Downtown Vital Records Office Extends Hours

New Evening Hours for Service Counter, Phone Calls to Meet Customer Needs

NASHVILLE – The state Office of Vital Records customer service counter in downtown Nashville is now open until 6 p.m. Central time on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to better meet customer needs. Staff members of the Office of Vital Records are also now taking and returning phone calls from customers statewide until 6:30 p.m. Central time Monday through Thursday to reach those who are not available by phone during traditional daytime business hours.

The Office of Vital Records registers and maintains original certificates of births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in Tennessee, and provides certified copies of these records to qualified individuals for a small fee. Anyone seeking a copy of a vital record must present identification. The downtown Nashville office is the only location that issues delayed birth and death certificates when no record is found on file, amends all vital records and processes new certificates of birth resulting from legal action such as adoption or paternity determination. The Nashville office can also issue long form birth certificates for births that occurred anywhere in the state from 1914 to present.

“We’re pleased to be able to offer extended hours to our customers seeking vital records,” said Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN. “These additional hours will help us better serve those Tennesseans who work during traditional business hours.”

The Tennessee Office of Vital Records is located at 421 5th Avenue North in Nashville. The customer service counter is open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Please note that vital records staff members will not request money, credit card information or Social Security numbers over the phone. If someone contacts you by phone and requests such information, as always, do not provide it since it may be a scam.

Tennessee’s local county health departments will continue to issue short-form or abstracted birth certificates. Certified copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates are also available by mail, and with additional fees, via the Internet. For more information, visit the Department of Health website at http://health.state.tn.us/ and click “Order Birth and Other Certificates,” or call the Office of Vital Records at (615) 741-1763.