Getting a Vital Record
The clerk's office of the City of Calais maintains the city's vital records. These include Birth, Death, and Marriage records. Certified copies or abstracts are available for records from 1892 until today. Certified copies are only available to parties who are entitled to the record and can demonstrate that through identification and proof of lineage. Non-certified copies of open records (age of record varies by type) are availble to anyone. Copies of records cannot be transmitted electronically and must be either obtained in person or sent via mail. The fee for all certified records is $15 for the first copy and $6 for each additional copy of the same record purchased at the same time. To request a record, please fill out our Vital Records request form and provide it along with a copy of your ID and, if necessary, proof of lineage. These items may be faxed, emailed or mailed to the clerk's office at the address found on the form.
Please click here for the vital records request form.
CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP INFORMATION
If you are requesting records in order to seek Canadian Citizenship, please be aware that certified abstracts of Birth, Death and Marriage records only contain the basic information from the record. The format of certified abstracts is provided by the state. Many older records will have information within the original books including the birthplace of parents for example. However, those details DO NOT appear on certified abstracts. If that information is necessary, it can only be provided as a non-certified but attested photocopy. We suggest checking with Canadian officials to see whether an attested copy is sufficient or if records must be certified copies.
Records from Before 1892
The city also has some vital records from before 1892 however they are less complete. Certified copies cannot be issued for records prior to 1892 as this is prohibited by state statute. These records are considered "municipal records" and cannot be issued on the state provided certificate paper. The only thing that can be provided regarding these records is a clerk's statement of the information contained in the record provided on municipal letterhead. The fee for a record issued as such is $10.
Geneaology
If you are conducting genealogy research, please contact the clerk's office via email: cityclerk@calaismaine.org You will also find a great genealogy section at the Calais Free Library.