Certificates

You will be required to provide as much information as possible so that the government agency is able to locate the vital record certificate. Information required may include:

  • Full name of the person at birth
  • Date of birth
  • Country and city of birth
  • Date of marriage / divorce / death (if applicable)
  • Country and city of marriage / divorce / death (if applicable)
  • Sex
  • The hospital where birth or death occurred (if applicable)
  • Full maiden name of mother
  • Full name of the father
  • Your name
  • Your signature
  • Your relationship to the person whose certificate you are requesting
  • Reason for requesting the certificate

A vital record is a document that records life events (such as birth, marriage, divorce, and death), kept and issued by governmental authorities.

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates have no expiration date. However, if your copy is degraded or not all information is clearly visible, you should consider requesting a new one.

Current Legal Name – This is the name you currently use and is most likely on your passport, driver’s license, and/or ID. If you are married, this would be your first and married last name. In the ordering process, please use your own current legal name whether you are ordering your certificate or someone else’s.

Maiden Name – This is the last name of a person before any marriage, typically the last name a person was assigned at birth.

Vital record agencies require that information is complete and accurate to provide vital records. If information is not complete at the time of submittal, it is possible that the record may not be located. Some agencies (not all) will issue certified no-record letters when the record is not located after searching with the information provided. Refunds will not be issued for records not located.

First of all, you can always request your own vital records.

The ability to request a certificate for another person depends on the type of certificate and the vital record agency processing the request. To see if you are entitled to receive a certificate, start the order process. Once we have determined the certificate type and the vital record agency that will be processing the request, we will let you know ‘who can order’.

Yes, the certificate will be a government-issued, certified document. The register’s seal may appear raised, embossed, impressed, or as a watermark.