A valid/current government, school or employer issued photo identification document of applicant is required before a search of the records will be conducted. Requests that do not contain proper identification will be returned unprocessed. Acceptable documents are:
- Any United States’ Department of Motor Vehicles office-issued picture identification i.e. driver’s license, Identification card, learner’s permit (unexpired)
- Current school or employer picture identification card
- Military card (unexpired – active duty or retired member)
- United States passport (unexpired)
- Foreign passport with Visa (l-94 or l-94W – unexpired)
- Re-entry permit (l-327 – unexpired)
- Refuge travel document (form l-571 – unexpired)
- United States citizen identification card (form l-197)
- Temporary resident card (form l-688 – unexpired)
- Permanent resident card (form l-551 – unexpired)
- Weapon or gun permit issued by federal, state or municipal government (unexpired)
Identity Theft and Vital Records
Vital records, such as certificates of birth and death, are legal government-issued documents. While most requests for vital records are honest attempts to acquire one's own personal documentation, some are not; some are attempts to co-opt someone else's name.
Appropriating someone else's information and obtaining these legal documents fraudulently is a crime and can lead to a multitude of illegal activities. Using the documents to falsely identify one's self can lead to the issuance of a driver's license and a social security number, opening avenues to:
- credit card fraud;
- bank fraud;
- mail theft;
- tax fraud;
- social security/insurance fraud; and
- illegally obtaining a passport.
The Vital Records office staff wants to protect you and your family from this type of crime by authenticating claims of identity. That is why we require a photocopy of a valid government, school, or employer issued photo identification before we can issue these records.
For additional information, contact Vital Records.