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.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

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.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

It is easier than ever to do a vital search on anyone. You can check the vital records for arrest warrants, bankruptcies, criminal records, adoption records, divorce records and so much more. It can all be done with the click of the button.

In the past, you had to go from one courthouse to the next county courthouse. Then you had to fill out forms and wait for all the information to be processed. It could literally take weeks or even months to get the information. Now, it can all be done in a matter of minutes if not faster.

Online Vital Record Search Safety Tips
Like anything else you do, you have to be aware. Unfortunately, there are predators online just like there are out in the real world. You need to follow some basic safety tips to make sure you are not preyed upon when doing searches online.

Avoiding Computer Viruses, Malware, and Spyware
Since online record searches are so popular, it means criminals are out there as well. You can protect yourself and your computer by being a little bit careful of where you search. Remember, not all online resources are equal. You cannot trust everyone. Some people put up fake websites just to give you a virus, spyware, or adware.

• Always run spyware and antivirus software when searching the Internet.
• Never give your credit card to a website you do not trust.
• Use PayPal whenever possible to protect your bank information.

How to Check a Website’s Credibility

• A quick and easy trick is checking the “contact us” and the “about us” page. Normally, the more information they have to contact them the better.
• You will also want to check their “Privacy Policy.” You will want to know how they go about using your information. Read the page and see if they plan to sell your information to third parties.
• Check to make sure the search is completely confidential. All searches should leave no trace you searched for it. If it does, then you need to get out quick. No legitimate searching site will show you were searching.

Staying Safe Once You Found a Site
After you found a site you feel safe searching on, feel free to search with ease. All sites will charge you something for their services. You may want to shop around for a good price, but you may also find that you like to stick with a site that has it all in one place.

Start your vital search today. We found a site that is safe and easy. Whether you use this site or not, always be careful and follow these tips.  Then, you will find everything you need without any headaches.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

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 RSS

So, you’ve met that special someone. You might be thinking, do I have a right to check his marriage certificate from a previous marriage?

And, to be honest, the answer is yes! You have a right to know about someone’s marriage history before you commit the rest of your life to him or her.

You don’t want to go into a marriage without knowing all the nitty-gritty details of his past. If you do, you’re likely to be surprised by information or behaviors that haven’t had the opportunity to present themselves yet.

Ghosts of Marriage Past

Sure, we all have a right to make mistakes, seek therapy, and change our life for the better. But, we also have a need to be upfront and honest with the ones we love.

If your lover or fiancé is hiding something from the past, then that might be something you need to know immediately before you get so many emotions tangled up into the equation.

And, beyond the emotional turmoil that you’ll face with a questionable partner, think of the fact that you’re entering a committed and binding contract with them.

It may seem like a whirlwind of romantic bliss at first, but you don’t want to be surprised by skeletons and ghosts flooding from your partner’s closet.

Honesty and Trust in a Marriage

If your partner hasn’t been completely honest with you, you need to find out! Hiding or lying about important details from previous marriages is the first sign of trust and abandonment issues.

And, if your partner has been married several times, then the likelihood of a successful marriage decreases. When you think that he might be hiding his marriage history from you, then he’s probably trying to hide the reason that those marriages failed.

In order to change or fix those problems, he’ll need to learn to be honest and forthcoming with any personal or psychological problems that he’s facing. Marriage isn’t all glossy daydreams. Love requires work, empathy, compromise, and understanding to really be successful in the long term.

You Need to Know About Past Marriages

A lot of vital information is on a marriage certificate. Dates, names, contact information, address histories, divorce information, and more. He may even have a marriage in his past that hasn’t been completely legally processed as a divorced!

You might need to know if he is telling you the truth. Who knows what you’ll find? The only way to be fully certain is to look up some hard copy, objective information. Don’t just throw your fate to the winds.

Download the marriage certificate documentation you need to investigate the hard evidence, and see if you and your partner are ready to move to the next step and walk down that aisle on equal footing.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

When you are seeking vital statistics in the United States, there are two basic ways to approach the subject. You can either seek paper copies, which take quite a bit of time, and effort or you can do an online search, which is quick and easy. The only real difference is the paper documents are official.

How to search vital statistics
Whether you are searching online or you are seeking the official copies, you will want to keep records of your search. It is also important to have a game plan to help you keep digging, so you can continue your search for more records until you finally find whom or what it is you are looking for.

• Divorce Records list the names of children from a marriage. This saves lots of time in a genealogy search.
• Death Records and obituaries may list surviving relatives of the deceased including the grandchildren.

Guidelines for submitting documents to vital statistics research
If you do choose to pay someone to search the through tons of records for you, then follow these general guidelines. They are the industry standard but as always be careful with whom you place your trust.

• Only make one or two request at one time.
• Include the full name, aliases, and alternate spelling of the names
• Include exact date or time span of the search
• Include a S.A.S.E (self addressed stamped envelope)
• Include what you are looking for but do not go into too much detail. The county needs to know what you are looking for but does not care why.
• Include a blank check and on the notes line write, “Not to exceed $10″ or however much you choose. It is acceptable to ask for an invoice.
• Be patient, as they have limited resources.

Searching Vital Statistics Online
Of course, you do not want to go through all the hassle of sending in the information and waiting for them to getting around to your request. Then hoping they will find something and then waiting for them to send you the information. You can always do the simple thing with a quick and easy vital statistics search online.

The results you find from a vital statistics search online won’t produce official paper documents like you get from the county, but most people don’t need them. When you are researching your ancestry, you just want to know who your relatives are. You can start your vital statistics research today online without the wait.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

When you conduct a vital records search, you need to know what your purpose is because that will greatly change your method of searching. As there are many different types of vital records, there are also many types of searches. We will go briefly over how to search for each.

Search vital records for marriage/divorce certificates
If you want a paper copy of your marriage license, then you will have to go to the county and state where you were married. There is no way around it.

However, if you are searching for marriage records, then you can go online and do a marriage records search. All you need is the maiden name of the bride or the groom.

Search vital records for birth
If you need a paper copy, again you will need to go to the county. Birth certificates are easier to get, but they will have to be mailed. Do not expect to get it the same day.

Searching for a birth record online is much faster and easier. All you need to know is the name. However, if you know the name, age and state, you are golden. The results pop up instantly.

TIP– People mistakenly look in birth records for children they do not know where were born. When looking for unknown children, it is best to look in divorce records. Divorce records list the children of a marriage.

Search vital records for adoption
Adoption records are the hardest since you never know if names have been changed. However, adopted children still try to find their biological parents and vice versa. Now it is easier than ever.

Tools online allow parents and children to search online through thousands of records in an instant by simply inputting their names into a database. If it turns up something, then they can try to contact the person. If it does not, then they have not lost anything.

Search vital records for death records
When you search for death records, you are likely to turn up the date, cause of death, obituary notice, relatives, and probate records. All you need to do the search is the first and last name of the individual. Like all searches, you will need to narrow down the search once the initial results start coming in.

Gone are the days of hiring a private eye to conduct a vital records search for you. You no longer have to weed through dusty microfiche in a cold damp library. You can search vital records in the comforts of your own home.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

For all of us dating, we need to know how to access online marriage certificates fast. It may sound pessimistic, but this is reality.  Half of all marriages end in divorce and that is only the statistics for first marriages. When you start getting into second and third marriages, the statistics get worse. We need to know up front if the person we are dating is divorced and how many times.

The Old Way of Searching Marriage Certificates

Back in the old days, if you wanted to know if someone had been married before you had to ask the person and trust he or she would give you an honest answer. If they lied, you had no real way of knowing. You could hire a private detective to search through endless stacks of documents in dusty old buildings but that would cost tons of money. Thankfully, this is not the case anymore!

The New Way to Search Marriage Certificates
Now all you need is a computer, the Internet, a credit card, and the person’s name. You go online to the marriage records database and type in the person’s name. Of course, the more information you have, the better results you will get. Age is always good because that narrows the field down quite a bit. The city and state also narrows down the field.

Once you narrow the results down to a single name, you click submit and voila! You have the results for the man or woman you are looking for. It really is that simple. All the skeletons are out of the closet. You now know how many times the person you plan on dating has been married. (Then you can jump over to the divorce record site and see if they are actually divorced.)

Search FOIA Made Easy
Combine the Freedom of Information Act with the Internet and you have the easiest way to check the background of anyone you date. Arm yourself with the person’s full name and go online.

You can check:

• Marriage Records
• Birth Records
• Death Records
• Divorce Records
• Adoption Records
• Property Records
• Vital Records
• Background Records
• Criminal Records

Start your online marriage certificate search today. The records are out there waiting for you. See what you can find.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

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.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS

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.

Re-Tweet This Post RSS