How to Find Free Public Birth Records
Know that access to birth records of living people are typically limited to immediate family members., Discover the person’s year of birth and the local jurisdiction where they were born., Gather additional information as needed., Use an online...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know that access to birth records of living people are typically limited to immediate family members.
If you are looking for the records of someone born in the last 75 years, you will usually need to be related to them, and the records will typically not be available for free.
You can acquire them through your state or local registry. -
Step 2: Discover the person’s year of birth and the local jurisdiction where they were born.
Birth records are often held at the county level, so you will need to know at least the state and preferably the local jurisdiction to recover them.
If you do not already know when and where your relative was born, then you can try using census records or ancestry websites to discover this information.
Check the online index of census records for the years 1790-1940.
These can show you if the person’s name appears in the census.
If so, you can look up their information at the National Archives or one of the 14 regional archives.
Census records are confidential for 72 years, so the 1940 census is the latest one that can be searched.Ancestry.com has digitized many of the federal census records so that they may be searched online.
You can perform this search for free from any National Archives facility.
You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial, but be sure to cancel before the trial period is up, or you will be charged the monthly membership rate of $19.99.Use newspapers, many of which are now searchable online.
If you know where the person you are searching for lived and approximately when they died, obituaries can be a useful place to find birth information. , The more information you have, the better your chances of finding a birth certificate for the person you are searching for.
If you apply for records from a state, in particular, you will usually need:
Full name of the father, if listed on the birth certificate Full maiden name of the mother, if listed on the birth certificate City of birth Full name , There are many online services that allow you to search digitized birth records.
Some like familysearch.org let you look through databases for free.
In most cases, you cannot see the actual certificates, but you can view the information from them.
There are also fee-based services like archives.com and ancestry.com, which offer free trials during which you can access the information you desire.
Be aware that records are confidential for all but immediate family records for 75 or more years after the birth date.
In addition, most states did not begin recording birth records until after 1880 (usually around 1905), so the amount of records which are in the public domain is limited.
Local counties or cities may sometimes have older records that have been digitized.
If using a paid site, be sure to cancel your membership before your trial is up to avoid being charged. , You can look up the appropriate vital records department on the National Center for Health Statistics website, which has free information on how to obtain birth records in each of the U.S. states. , For most states, you can apply online for birth records, by mail, or in person at a central state facility or in the county where the person was born.
However, no states or territories provide free records.
The cost ranges from $3 to $30. -
Step 3: Gather additional information as needed.
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Step 4: Use an online service to get records for free.
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Step 5: Contact your state and pay for the record you are seeking if a free online search fails.
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Step 6: Apply online
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Step 7: by mail
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Step 8: or in person to obtain birth records.
Detailed Guide
If you are looking for the records of someone born in the last 75 years, you will usually need to be related to them, and the records will typically not be available for free.
You can acquire them through your state or local registry.
Birth records are often held at the county level, so you will need to know at least the state and preferably the local jurisdiction to recover them.
If you do not already know when and where your relative was born, then you can try using census records or ancestry websites to discover this information.
Check the online index of census records for the years 1790-1940.
These can show you if the person’s name appears in the census.
If so, you can look up their information at the National Archives or one of the 14 regional archives.
Census records are confidential for 72 years, so the 1940 census is the latest one that can be searched.Ancestry.com has digitized many of the federal census records so that they may be searched online.
You can perform this search for free from any National Archives facility.
You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial, but be sure to cancel before the trial period is up, or you will be charged the monthly membership rate of $19.99.Use newspapers, many of which are now searchable online.
If you know where the person you are searching for lived and approximately when they died, obituaries can be a useful place to find birth information. , The more information you have, the better your chances of finding a birth certificate for the person you are searching for.
If you apply for records from a state, in particular, you will usually need:
Full name of the father, if listed on the birth certificate Full maiden name of the mother, if listed on the birth certificate City of birth Full name , There are many online services that allow you to search digitized birth records.
Some like familysearch.org let you look through databases for free.
In most cases, you cannot see the actual certificates, but you can view the information from them.
There are also fee-based services like archives.com and ancestry.com, which offer free trials during which you can access the information you desire.
Be aware that records are confidential for all but immediate family records for 75 or more years after the birth date.
In addition, most states did not begin recording birth records until after 1880 (usually around 1905), so the amount of records which are in the public domain is limited.
Local counties or cities may sometimes have older records that have been digitized.
If using a paid site, be sure to cancel your membership before your trial is up to avoid being charged. , You can look up the appropriate vital records department on the National Center for Health Statistics website, which has free information on how to obtain birth records in each of the U.S. states. , For most states, you can apply online for birth records, by mail, or in person at a central state facility or in the county where the person was born.
However, no states or territories provide free records.
The cost ranges from $3 to $30.
About the Author
Raymond Phillips
A passionate writer with expertise in organization topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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