Vital Records

Obtaining Copies of Vital Records

Vital records are not public. Therefore, only those individuals who have what is called a "direct and tangible interest" in the record may have access to record. The following individuals and/or groups make-up those having direct and tangible interest:

• The person named on the certificate, a member of his/her immediate family, his guardian, or an authorized agent of these individuals
• Attorneys-at-law, title examiners, or members of legally incorporated genealogical societies in the conduct of their official duties
• Persons requiring information for the determination or protection of a personal or property right
• A person who has been granted a court order instructing the registrar to provide disclosure

A direct and tangible interest shall not be demonstrated by firms, agencies, or individuals requesting information to be used for commercial purposes.

The fee is $20.00 for the first copy; and $15 for each additional copy of the same record obtained at the same time.

Certified copies of vital records may be obtained in person at the Town Hall. You will be required to complete an application and present a government issued photo ID.

Certified copies may be requested by mail, using the appropriate application below and accompanied by a copy of your government issued photo ID, a self-addressed stamped envelope, and a check payable to the Town of Richmond.

Certified copies of birth records
A certified copy of a birth occurring from 1960 and forward can be obtained from any city or town hall in the State of Rhode Island. For births occurring prior to 1960, the Town Clerk’s Office maintains only the records of births which occurred in Richmond or for the birth of a child to a mother that resided in Richmond at the time of the birth.

<insert link for application for certified copy of birth record here>

Certified copies of death records
The Town Clerk’s Office maintains copies of death certificates of individuals who died within Richmond or who were residents of Richmond at the time of their death.

<insert link for application for certified copy of death record here>

<insert link for application for funeral directors only here>

Certified copies of marriage records

The Town Clerk’s Office maintains copies of marriages that occurred in Richmond or marriages of residents of Richmond that occurred in another city or town within Rhode Island. Certified copies will only be issued to the parties on the marriage certificate or persons with a legal right to the record.