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What are Virginia Vital Records?
Vital records in Virginia are the official records of all birth certificates, death certificates, divorce records, marriages certificates, and marriage licenses. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) maintains, and issues certified copies of vital records from 1926.
How Can I Get a Copy of a Birth Certificate in Virginia?
Copies of birth certificates are accessible for events within the state of Virginia from as early as June 1, 1912, to the present. To order a certified copy of a Virginia birth record online, you may contact VitalChek.
The fees for online orders are $32.75 for the two-week processing option or an additional $20.80 for the one-three business days expedited service. VitalChek accepts all primary credit cards and debit cards, including Visa, Master Card, American Express, and Discover.
You may also order a copy of a Virginia birth record via VitalChek by calling 877-572-6333. The fees for phone orders are the same as those for online orders.
You will need to schedule an appointment available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for in-person orders. You may also contact their office at the telephone number 877-572-6333.
To order a Virginia birth certificate by mail, you will need to send your completed application, along with a copy of your photo I.D., and a check or money order payable to "The State of Virginia" in the proper amount to:
Virginia Department of Health
P.O. Box 1000
Richmond, VA 23218-1000
The fees for mail-in orders are $34 for the first certified copy (The cost for a person who is 65 years or older is $14 if they are requesting their birth certificate), plus $16 for each additional copy. If expedited service is desired, there will be an additional $12.
How Can I Get a Copy of a Death Certificate in Virginia?
Regardless of where the death occurs, you can file death certificates or obtain certified copies at any local departments in the state of Virginia.
However, if it has been less than one month since the filing of death, then the death certificate must be obtained from the office of vital records in the city or county in which the death was previously filed. Certified copies of death certificates are accessible upon request if you are eligible to receive them.
The Department of Virginia Vital Records issues certified copies of Virginia death certificates that you can use to obtain death benefits, claim insurance proceeds or other legal purposes.
Virginia death records are only issued to the deceased's immediate family. This includes their spouse, parent, adult child, or adult sibling. If you are not one of the persons listed, you must fax proof of entitlement, along with a government-issued photo I.D., to 800.244.2515.
You can also order a certified copy of a Virginia death record via VitalChek by calling 877-572-6333.
To order a Virginia death certificate by mail, you will need to send your completed application, as well as a copy of your photo identification, and a check or money order payable to "The State of Virginia" in the proper amount to:
Virginia Department of Health
P.O. Box 1000
Richmond, VA 23218-1000
Note: Virginia death records are public records 25 years after the date of the event.
How Can I Get a Copy of a Virginia Marriage Certificate?
Virginia marriage records are public; however, they are one of the most challenging records to obtain. This is due to the personal nature of the information within these records. Government organizations offer marriage verification letters instead of the original marriage records because marriage records must remain intact and unchanged.
Many Virginia vital records offices can provide certified copies of marriage certificates for marriages that took place within the last one hundred years. The state of Division Vital Records office holds marriage records dating from as far back as January of 1853.
To obtain one's marriage certificate, you need to complete an application that includes the full names of each party involved, the date and location of where the marriage ceremony took place, and the name of the court that supplied the original marriage license.
The mother, father, husband, wife, adult child, siblings, grandparents, and other immediate family members may use this method to gain access to marriage certificates.
After you've completed the application, make sure to include the $12.00 search fee in the form of cash, check, money order, VISA, or Mastercard. Paying for authentication of a record will cost $10.00 by check, owed to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Typically, one can visit their closest Vital Records office to submit this application. They can also mail the application in, with a certified copy of their I.D. to:
The State Division of Vital Records
P.O. Box 1000
Richmond, VA 23218-1000
If you've requested the marriage certificate by mail through the Vital Records Office, you should expect a delay of about two to four weeks.
However, suppose you've asked for the marriage certificate in person from the clerk of the court where the marriage license was previously issued. In that case, the fees will increase, but processing times will decrease, and same-day service is possible.
How Can I Get a Copy of a Divorce Record in Virginia?
Divorce certificates filed in the last 25 years can be found at the Circuit Court Clerk's Office in the county where the divorce took place. The Virginia Judicial System website lists all the counties and links to their circuit court's website homepage. This is where the contact information is made available.
You could also visit the circuit court website and find an online portal to access divorce records. However, this option is not always available. You can submit requests for divorce records by mail or in-personal if the correct request forms and fees are included.
Fees may vary depending on the county, and all county clerk's offices charge individual prices for certified or uncertified copies of divorce records.
Divorce cases finalized over 25 years ago are now available through the Virginia Department of Health Division of Vital Records. You can call them by phone at (804) 662-6200, or you could visit the Virginia Division of Vital Records at:
2001 May will Street
Suite 101
Richmond, VA 23230
Government public record search portals and third-party, public record websites such as Vitalchek provide general information on court record search tools. These help in finding divorce records, though record availability usually varies widely.