records. In these cases, one can obtain a "delayed" registration of birth. The Tennessee Department of Health has promulgated rules which govern the issuance of these certificates. Contact Vital Records at the number given above for more information on this process.
The Knox County Archives has a limited number of birth and death records (NOT certificates) for Knoxville which go back to 1881. The Archives can be contacted at 500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902-2505, phone: 865-215-8800. Their hours of operation are 9:00 am until 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
Marriage Records
The Knox County Archives (link to Web site, address and phone number given above) is the agency to contact for marriage records. Their holdings currently extend from 1792 until 1990. More recent marriage records are in the custody of the Knox County Clerk, Marriage License Department, 300 Main Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902, phone: 865.215.2382. Tennessee Vital Records has marriage records also.
Divorce Records
Two courts in Knox County have concurrent jurisdiction over divorce proceedings. These are the Circuit and Chancery Courts. Most divorce decrees are issued by the Fourth Division of Circuit Court which was set up as a domestic relations court. However, the other three divisions of Circuit Court have handled divorce cases also.
Records Management holds records of the Fourth Division of Circuit Court (known earlier as the Domestic Relations Court) dated October of 1954 up to July of 1989. Records from the other three divisions of Circuit Court dated 1974 to 1992 are held by Records Management.
Earlier Circuit Court and Chancery records are in the custody of the Knox County Archives (address and phone number given above under "Birth and Death Records.") More recent divorce records are still in the custody of the courts. Tennessee Vital Records maintains divorce and annulment records too.
Records Management has a small number of application forms which are used to obtain copies of the above-mentioned documents from Tennessee Vital Records.
