Vital stats involve so many records; it is hard to begin to explain them all. However, you do not need to know everything in order to start your search. In fact, most people know very little when they search online. This is why searching online is so popular. You can search with less information and still get quality results.

Let’s start at the beginning.

What are vital stats?

When you search online, vital stats will include all court records. This increases your chances of finding the information you are looking for. However, it does result in a large amount of information and you will have to determine which ones you wish to examine.

The same cannot be said for searching in person. When you go in person, you have to know what documents you are looking for and where they will be found.

For example: The birth certificate will be in one county while the death certificate is in another. The marriage license will most likely be in yet another county and could be in another state altogether. This makes searching for vital records in person time consuming and difficult. However, if you know all the information and you live close, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

3 Ways to Obtain Vital Records

1. Contacting Vital Statistics Office
   a.    If you know the county in which the record is located you can contact the local vital statistics office.
   b.    Hours of operation vary but since they are government agencies, you can guess they will be open like all the other government offices in your area.
   c.    Generally, you can find the address through the State’s website. Go to the state and look up the county to find the correct address.
2. Walk-in the Office
   a.    This is faster than contacting the office by phone or letter.
   b.    Once you know the location and hours of operation, you can walk-in the office and get service.
   c.    Same day service is often available for birth certificates. Other records will take a while.
3. Online Search
   a.    This is the fastest way to obtain information.
   b.    Online databases will charge a fee for searching. However, you can search for multiple records in multiple cities, counties, and states at the same time.
   c.    The documents you find will represent official documents but they are not certified copies. The results show what you would find if you went to that court.

You can travel from county to county searching through public records or you can search online for vital stats and get results now. The only reason to waste time going to courthouses is if you need the official document. Otherwise, save yourself the trouble and search online.

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A vital records search is an important tool in any beginner detective’s belt. Whether you are conducting genealogical research, spying on a boyfriend or girlfriend, trying to locate someone or just practicing your detective skills, the vital records database is an important step in becoming your own private eye.

Familiarize Yourself with Vital Records
Beginners underestimate the power of a good vital records search. They just don’t realize the wealth of information that can be found simply by searching through court records.

Here is just a sample of the records you might find when searching through public records:

• Criminal Background

o    Felonies
o    Misdemeanors
o    Sex Offenses
o    DUI/DWI

• Phone Number and Address History
• Civil Judgments
• Any Bankruptcy Claims
• Arrest Records including Warrants
• Relatives and their addresses
• Roommates,  Associates, and Neighbors
• Date of Birth
• Alias/Maiden Name
• Tax Liens
• Voter Records
• Marriages/Divorces
• Death Index Check

Key to Keeping Searches Secret
Private eyes, police officers, and federal agents rely on searches being kept quiet. You too need this same security when conducting your search. This is what makes online searches so useful. You do not have to go to the courthouse, where people can see you, to ask for information. You can search in the privacy of your own home.

However, you need to make sure your choice of search databases will keep up their end as well. Always check the privacy policy before conducting a search. You do not want a database that will sell your information. Since you put in a credit card to pay, you need some assurance that they will keep your information secret. That is why we recommend a site that keeps your searches in the highest of confidence.

Ethical Requirements of Vital Records Searches
As a beginner detective, you are expected to keep information confidential. Not everything you find should be shared with the general public. You need to remember, just as you want your information to remain private, so will others.

When people ask you to research people, keep their information and the results secret. This is especially true when you locate disparaging information like criminal backgrounds, divorces and other offenses. This information can hurt people and it does involve real people. Therefore, if you want repeat business, you will keep information private.

You can begin your private detective work now by conducting a vital records search. Familiarize yourself with the information and you will be on your way to a successful private eye.

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In this day in age, many people are looking for birth information. How you go about getting that information will vary greatly depending on why you are looking and what you are willing to do to go about getting that information. Here we will discuss some basic strategies for getting the information you need.

Getting Birth Information on Yourself

Generally, there are two reasons you need birth information on yourself. Either you need a birth certificate for some legal purposes or you were adopted. We will start with the birth certificate.

Finding a Birth Certificate:
You will need a birth certificate if you are getting married, need a passport, getting a drivers license, or a few other legal reason. If you have lost the original, then you will need to apply for a copy.

This can only be done at the county courthouse in the county you were born. You will need to pay a fee and in most cases, you can expect to wait a few weeks. However, some counties are automated and can print it up immediately. Still, you will need to go in person.

Finding Birth Parents:
This is actually a whole other article. However, you can search online for your birth parents. Still, here are some tips to get you started in your search.

• You need to start by asking your friends and family everything they know about the adoption.
• Then you need to petition the adoption agency for non-indentifying information. This can give you information on the age of your birth parents, their ethnicity, the geological location at time of adoption and possible reasons of why they gave you up.
• Keep a journal of all the information you find along the way. You never know which piece of information or what date will lead you to your parents.
• Register with a national adoption registry. The largest one out there is International Soundex Reunion Registry ISRR. Your parents may be looking for you.

Getting Birth Information on Someone Else

Many times, you need a birth date to locate a person. Sometimes you are just being nosy and want to know how old someone is. It doesn’t matter why you are looking. Here are some tips to getting the birth date of someone you do not know.

• Voter Registration – Voter registration records have the birth date listed. Often times, these are easier to track down than birth certificates. You can walk into a voter registration office but you can’t write it down or you can search online.
• Marriage/ Divorce Records – Not only would it be on their marriage records, but it would be on the divorce records of the parents as well. This is a nifty trick when doing genealogy.

Of course, you can always search birth records for birth information. This only requires you have the name of the person you are looking for to do the search. Start your birth information search now and have the information in just a few minutes.

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Approximately 6 million people in the United States are adopted. When you extrapolate that out to biological parents, adoptive parents, and siblings, you have one in eight people effected by adoption. No wonder so many people are trying to find birth parents. Unfortunately, people are making many mistakes in the search. Avoid making these mistakes and finding answers will be a lot easier.

Mistake #1: They Don’t Write it Down
This is a common mistake that rookie private eyes make. When you are searching for your birth parents, you need to think like a private eye. Start by writing everything you know about yourself and your birth place down including the hospital, the agency, and anything else you can think of down. Keep it in an adoption journal for quick reference.

Mistake #2: They Don’t Ask the Family
Whether they are scared or embarrassed, it is a big mistake. Many times adoptive children do not ask the one person who has the most information. The adoptive parents hold all the records. Ask them! They may actually know the name of the biological parents. Don’t forget to write all this information down as well.

In addition, ask other family and friends as well. You never know who may have kept in contact or have that one memory or name that may help. It could be a date or a city. Write it all down because it could be useful later on in your search.

Mistake #3: They Don’t Ask the Agency for Information
As the adoptee, you can petition the adoptive agency for non-identifying information. While it won’t give you a name, it does give you all kinds of fun facts about your biological family. This information can help you narrow down your search later and may tell you if you have biological siblings. It can include:

• Age of biological parents at time of birth
• Age and sex of biological sibling at time of birth
• The ethnicity of your biological parents
• Possible reasons why they gave you up for adoption
• Medical History
• Religion
• Geographic Location at time of birth

Mistake #4: Don’t Use the Internet to Search Public Records
At this point, many people simply give up. They feel they cannot afford to hire a private detective to search for their birth parents. Therefore, they just give up. They do not even consider trying to do an Internet search for themselves. This is a huge mistake. You can search birth records, adoptive records, and even do a people search from the privacy of your own home all you have to do is look.

When you find your birth parents, it may not be easy but not finding them is even harder. You can start your search today by looking through adoption records.

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When you’re in love and contemplating marriage, it can be horrible when reality intrudes and it turns out he isn’t thinking the same thing.  At least not the same way you are.  One of the ways to make sure you and reality are on the same page is to find divorce decree records.

Record of Dissolution of Marriage

Divorces go through many stages.  These stages may be expensive, loud, and unhappy and include lots of lawyers, or they may be relatively calm and, while still involving lawyer, not quite so nasty.  Regardless of how rapid or drawn out the dissolution of a marriage is, it is not final until three things have happened.

First and second is that both parties have to sign the divorce papers.  Many people think – or pretend to think – that once the papers are signed, the divorce is official.  It isn’t.  Until a judge has issued a divorce decree, the couple is still married.

Public Records

It is always possible that the court proceedings will be sealed, but the fact of the divorce will be public record.  If you cannot quickly find such a record, your (prospective) spouse may be lying to you.

Procedures that can help you hunt down this information are online.  However, they can be time consuming and may not answer your questions.  You can get your best and most rapid results through a really good online retrieval system.  Find divorce decree records quickly and easily when you need more details about your spouse or partner.

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Whatever the reason for renting, it is vital to know the residential history of the prospective tenant.  One of the ways people are working to make ends meet in the current economy is through renting.  They may rent rooms in their own homes or on-site apartments.  If they cannot sell an existing home, they might rent it out while waiting for the market to recover.

Criminal History of Potential Tenants

While a criminal record should not automatically preclude renting to someone, there are various levels of crime to consider.  Of course, if you’re going to be sharing a kitchen with someone, the level of caution needs to be even higher.

A criminal background can also include a propensity for fleecing people or otherwise running out on bills.  Also not a good prospect.

Court Records Tell It All

There are many ways to find information and to protect your person and property.  It is wise to apply as many as possible.

If the renter has been taken to court, either criminal or civil, there should be a record of it.  You will need to know as much of her history as possible in order to cover geographical and historical residences.

There are other types of online searches, such as checking social networking sites to learn about them, and looking for outstanding debts.

This can involve a sizeable time commitment and may still miss some residential issues.  It could be well worth your while, for both your financial and personal safety to use an information retrieval system in your residential history search.

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In murder mysteries, time of death is often critical to solving the whole case.  In real life, knowing how to find the date of death for someone may be more prosaic but can be just as crucial.

Examining Death Records in Case of Will Clauses

There may be clauses in a will or insurance or real estate issues that arise from when someone died.  Who gets what or owes what can depend on a death date.

There may also be issues of parentage.  If the man you believed was your father died more than ten months before you were born, your mother may need to have some IVF records handy or another good explanation.

Verify the Date of Death

While the reasons may vary, the search process is generally the same.  Knowing the deceased’s full name will facilitate your search, as will having the locale.

Legally all deaths are supposed to be reported, regardless of cause.  If you have some or all of the above data, you will be able to search through court records and other public records of death to verify the date.  You will also need to make sure that this is the “John Smith” you’re looking for, so the search can take a while.

Find Your Death Records in One Spot

Individual circumstances can require even more information, so it can really be worth your while to use an online retrieval system.  The speed and level of accuracy can save you a lot of frustration and heartache while you try to make sure you’ve covered all the bases.  Learn how to find death records of someone in a nationwide search.  Save yourself from examining individual county and state offices.

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There are many reasons to need or want to know how to find marriage records.  Hopefully, the reason is good for you.  However, the process is largely the same, regardless of why you are searching.

What you do with the data after you find it depends on why you’re looking.  Are you trying to determine whether your spouse actually filed your marriage license?  Was the whole thing a sham designed to fleece you?  If you think significant other’s finances may have substantial gaps in history or you are working on a family tree, you may need to retrieve marriage records.

Marriage Records RequireTime and Place

The first thing you want, beside the name of at least one of the involved parties, is some information on when the “wedding” took place and in what state.  Different locales will have varying levels of public records, but you can usually run searches on marriage license issues or other types of marriage records.

Search Newspapers for Marriage Announcements

Everyone says the newspaper is a dying breed.  However, as a source for public information, a newspaper can give you data regarding a given marriage, which can facilitate your search of the public records.  This is more time consuming, but almost all weddings and a lot of license filings wind up in the local paper.

Researching Marriage Records Online

You can also look into using a reputable online retrieval system.  This can save you time as well as errors and has access to much more information.  These databases are updated daily.  Learn how to find marriage records online to save yourself time and energy.

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Were you adopted or do you suspect you were but can’t be sure?  Do you lack the ability to find out about this from the people who raised you?  There are other ways to learn how to find a record of your birth.

Information You Need for a Birth Record

What kind of search or searches you will need to do will depend on the amount and type of information you have.  If you have everything but the truth, it may not be that hard.

Everything but the truth would include place, time and date, but lack the birth mother’s name and a birth certificate.  With that data, you can do a search of public records relating to births.

Was It a Private Adoption or a Public Adoption?

Another route to take in searching is to determine whether the adoption was public or private, open or closed.  State adoption records are generally open on some level, meaning that you may at least be able to acquire a starting point from which to work.

If it was a private adoption, this may still be on file somewhere.  You may need to track down the law firm, convent, or hospital involved.

To save a lot of time and stress, you can also choose to consign your search to an excellent online retrieval system.  This is emotional enough without weeks of frustration.  Learn how to find a record of your birth online to get your answers discreetly and confidentially.

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Everyone knows someone – a boss, a friend, a co-worker – who, for one reason or another, will not tell their birth date. What do you do if you want to find birth dates for all of your friends, co-workers, or bosses in order to plan a special surprise?

Maybe you want to throw a surprise party for a friend, or maybe the whole office would like to chip in for a gift for your boss. However, when someone does not want you to know what their birthday is, they at times go to great lengths to hide it.

The Sneaky Way to Verify Birth Records
If you need to find birth dates, you can try sneaky methods. You could try to get a peek at their driver’s license, call other friends and family to see if anyone knows, or even take a glimpse at confidential files. These methods could easily give the surprise away, or even get you in trouble.

The Easy Way to Conduct a Birthday Search
All is not lost, however. Did you know that it is easy to find birth records online? A free birth date search will help you find birth dates and other information about just about anyone. Rather than asking, peeking or hunting for the information you need, you can simply run a quick search and have all the knowledge at your fingertips.

When you want to go out of your way to do something nice for someone, such as throwing a surprise party, it can be extremely difficult to get the information you need without tipping anyone off. Instead of tiptoeing around and risking blowing the secret, run a search now to find birth dates for everyone you know.

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