The Knox County delayed birth registration index is abstracted from the Knox County Circuit Court and Chancery Court Minute Books. The Knox County courts were part of a statewide process to issue delayed birth certificates to those born prior to formal birth registration in 1914, to those born after the commencement of state birth registration but never had a certificate issued, or to early certificate holders with errors that required correction. The local courts reviewed the evidence, approved the application, and then issued a court order for the Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Statistics to issue an official state certificate.
Information submitted to the local courts for birth registration has been deemed open access by the State of Tennessee. The earliest birth registration year found in these entries is 1861, the latest 1945.