Where Can

I Get

Birth Records?

Birth records can prove to be highly

useful tools for a number of reasons.

You may have misplaced your birth

record and need another copy to apply

for a passport, for example. Or you may

be looking for your birth parents.

Finally, you may be interested in

performing genealogy searches for your

ancestors.

Whatever the reason, obtaining

birth records, either for yourself or

for a relative, is a fairly simple

process, given the conveniences of

the internet.

Your State or Local Vital Records Office

Because there is no national database

for birth records, you must go through

your state or local vital records office to

obtain an official, raised seal birth record.

However, the process is a fairly

straightforward one.

Simply head to your state or local vital

records office, armed with your checkbook

and as much information as possible on the

person’s birth record you are interested in

obtaining. It makes the process much

easier if you have some key information so

that the vital records department can easily

locate the birth record in question.

It is important to recognize, however, thatmost states prohibit the release of a birthrecord unless you are the person listed onthe birth record. The individuals that canobtain a birth record include: thespouse, power of attorney or legalrepresentative of the person in question, theparent, sibling or stepparent of the person inquestion, the grandparent/grandchild of theperson in question.

Some of the information requested by the

vital records office may include: first and

last name, name of the individual’s

parents, city in which the birth took

place, and the individual’s birth date. It is

not necessary to have all of this

information; it just facilitates the process.

The vital records office will ask you to fillout a form for the birth record request.Along with the completed form, they willlikely ask for a small fee to produce anoriginal birth record. Although birthrecords are vital records that are free tothe public, the vital records office willrequest a fee to cover theiradministrative costs.

Depending on the state in which you

live, and depending on how busy the

vital records office is, you may be able

to receive your birth record that day.

Otherwise, they will likely mail it to

you.

Birth Records Websites

There are many birth records

websites that allow you to accomplish

the same thing, as they generally just

do the legwork for you. Websites are

ideal for ordering birth

records, especially if the birth record

in question is out of state.

Websites that perform birth records searches

often ask for key information in order to

facilitate the process. Therefore, once

again, the more information you provide, the

easier it is to have a successful

match. Websites work in different ways;

some offer memberships, thereby allowing

you to search many different people for a

period of time (this is often ideal for

genealogy purposes), while others simply

charge a flat fee for performing the search

and providing you with a copy of a birth

record.

Often times, many of the websites that

perform these searches use state or local

agencies to find the person in

question. They can therefore often

provide you with a raised seal birth

certificate, sent directly to your home, in a

matter of weeks.

END