How to Find Vital Records

You can find official birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates in state, city or county records offices. Follow these directions when writing for a copy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Find out the address of your state or local vital-records office by referring to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Web site at www.cdc.gov/nchs, or call the NCHS at [phone]. The NCHS will also tell you the fee for the record you're requesting in your state.

2. Include the following when requesting a birth or death record: full name of the person whose record you are requesting; sex; parents' names, including mother's maiden name; place of birth or death and name of hospital (city, county and state); reason for requesting the certificate; and your relationship to the person whose record you are requesting, even if it is your own.

3. Provide the following information when asking for a marriage record: full name of bride and groom; month, day and year of marriage; place of marriage (city, county and state); reason for requesting the certificate; and your relationship to the people whose record you are requesting.

4. Give the following when requesting a divorce record: full names of bride and groom; date of divorce or annulment; place of divorce or annulment (city, county and state); type of final decree; your reason for requesting the certificate; and your relationship to the people whose divorce record you are requesting.

5. Write a check or money order payable to the office that holds your certificate, making sure it is the correct amount for the number of copies you are requesting.

Tips & Warnings

• The federal government does not hold files on official certificates of birth, death, marriage or divorce.

[mustbefree]

on 11/12/2008 What if you ran out on an abusive person, and are sure by now that they got a divorce, (it's been almost 9 years now), but you don't know where they have gotten it... how do you go about getting proof of the divorce? Can you contact any records place? Or is there other steps that need to be taken?

[Ingridrod]

on 4/20/2008 Colombia. Their birth certificate is from Colombia and they cannot be registered in the Demographic Register in Puerto Rico. How can I obtain copies of their certificates?

on 11/22/2005 The Vital Records Web site has links to state and county recorder's offices: http://www.vitalrec.com/ I was able to find my birth county recorder's office from this site and order a birth certificate, which I received two days later.

on 11/22/2005 MANY hospitals are online. If you know yours, you may be able to obtain birth certificates on the Web. My daughter sent her credit card authorization to her hospital. Per her request they quickly mailed her several of her certified birth certificates.