Vital Records

Vital records refer to official registration of births, deaths, and marriages.

Local registrars, located in county recorders offices, such as Scott County, maintain records of birth, death, and marriages that have occurred in that county.

Certified copies of vital records registered by the Scott County Recorder can be obtained from this office.

Statewide record searches are available from the state registrar, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Statistics.

Use the chart below to determine the office to contact for your record.

Record Location
Vital Records: 1946 - Current Scott County Recorder's Office
Vital Records: 1880 - 1945 State Registrar
Single-parent births before July 1, 1990 State Registrar
Single-parent births after July 1, 1990 Scott County Recorder's Office
Legal name changes State Registrar
Adoptions State Registrar
Any record ordered seal by a court of law State Registrar

County registrars, however, do not have code authority to have on record:

  • single-parent births prior to July 1, 1990;
  • adoptions;
  • legal name changes, other than marriage, ordered sealed by a court of law;
  • birth, death, and marriages between the years 1921 to 1941.