Obtaining Vital Records

In a previous article, I explained the basic nature of vital records and how important these foundation documents are for any genealogical research. Births, marriages and deaths are the most likely recorded events in any person's life, and so these types of records are the most common.

That's all well and good, but sometimes it can be a challenge to actually get your hands on these "common documents". Especially if your ancestor lived in an area that is not very quick to transcribe their archives and make them accessible online.

Depending on the type of record, and which state the event took place in, you may find that the vital record you seek is in a county-level office or a state-level office. Either way, you will likely have to make a direct request to get a copy of any vital record you seek.

That means either a letter or fax. Some offices will take requests via email or even the phone. There is almost always a fee for each and every copy you request, so make sure you have enough information to pinpoint your exact ancestor. Full name and date of the event is necessary. Any other facts will be helpful, especially if the name is a common one.

Fees are usually in the $8 - $12 range (more or less) with a reduced fee for additional copies ordered at the same time. So you can save a bit of money if you wait until you have an order of several records at once. Most offices will provide basic photo copies, but some will then also have certified copies (for an additional fee, of course)

So where do you make your requests? As I mentioned, these offices will vary from region to region and there are more of them in the USA than I can list here. So I am going to direct you to a few other sites that have full directories of vital records offices, organized by state. You should be able to find addresses and phone numbers as well as fees and ordered information for all the vital record offices in the USA.

Where to write for vital records – from the National Center for Health Statistics

Vitalrec - United States vital records information

United States Vital Records – from Genealogy at About.com

Or you can try one of the online services that offer a central ordering location for vital records, such as VitalChek.

And if you are looking for ancestors NOT from the USA, then try these sites for local office listings: Canada or United Kingdom