When you first start your birth records search, it can be quite overwhelming. Ads start popping up saying, “Free Birth Records, Birth Records Database, and Vital Records.” You start clicking around and before you know, there are 50 results with your name. All you wanted was to help your kid with a school project and while you were at it build a family tree.

The commercials on TV make it look so easy. It really is. Take a deep breath and you will see for yourself that finding some birth records online is simple.

Vital Records Search (Court Records)

Vital records are all your public records. This is where you will find marriage/divorce, birth/death/adoption, criminal, and property records. You will start your search for any type of genealogy search here.

Don’t let all these overwhelm you, as you do not need them all and many overlap. For example, for every divorce record there is a corresponding marriage record. Therefore, you don’t need to look up marriage records if you have a divorce record because obviously the couple got married. The same goes for a death record. If a person died, then there has to be a birth record somewhere.

Conducting a Birth Records Search Online

When it is time to conduct a search online, it is best to pick a database that has all these records in one spot. It will make searching easier. Since documents are not easy to locate, a site that has multiple databases will give you a better shot of finding at least one record.

Once you input the name, be prepared for multiple results. This is common, as more than one person will have the same name. You will then have to narrow down the list by city, state, or possible age.

Finding Birth Records Using Other Public Records

Unless you need a birth record, birth records are not an efficient means to tracking down relatives. However, this is how many people try to create a family tree. By the time you have enough information for a birth record, you know enough to move on. The birth record only tells you the name of the parents.

However, if you use birth records to search for marriage and subsequent divorce records, you can hit the jackpot. Divorce records lists all the names and ages of children from the marriage. This builds your family tree fast. Therefore, I highly recommend searching divorce records whenever possible.

All you need to search birth records, marriage records, divorce records, or any other public records is a computer. Take a deep breath and start a birth records search today. It is fast, fun and easy.

Re-Tweet This Post