2. Obtaining birth records for yourself, a
loved one, or even an ancestor has never
been easier, thanks to well-organized
local and state databases and easy-to-use
online databases.
3. What’s in a Birth Record?
A birth record can provide an individual
with a plethora of information, including
the person’s full name, his or her birth
date, his or her place of birth, the name
of his or her mother and father (as well
as the mother’s maiden name), and even
the physician who attended the birth.
4. Birth records, which are usually widely
available from as far back as the early
1900s (vital records typically were not
compiled before that time), are generally
issued by the state and local government
in which the individual was born.
5. Although each state has their own database
for birth records (there is currently no
nationwide database for birth records), and
therefore their own search engines for birth
records, the process of finding birth records is
typically easy to complete.
6. Why Birth Records are Useful?
Birth records can provide an individual with a
plethora of valuable information on another
individual. They can be very useful when
researching an ancestor’s or relative’s birth for
genealogy purposes. In addition, birth records
can allow adopted individuals to find their birth
parents, as well as provide individuals with a
“primary source” record when searching for the
location of another individual.
7. How to Retrieve Birth Records.
As mentioned previously, birth records can
typically be found through a state or local
government’s vital records office. A simple
visit to this office, along with a written request
and a small fee, can produce the birth records
for nearly any individual, provided you come
armed with a certain amount of information
on that individual.
8. To find the address of your state or local vital
records office, you can contact the National
Center for Health Statistics by either calling
them at (301) 458-4636 or by visiting
www.cdc.gov/nchs.
9. Once you arrive at your state or local vital records office, you
will need the following information:
• Full name of the person on which you are
requesting the birth record
• The sex of the individual
• The parents’ names, including the mother’s
maiden name
• The city of birth
• The reason for requesting the birth record
10. The more information you have regarding the
individual in question, the easier it is to locate
the appropriate birth record. The vital records
office will then likely request a small fee for
performing your birth record search and for
providing you with a copy of the birth record.
11. The Convenience of Online Databases
All states now have online databases for birth
records as well. Thus, locating a birth record
online through an easily searchable database is
quite simple to accomplish. Although you must
visit your local vital records office to retrieve an
official paper copy of a birth record, you can use
online search engines to gain valuable
information on birth records for informational
purposes.
12. There are also many online searchable
databases that allow individuals to search for
birth records from other
countries. Indeed, the internet has made the
process of searching for birth records quite
easy.