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Searching For A Birth Certificate In Indiana
If you're looking for your birth
certificate in Indiana, you can start with the county where the actual birth
happened, or contact the state health department's Vital Records office. You
will have to be clear which 'certificate' you are seeking, though, as this
refers to two types of documents.
A birth certificate in Indiana will be on
file in the county where the birth took place as well at the Vital Records
Section of the Indiana Health Department, located at 2 North Meridian Street,
Indianapolis, IN 46204. Call (317) 233-2700 for inquiries.
However, if you are looking for information on a birth that occurred before the
1900s, you may have to look elsewhere.
As in other parts of the United States, vital records in Indiana were not
created for genealogical purposes. Doctors originated vital records because they
were concerned about public health. This is the reason why vital records
sections or offices are usually under state health departments.
Indiana was one of the first states to implement vital records collection at the
start of the 20th century.
Founded by doctors associated with the Census Bureau, state vital records
started as a compilation of health-related information under the population
census of 1850. This explains while vital records offices in some states still
retain their old census name, vital statistics office.
The national system came thirty years later, but the Bureau still relied on a
state to take care of its own registering. To be qualified for registration,
Indiana had to have its own laws governing data collection to reach 90%
compliance, which it achieved by 1900. Other states, such as California and
Pennsylvania, only began registration in 1906.
What to Expect from a Birth Certificate
in Indiana
When conducting genealogical research,
bear in mind that the term “certificate” may refer to either of two things. It
may mean the birth certificate is the original certification that a birth took
place as testified by the attending doctor or, in some cases, the midwife.
This original document is filed at the registering office. If you are looking
for a birth that occurred in Indiana before 1900 you may find a record, but not
necessarily a certificate, in any of the following places:
1. Church register
2. Newspaper or library archives
3. The Family History Center
4. The US Geological Survey
A certificate may also mean a certified copy of the original. If you are looking
for a birth after 1900, this is what a vital records office can issue upon
payment of a certain fee.
To know more about searching for birth certificates in Indiana and other areas
in the United States, check out
RecordsSiteReview’s
Birth Records
section.
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