There are several sources for vital records, depending on the time period. The main sources are enumerated below. The records are available on microfilm at many locations, The New England Historic Genealogical Society Library in Boston for one, and on loan at any LDS Family History Centre. Several Nova Scotia county historical societies and museums have copies of the records for their area. Registration was not compulsory.
Marriage records are substantially complete for most counties.
The marriage register volumes are transcripts, the original license file folders exist and are also available on microfilm. The file often contains more details from the certificates, affidavits, or bond applications than the two line entry in the register. The index must always be consulted first and again, they are available on microfilm, organized by county, surname and year except for a few of the smaller counties where the index is by year and surname which makes the search a little more time consuming. Births and Deaths are woefully incomplete and available only from 1864 to 1877. There is an alphabetical index available on microfilm which gives the County, Year, Page No., and Entry No. in the register volumes.