If you are searching for a birth certificate with the Colorado Vital Statistics department, you should know that the process is simple, but involves a few steps.  Birth certificates are available in both English and Spanish.

Certified Copies of Vital Records
If you need a certified copy of a birth certificate you will need to send in your application with a bit of information.  You need the name on the certificate as well as the appropriate date.  The names of both parents should be included on the application as well.  Colorado keeps records of births going back as far as 1910.  You can also get a copy from the county clerk’s office.

You can apply in person or send in the application by mail, apply online or fax it in.  For those that fax in the application an additional service charge is assessed for the convenience.

Heirloom copies are also available.  While these have no legal purpose or validity, they are wonderful if you wish to commemorate the birth of a special individual.

Verifying a Birth Date
If you are searching for a birth certificate with the intent of verifying a birth date, then you really don’t need to have the State send you a certified copy of a birth certificate.

There are many good search services online that will provide you with access to their databases.  These databases contain scans of the documents the state has, but they can’t provide certified versions.

If you are creating a genealogy, then you need dates, names, and places much more than you need a seal from Colorado Vital Statistics.  Learn how private   investigators research Colorado vital statistics in a nationwide search.  This insider’s information should provide you with the knowledge to answer any question you may have.

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If you have young children and need to go back to work, the only way to ensure that the nanny you use has never been in trouble is to pull a background report.  Police are reluctant to discuss criminal cases with the public.  Unless there has been a very public trial, most such criminals remain hidden from plain sight.

Nanny Surveillance
You can chose to hire someone to watch your kids without running a background check and place hidden cameras all around, but by the time you watch a video it could be too late.  Children are not capable of defending themselves against adults, which is why we, as parents, must protect them ourselves.

The best way to accomplish this is to get your potential nanny to fill out an application that includes their name and social security number.  The easiest way to search for someone is by using the Social Security Number, but it isn’t mandatory.  A name can be searched for as well as a number, and while it might take a bit longer, it is just as easy.

Running the Background Search
Pick a good search company; one that doesn’t falsely advertise free reports and then still wants to charge your card.  Apply for an annual membership; if you are looking for a nanny you will want to run several names, not just one.  Enter the name and, if you have it, the social security number of the individual in question.  In a matter of seconds you will have your reply.

It feels good to know that you are protecting your children to the best of your ability.   When hiring people to work with your family, it is always best to err on the side of caution.  Get a complete background search done in mere minutes, and relieve at least one worry from your mind.

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Like other legal documents issued by the court, a divorce public record can be found online.  Divorce documents are odd hybrids of the public and private, so to access them, you generally need to provide a legitimate reason for your search.  At least that is the case if you go through a state agency to get your copy.

While the law doesn’t change when you search a public database, you are responsible for deciding if your search is legitimate or not.  There are plenty of legitimate reasons to search.

The most common reason for casual searches is that you need to protect a personal or property right.  After all, when you marry someone who is previously divorced, you become responsible for their debts as well, and that can be very harmful.

The Process of Researching Public Court Records

To utilize a search service, you need much less information than the state would require.  One name will usually suffice.  You can use the current phone number to trace back to when the divorce took place by doing a general search on the individual.  Once you narrow down your candidates, you should be able to figure out which one matches your interest.

Perhaps, the best thing about these search services is that when you take an annual membership, you can look for more than just a divorce record.  This is the perfect time to start a family tree.  You can access all sorts of birth records, marriage records, and death certificates just as easily as you pulled up that divorce record.

Search Public Records with a Private Database Search Company

Unless you are searching for your own decree of divorce, public record access isn’t as helpful as you might thing.  When you are researching someone else’s background, it is helpful to know all the ins and outs of doing your own PI work.  Before you search for any divorce public record, learn the safest and quickest methods first.

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It may be the most popular hobby today.  Genealogy has taken off like wildfire, and people searching for their past need birth records.  Birth records establish a timeline, make additional family connections, and provide a wonderful glimpse into the past.

1.    Find Maiden Names
Did you ever come to a moment when you realized that you had no idea what was your grandmother’s maiden name?  It is strange that this kind of detail can quickly disappear into the past.  Add another generation or two, and half the time, you might not even know your relatives first names.

Birth records typically list both the mother and father’s names making it easier to track down family connections.  When tracking back in a family line having that maiden name means that you can follow your mother’s family as well as your father’s.  With a maiden name you can hopefully acquire your mother’s birth record and from there her parents.

2.    Establish a Genealogical Timeline
When parents tell of their childhood, things often get a bit mixed up.  Using birth records as well as other documents from vital statistics, you can reestablish a more accurate chain of events.  While family memories are always the best place to start, it is always best to confirm stories with other written accounts, such as those found in newspapers and journals.

Establishing a timeline means that you can narrow your search parameters when you dig through media available in libraries around the country.  Vital statistics bureaus are a wonderful place to make multiple connections through birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and other legal papers.

3.    Conduct a Simple Search for Vital Statistics Online
You can apply to each relevant state if you so choose.  You can find the exact requirements on their websites.  Usually you will need ID, a letter explaining your reason for searching, and accurate locations and dates for each event you need.  If you lack any of this information, things get much more difficult.

Online search engines don’t need so much information.  Search for birth records with just a few details when you go online, then you can narrow down your choices with additional intangible information that means nothing to the state clerk.  Try an online search service for birth records, and then you can approach the state with more data for the specific record or certificate that you desire.

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When you end a marriage, no matter how amicable the divorce, there is a strong desire to put things behind you.  Even so, you need a copy of your state divorce records to be in your files, just in case.

Things that start out well between divorced spouses can turn ugly over time.  Agreements are forgotten as the years pass and that fuels potential arguments.  If you have a copy of your decree, you can always pull it out and refer to it.

But I Lost My Divorce Papers!
Worry not.  You can get a copy of your divorce decree from the State or County Clerk’s office.  Depending upon the state in which you divorced, a copy of your agreement was filed with the Court.  The court was responsible for forwarding the agreement to the proper office.  Check online and find out who is holding your decree and how to apply.

The Application for Divorce Records
Most applications will request the following:

• The names of both individuals on the decree
• The location where the judgment was passed
• Your relationship to the divorced
• A copy of your government issued ID
• A check or money order to pay for the copy

Fill out the application, explain your request, and send it off to the proper location.  In a matter of weeks, you will once again have a copy of your decree.

But I Need to See My Divorce Records NOW
If you find yourself needing a copy of your divorce decree immediately, then your best bet is to go download the state divorce records from an online search service.  State divorce records are stored in large databases that you can access.  While it isn’t a certified copy, it may be enough for your purpose if time is of the essence.

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It can be very difficult to prove that a divorce took place years ago.  Divorce records weren’t kept as accurately as they are now, and women had very few rights in a divorce.  States didn’t start keeping records of divorces until the early 1900s.  Even then, they were spotty at first.

Today the records are clearly kept and filed.  Even if the county fails to forward a divorce agreement for some strange reason, the county itself will have the record.  It makes it hard for us to imagine such things being neglected in the past.  If you need to find an old divorce record for your family tree, there are a couple of realistic options.

State Vital Statistics
If the divorce took place in the last 100 years, you should check with the State first of all.  They will likely have kept a record of the divorce in their court files.  Each state has slightly different expectations when you apply for a copy of the divorce decree, but the basics involve the following.

• The names of the divorced
• The location of the divorce
• The approximate date, a year is a good starting point
• Your relationship to the divorced

Fees vary so take the time to check the vital statistics website for the state you desire and download the proper form.

Using Online Search Services for Divorce Records
Quickly find divorce records from an online database of vital records.  They maintain huge databases that contain billions of documents.  Most are renewed daily as new documents become available.

If you are unsure of where a divorce took place or don’t know the name of one of the parties, this is the best place to look.  You can begin a search with what you know and then progress farther as you remove unlikely candidates based upon knowledge the state doesn’t consider such as subsequent marriages.  In no time at all, you will be holding a copy of your ancestor’s divorce decree.

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When you are engaged in a genealogical search, you come across information you never knew existed.  Although divorce wasn’t as common with previous generations as it is now, it definitely existed.  You can still find old divorce records if you search.  To complete a family tree properly, you want a complete history, the good and the bad, enabling you to reflect on the reality of your past.

Erratic Divorce Records from the Past
Before the beginning of the 1900s, few states kept accurate records of any vital statistics.  Births, deaths, marriages, and divorces were recorded by clergymen, local courts, judges, or in the family bible.  Once states began requiring the submission of certain forms at each of these lifetime events, records improved dramatically.

Unfortunately, with partial and incomplete vital records, it is even more important to have as much information as possible about the couple.  If you only know your great-grandfather’s name, your odds of finding a divorce record are much smaller than if you also know the name of the bride.  If you can provide the location where they got divorced or the year, you again increase the likelihood of a successful search.

This isn’t to say that you can’t find earlier records; it just means that the search may be more convoluted.  In a state where records were erratic, you still may be fortunate enough to find the one you need.  If you can’t, but you still know where and when a divorce took place, either from family history or the family bible, you can search local newspaper records to gain validation.

Using an Online Database to Search for Vital Records
There are few things as valuable to a genealogist as a good database.  Online you can search not only for old divorce records, but also for birth certificates, marriage licenses, and certificates of death.  A treasure trove of family documents are waiting for you.

With the difficulties associated with finding older documents from an age where they just weren’t kept, it can really pay off to use a search service.  Quickly find divorce records with a search service.  You need only one name and an approximate date.  The database will sort through all the likely options and present them to you.  You need only narrow your choices down to find the right documentation.

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Most states have birth certificate records that date back between 75 and 100 years, with some accuracy.  Although there are gaps in the record here and there, consistent records do exist.  Fires, floods, and other kinds of disasters have caused some data to disappear into the annals of time, but generally, you can search for your ancestor’s birth certificate with confidence.

Making a Birth Records Request
To acquire a birth certificate from the State, you will need to know the name of the individual, the date of birth, and the location as a minimum.  Any additional details, like the parent’s names or address can help as well.

The State will ask you to send along a letter or at least a paragraph explaining your relationship to the record you request and charge you a fee.  The fee varies from state to state.

Realize that genealogical searches aren’t exactly high priority.  People who need their own records will have a higher place in the pecking order.  It may take some time to dig up the record you want, especially if you don’t have complete birth information.  Still, this is a good way to get a certified copy of a birth certificate if you want one.

Another Route to Finding Birth Records
The truth is that you don’t need a certified copy of a birth certificate if you are merely establishing genealogy.  You just need proof of the birth.  With the same information (or even less) that you would give the State, an online search service can provide you with a scan of the certificate.

Quicker and easier than dealing with bureaucracy, search services help people find their roots.  Rapidly find birth certificate records without all the hassle today.

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Have you lost your birth certificate?  Replacement is easy if you use the internet and a bit of common sense.  Since a birth certificate is the most common vital statistics document that is requested, you are in good company.  States fill this request constantly, so the process is routine, and usually fairly quick.

Don’t Wait Until You Need Legal Documentation
As quickly as the States can turn around a request for a replacement birth certificate, it pays to anticipate your need.  For example, if you need a passport in a few months but lack your birth certificate, apply early so your passport doesn’t get held up later.  Even the fastest workers will need a couple of weeks to send you a certified copy, so get on it!

Complete all your Vital Statistics Paperwork to Avoid Delays
Don’t skip any of the application’s questions.  There is a reason they want to know the purpose of your request, it protects your privacy.  Don’t send cash, only a check or money order will be accepted for the fees, and it is never a good idea to send cash in the mail anyway.

By giving yourself time, you will be able to ask your parents for information you may be missing or have forgotten.  I, for example, saw on my certificate that I was born in Richmond and assumed it was in Virginia.  It turns out that there is a Richmond in New York.  Who knew?  Fortunately I found out before I sent in my request.

Other Options for Birth Records Exist
If you no longer have the ability to ask your parents for missing bits of information or you are looking for the birth certificate of an ancestor, you can always use an online search service.

These great services will help you locate birth certificate replacements even if you don’t know everything the state asks.  If you still want a certified copy, you can then apply to the state with the completed information when you are ready.  If you don’t have enough information yet, start your birth certificate replacement search here.

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For those who have been adopted, few things are as emotionally charged as starting a birth certificate search.  It was a common practice well into the 1970s to alter birth certificates of children placed in adoptive homes, to prevent them from successfully finding out their biological parents.  This practice has lead to more heartache than any other does in the adoption industry.

Adoption Birth Certificates and State Law
Each state has determined its own position on providing adoptees with their original, unaltered birth certificates.  Some feel that it is the right of the adoptee to know where they came from and whom they are.

Other states, for example New York, feel that they promised the mothers of the children confidentiality and that they must fulfill that promise.  As usual, people have been caught in the middle of an untenable situation.

If you are an adoptee and searching in a state that allows opening adoption records, you are very fortunate.  For others, the internet, adoption registries, and private investigators are all valuable resource.  Sometimes you can find a person who will search for you, free of charge because they feel strongly about the issue, but even that can be an iffy proposition.

Legal Options for Sealed Adoption Records
There are times when you can pressure a state to release your original birth certificate.  The original is kept, even as the amended version takes over as your “true” legal document.  To do so you will need to petition the court and provide a compelling argument for opening the files.  It is a hard process and often unsuccessful.

Process of Elimination for Your Birth Parent Search
Search for your original birth certificate with an online records retrieval database.  A birth certificate search is less straightforward this way, but non-identifying information provided by the adoptive agency may be enough to narrow your list of suspects.  I wish you the very best of luck.

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