Vital records, including birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce records, and death certificates, serve essential functions such as legal documentation of life events and maintaining public health information. Birth certificates provide identification and are necessary for various applications like obtaining passports and driver's licenses, while marriage and divorce certificates record marital status and associated legal agreements. Death certificates are crucial for verifying death, family history, and handling estate matters.

3. Vital records are important in a
number of ways. Below is a list of
each vital record, what is
included, and why they are useful.

4. Birth Certificates
A birth certificate gives a recorded document of
the day, time, and location of an individual’s
birth. If the birth occurred at a hospital or
medical facility, the birth certificate is usually
issued by that facility and certified by the
attending physician. Otherwise, a standard birth
certificate form can be easily obtained by the
state registrar and certified by a
doctor, midwife, doula, or other state-approved
certifier.

5. The typical U.S. birth certificate form has been
standardized by the U.S. Public Health Service, but
states are free to issue their own form. On the
form, you will find the following:
• Child’s Information – Including name, date and time of
birth, sex, city and county of birth, and the specific
place of birth (hospital, residence, etc.)
• Certifier/Attendant – Must be an approved certifier by
the state
• Mother’s Information
• Father’s Information4
• Other Demographic Information – Such as
race, pregnancy history, marriage status of mother, etc.

6. This document is important for a number of reasons.
First, the document is kept in the registrar’s office in each
state for important census information. Also, your certified
copy of your birth certificate is used for:
• A verifiable source of identification
• Obtaining a driver’s license
• Obtaining a passport
• Obtaining a social security number
• Documentation of a family history or
genealogy search

7. Marriage Certificate
A marriage license, or marriage certificate, is
also issued and kept at the state level. The
certificate is a legal documentation of the
marriage between two people recognized by
the state as being eligible for marriage.

8. A marriage certificate is signed by both parties
of the marriage and an efficient, and it is also
filed with a state government agency, which is
usually a registrar or county clerk. The
information includes the date and county that
the marriage took place.

9. Marriage certificates can be useful for:
• Verifying a marital union
• Verifying a family history
• Obtaining spousal insurance

10. Divorce Records
Divorce records are legal documents usually
written by attorneys and filed in county
courts. These documents are vital for
legalizing the dissolution of a marriage and
stating specific duties by each spouse for
dividing marital assets and paying child or
spousal support.

11. There is no standard form for a divorce
document, since each divorce is unique to
each married couple. Included will be the
names of the parties, when and where the
marriage took place, and the date the divorce
was finalized in the court and signed by a
judge. Divorce documents may also contain
sensitive information such as tax
records, income records, criminal records, and
lists of assets.

12. Divorce records can be used for:
• Determining the divorce status of an
individual
• Revealing criminal history of an individual
• Verifying family history for a genealogy
search
• Verifying the last known address of an
individual

13. Death Certificate
Death certificates, like birth certificates, are
also important for keeping public health and
morbidity information on file. When a death
occurs, a certificate of death is issued by a
coroner, or other government official. The
certificate explains the approximate
date, time, location, and cause of death.

14. Death certificates are important to be
used for:
• Verifying the death of an individual
• Verifying family history or genealogy search
• Use in estate probate
• Verification of life insurance claim

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