Birth Certificates Evolve

Almost all people in the United States need to have access to their birth certificate at some point in their lives. Until recently the only way to get a new copy of a misplaced birth certificate was to go to the states Vital Statistics Office which for some of us can be extremely difficult. As a resident of Virginia when I needed my infant daughters birth certificate for air travel my only option was to make the nearly three hour drive to the Vital Statistics Office in Richmond, Virginia. For someone who was used to ordering documents online that was more than a little shock for me.

Now with the current rise in national security and the issues surrounding immigration, voter identification mandates, and ID requirements having a certified copy of your birth certificate on hand is more important than it ever was. In order to meet the rising demand for documentation local governments have been making efforts to convert physical records into digitalized files. Already a few states have begun to offer online ordering of birth certificates and other vital documents with only a few clicks of a button and a valid credit card. Once ordered your birth certificate or the certificate of your child is delivered to your door.

To help maintain security there are rules on who can order these documents online. If you are attempting to order your own birth certificate you must be using a credit card that is in your own name to help verify your identity. The same holds true if you are ordering for a child, your name must appear as the parent on the birth certificate. These methods are not always fool proof as my mother was able to order a birth certificate for a grandchild and I have ordered one for a parent but in time the security will grow with the technology.

So far the largest drawback to the conversion of this new system is the cost associated with it. The expense of converting thousands of paper and microfilm files into modern digital formants while keeping up with continuing requests is more than some state governments can deal with at this point. To help handle these everyday expenditures many states have been forced to raise the cost of ordering birth certificates but in the end the convenience will outweigh the expense.