FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Vital records, as their name
suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and
death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of
genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are
available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their
recent creation in the United States, are critically important in
genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back
into the nineteenth century.
The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy,
by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.
Birth Records
Birth Records Available:
Effective July 1, 2003, there are two types of certified copies of birth
and death records. The first type is a regular certified copy
identical to those issued prior to July 1, 2003. These will be
issued only to authorized individuals as defined by California
Health and Safety Code Section 103526. The second type is also a
regular certified copy; however, it will have a legend across the face
with the statement "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID
DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." Both of these documents
are certified copies of the original document on file with our
office. With the exception of the "legend," they are
exactly the same and contain exactly the same information.
Restrictions: In
order to obtain a Certified Copy after July 1, 2003, you MUST complete the
sworn statement included with the death certificate application form and
sign the statement under penalty of perjury. If you mail your request,
your sworn statement must be notarized. If your mailed request indicates
that you want a Certified Copy but does not include a notarized statement
sworn under penalty of perjury, the request will be rejected as incomplete
and returned to you without being processed. (Note: A funeral director
ordering copies on behalf of an individual specified in paragraphs (1) to
(5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100 of the Health and
Safety Code is not required to complete the notarized statement.)
The new law describes an
authorized person as:
The registrant or a parent or legal
guardian of the registrant.
A party entitled to receive the record
as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption
agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the
requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
A member of a law enforcement agency or
a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law,
who is conducting official business.
A child, grandparent, grandchild,
sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant.
An attorney representing the registrant
or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency empowered by
statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or
the registrant's estate.
Cost: The fee for
a birth certificate is $14. Please do not send cash when applying by
mail.
Information Required: Please provide
as much of the following information as possible for them to locate the birth
certificate:
Send To: Send a check or money order
(made payable to Office of Vital Records) with the application form to:
California Department of
Health Services
Office of Vital Records
M.S. 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
In California? Customers
requesting vital records at the public counter should use the L Street
entrance between 15th and 16th Streets.
California Office of Vital Records
1501 Capitol Avenue, Suite 71.1110 - 1st Floor
Sacramento, California 95814
Questions: If you don't have the
ability to print the form, call the Customer Service Unit to have a copy
mailed to you (916/445-2684).
Need your certificate quickly?
Because of the large volume of requests that is processed at the state
level, most of the county offices can provide a faster processing time
than the state office (often within one week). Also, many of the county
offices will accept requests (using a credit card) by phone, fax, or
on-line.
For
Birth, Death, and Public Marriage Certificates: Contact the County
Recorder's Office in the county where the event took place.
Note:
If your record has been amended due to an adoption, court
ordered name change, or paternity action, we can't guarantee
that the county office will have your record. In these
cases, you may want to submit your request to the (state) office
for processing.
Death Records
Death Records Available:
Effective July 1, 2003, there are two types of certified copies of birth
and death records. The first type is a regular certified copy
identical to those issued prior to July 1, 2003. These will be
issued only to authorized individuals as defined by California
Health and Safety Code Section 103526. The second type is also
a regular certified copy; however, it will have a legend across the face
with the statement "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A
VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." Both of these
documents are certified copies of the original document on file with our
office. With the exception of the "legend," they are
exactly the same and contain exactly the same information.
Deaths prior to 1940
will take from 4-6 months (or longer) to process, depending on the
amount and accuracy of the information provided. These
records require manual search of the files.
We suggest that you order from the County
Recorder's Office for records older then 1940.
Restrictions: In
order to obtain a Certified Copy after July 1, 2003, you MUST complete
the sworn statement included with the death certificate application form
and sign the statement under penalty of perjury. If you mail your
request, your sworn statement must be notarized. If your mailed request
indicates that you want a Certified Copy but does not include a
notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury, the request will be
rejected as incomplete and returned to you without being processed.
(Note: A funeral director ordering copies on behalf of an individual
specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of
Section 7100 of the Health and Safety Code is not required to complete
the notarized statement.)
The new law describes an
authorized person as:
The registrant or a parent or legal
guardian of the registrant.
A party entitled to receive the record
as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption
agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the
requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
A member of a law enforcement agency
or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by
law, who is conducting official business.
A child, grandparent, grandchild,
sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant.
An attorney representing the
registrant or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency
empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the
registrant or the registrant's estate.
Cost: The fee for a death
certificate is $12. Please do not send cash when applying by mail.
Information Required: Please
provide as much of the following information as possible for them to
locate the death certificate:
Send To: Send a check or money
order (made payable to Office of Vital Records) with the application
form to:
California Department of
Health Services
Office of Vital Records
M.S. 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
In California? Customers
requesting vital records at the public counter should use the L Street
entrance between 15th and 16th Streets.
California Office of Vital Records
1501 Capitol Avenue, Suite 71.1110 - 1st Floor
Sacramento, California 95814
Questions: If you don't have the
ability to print the form, call the Customer Service Unit to have a
copy mailed to you (916/445-2684).
Need your certificate quickly?
Because of the large volume of requests that is processed at the state
level, most of the county offices can provide a faster processing time
than the state office (often within one week). Also, many of the
county offices will accept requests (using a credit card) by phone,
fax, or on-line.
For
Birth, Death, and Public Marriage Certificates: Contact
the County
Recorder's Office in the county where the event took place.
Marriage records
Marriage Records Available:
Public Marriage Where County is
Unknown (Years 1905 Through 1986, 1998, and 1999):
We suggest that you look up the
county record by accessing the database at the California
Database of marriage records. Then order the marriage
certificate through the County
Recorder's Office.
If you've exhausted all efforts
and still can't identify the county that issued the license,
you can submit your request to our office for
processing. To ensure that they don't return your
request to you for referral to the county office, it is
imperative that you include a note that indicates you are
unable to identify the specific county where the license was
issued. These requests will be
processed by the state, but the processing time can take up to
2-3 years.
Public Marriage From
1987-1997 or From 2000 to Present: The state office
does not maintain records of public marriages for these
years. You must contact the County
Recorder's Office in the county where the license was issued.
Confidential Marriage:
The state office does not maintain records of confidential
marriages. You must contact the
County Clerk's Office in the county where the license was
issued. The following links will connect you to a list of
the County Clerk's Office in each county:
In California? Customers
requesting vital records at our public counter should use the L
Street entrance between 15th and 16th Streets.
California Office of Vital Records
1501 Capitol Avenue, Suite 71.1110 - 1st Floor
Sacramento, California 95814
Questions: If you don't have
the ability to print the form, call the Customer Service Unit to
have a copy mailed to you (916/445-2684).
Need your certificate quickly?
Because of the large volume of requests that are processed at the
state level, most of the county offices can provide a faster
processing time (often within one week). Also, many of the county
offices will accept requests (using a credit card) by phone, fax, or
on-line.
For
Birth, Death, and Public Marriage Certificates: Contact
the County
Recorder's Office in the county where the event took place.
For
Confidential Marriage Certificates: Contact the County
Clerk's Office in the county where the marriage license was
issued.
Divorce Records
Records Available: The state
office issues a Certificate of Record for divorces that occurred only
between 1962 and June 1984.
A Certificate of Record includes the names of the parties to the
divorce, the county where the divorce was filed, and the court case
number. A Certificate of Record is not a
certified copy of the divorce decree.
If you need a certified
copy of the actual divorce decree, you'll need to contact the Superior
Court in the county where the divorce was filed.
If you've exhausted all
efforts and still can't identify the county where the divorce was
filed, you can submit your request for a Certificate of Record (1962
through June 1984 only) to our office for processing. Due
to budgetary constraints, our processing time can take up to 2-3
years.
Restrictions:
Cost: The
fee for a Certificate of Record is $13.
Information Required: Please
provide as much of the following information as possible for them to
locate the divorce certificate:
Full name of husband
Full maiden name of wife
Date of divorce
County where divorce was granted
Your name
Your signature
Address where the certificate is
to be mailed
Your daytime phone number
Send To: Send a check or money
order (made payable to Office of Vital Records) with the application
form to:
California
Department of Health Services
Office of Vital Records
M.S. 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
In California? Customers
requesting vital records at our public counter should use the L
Street entrance between 15th and 16th Streets.
California Office of Vital
Records
1501 Capitol Avenue, Suite 71.1110 - 1st Floor
Sacramento, California 95814
Questions: If you don't have
the ability to print the form, call the Customer Service Unit to
have a copy mailed to you (916/445-2684).
Need your certificate quickly?
Because of the large volume of requests that are processed at the
state level, most of the county offices can provide a faster
processing time (often within one week). Also, many of the county
offices will accept requests (using a credit card) by phone, fax,
or on-line.
For Divorce Certificates: Contact
the Superior
Court in the county where the divorce was filed.
California Vital Record Databases
California Vital Records at Ancestry - Free
Trial!
