Birth records can prove to be highly useful tools for a number of reasons.   You may have misplaced your birth record and need another copy to apply for a passport, for example.  Perhaps you are seeking information about your family or birth parents.   Finally, you may be interested in performing genealogy searches for your ancestors.

Whatever the reason, obtaining birth records, either for yourself or for a relative, is a fairly simple process, given the conveniences of the internet.

Recognize, however, that there are no federal records or databases of this type of information, so you will need to access either the State or County Vital Records files. However, the process is a fairly straightforward one, and is very helpful if you are trying to find a person.

First, you must identify whether you will be searching at the State level or at the County level and you can access this data with some simple control information that these systems require.  You will need some basic information about the person if it is not your birth records that you are seeking.

You should be aware that most States are set up to allow the release of birth records only to the person in question or to legally authorized third parties. The legally authorized impersonal requestors that can gain access to a birth certificate are the person, spouse, attorney or others armed with a written power of attorney, as well as the parents, children, or grandchildren of the person in question.

Some of the information requested by the vital records office may include: first and last name, name of the individual’s parents, city in which the birth took place, and the individual’s birth date.   It is not necessary to have all of this information; it just facilitates the process.

The vital records office will ask you to fill out a form for the birth record request.   Along with the completed form, they will likely ask for a small fee to produce an original birth record.   Although birth records are vital records that are free to the public, the vital records office will request a fee to cover their administrative costs.

The delivery time will again depend on whether or not the vital records in the State or County are automated to provide this data in a timely fashion – but often it can be obtained the same day. Otherwise, they will likely mail it to you.

There are many birth records people finder websites that allow you to accomplish the same thing, as they generally just do the legwork for you.  These online services are great for ordering birth certificates especially if the office in question is in another state. Websites are ideal for ordering birth records, especially if the birth record in question is out of state.

Websites that perform birth records searches often ask for key information in order to facilitate the process.  So the more correct qualifying data you can provide the better and easier the process will be.   Websites work in different ways; some offer memberships, thereby allowing you to search many different people for a period of time (this is often ideal for genealogy purposes), while others simply charge a flat fee for performing the search and providing you with a copy of a birth record.  You may need to perform an address search as well.

Many of the people finder websites that perform these searches use state or local agencies to find the person in question.  They can therefore often provide you with a raised seal birth certificate, sent directly to your home, in a matter of weeks.