How to Find a Birth Certificate
Finding Your Birth Records
Those wondering how to find a birth certificate should be reassured, there’s not a whole lot of trouble involved.
Whether you need a birth certificate to get a driver’s license, marriage license or social security card, or obtain a certificate of birth to continue your search for a birth parent, it’s a matter of finding the right records office, filling out the right paperwork and bringing the right i.d.
1. Bring a Photo Identification
A photo id is important when requesting birth information, because a birth certificate isn’t public information that anyone has a right to. Officials want you to prove who you are.
In fact, if you aren’t from the county or state where you’re obtaining the birth certificate, you might need a notarized copy of photo identification. If you’re driving any distance to procure a birth certificate, call ahead to find out what their policies are. You don’t want to waste a trip.
2. Pay the Fee
Most county clerk’s charge somewhere between ten and twenty dollars for birth documents, so be ready to pay a fee. Bring a $20 bill.
Those searching for their birth information online need to be ready to pay over the Internet, either with a credit card or a debit card. Assuming it’s a larger county, the transaction should be secure. If you don’t trust their online security, get a Wal-Mart debit card and pay that way.
If the county is on the other side of the country and they don’t have a decent online distribution system, be prepared to send a check or money order.
3. Find the Vital Statistics Office
Locate the vital statistics office for the county in which you were born. Your first search location should be the County Health Department. Try the courthouse or court of clerks office, if this doesn’t work.
Once you learn which building the vital statistics division is found, find their location on Mapquest or GPS. Get directions to their site and take your id and money with you.
4. Call Out of State
For out-of-state birth certificate retrieval, learn about the county you were born in and call ahead. Find out where that county’s vital statistics office is, as well as their phone number, address and document fees are.
You’ll probably need to fax a photo id to their office. Take notes of their instructions and follow them to the letter. If you don’t have a fax machine, find a local business where you can fax. This costs a small fee, so be ready to pay a couple of dollars.
Finding a Birth Certificate
As you see, figuring out how to find a birth certificate requires making a phone call or two and paying between $10 and $25 in fees and fax costs. Otherwise, all you need is your county of birth and a photo identification. Obtaining birth information is a hassle, but not much of one.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 10:45 pm and is filed under Birth Records, Vital Records. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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