State office vs. county office
Washington County sits within District of Columbia, which means birth and death records are held by the state — the DC Department of Health, Vital Records Division at 899 N. Capitol St NE, Washington, DC 20002, reachable at (202) 442-9303. The state agency holds the official copies of birth and death events that occurred anywhere in Washington County since statewide registration began in 1874.
Marriage licenses and divorce decrees, however, are typically handled at the county level: marriage licenses by the Washington County Clerk, divorces by the trial court (superior, circuit, or district court depending on District of Columbia's naming convention) sitting in Washington County. Pick a record type below for the specific routing.
Records for Washington County
Birth Certificates
Birth certificate guide for Washington County.
Open guide → WashingtonDeath Records
Death certificate guide for Washington County.
Open guide → WashingtonMarriage Licenses
Marriage license guide for Washington County.
Open guide → WashingtonDivorce Decrees
Divorce decree guide for Washington County.
Open guide →Quick reference
| State | District of Columbia (DC) |
|---|---|
| Statewide office | DC Department of Health, Vital Records Division |
| State office address | 899 N. Capitol St NE, Washington, DC 20002 |
| State office phone | (202) 442-9303 |
| Statewide registration since | 1874 |
| Standard turnaround | 3-5 weeks by mail |
About Washington County
Washington County is one of the larger counties in District of Columbia by population, which means its courthouse handles a high volume of marriage license applications and divorce filings each year. Higher-volume counties typically offer more flexible request channels — in-person, mail, fax, and increasingly online — and frequently maintain a public-facing case search for civil filings, including divorce indexes.
If you are uncertain whether your event was filed in Washington County rather than a neighboring county, consider both the address listed on the original document (if you have a copy) and where the parties were living at the time of filing. For old marriage licenses in particular, the license was issued in the county where the couple applied — not necessarily where they were married.
If you are out of state and unable to visit the courthouse in person, this remote document-retrieval comparison outlines the trade-offs between mailing a request, using the state's approved online vendor, and hiring an authorized agent.
Tips for working with the county courthouse
- Call before you visit. County clerk and court clerk hours vary, and some windows close earlier than the rest of the courthouse for cash handling.
- Bring exact change or a money order for older records that may not be in the credit-card system.
- For divorces, know the case number if you can — the clerk may charge a per-name search fee on top of the per-page copy fee if a full lookup is required.
- For marriage records older than the county's digital index, expect a longer wait while staff retrieve the physical book.