What Are Vital Records? (And How Are They Used?
Vital records are crucial government documents that are registered following your major life events. You’ve probably seen or heard your birth certificate referred to as a vital record before, but it is far from the only example you can find of these.
Knowing when and how to use your vital records is important to carry out a lot of significant tasks in your day-to-day life. In this article, we’ll explain what you need to know about these documents and when you’ll most likely need them.
What Kinds of Vital Records Can I Use?
There are four key types of vital records that the US government may issue to you throughout your life. All of these documents serve crucial legal and personal purposes and you’ll need them before carrying out anything that requires you to concretely prove your identity.
The four types of vital records include:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Divorce certificates
- Death certificates
What Do Vital Records Do?
You can use vital records for a broad range of different purposes. As government registered documents they are considered hugely valuable by state and federal offices and businesses all over the country in proving specific details about your identity when this needs to be verified.
Information Found on Your Vital Records
Vital record documents list key data about you. Therefore you need to know what details they provide so you can use them effectively and have them ready when they are necessary.
Depending on the Vital records you use, you can prove any of the following essential information about a person:
- Name
- Citizenship
- Gender
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Date of marriage or divorce
- Relation to family members
- Date of death
Using Vital Records As ID for Services
As all vital records in the US are government-issued documents, they are necessary when you need to access essential services that require you to prove your identity. Of course, that means these documents should be kept safe for when they’re needed.
You’ll need your vital records if you need to perform important tasks such as:
- Proving your citizenship
- Getting your driving license
- Applying for state and federal benefits
- Registering for a Social Security Number (SSN)
- Claiming an inheritance
- Getting a passport
- Marrying or divorcing someone
- Registering for school
Proving Your Familial Relationships with Vital Records
Another important role that vital records can play is providing proof of your family relationships. Many of your records are generated in connection to a familial event such as a birth, marriage, or death. They can therefore be used if you ever need to factually demonstrate your ties to a family member.
This can be practical if you’re researching your lineage. However, it may also be essential if you need to provide evidence that you are related to a deceased family member who has died intestate. Using these records can allow you to take control of or benefit from their estate.
What Happens if One of My Vital Records Gets Lost, Damaged, or Stolen?
If something happens to your vital records, such as getting lost or stolen, you will need to have them replaced. Keeping these documents to hand is practical for numerous reasons and not having a copy close by could lead to a few annoying headaches.
Fortunately, ordering new vital records is pretty easy. You can either request fresh copies online or in-person at your local recorder’s office.
When you order a replacement birth certificate or any other type of vital record, you will need to fill in a form and pay a small admin fee. If you’ve filed everything correctly, the new document will be sent directly to your home address.
What if There Are Errors On My Vital Records?
If anything is incorrect on your vital records you should ensure they get updated with the right information as soon as possible. Luckily this is usually quite straightforward to do by visiting your local recorder’s office and requesting the change to be made.
Vital records are useful throughout your life and having them handy when they’re needed can be critical. Make sure to keep yours safe and to replace any copies that are misplaced if you notice they are gone.
