District of Columbia Public Records Search

Gathering vital documents in Washington DC requires you to follow certain procedures before access to District of Columbia Public Records Search is granted. There are policies put in place to ensure the integrity of the information contained in each of these files. To get a certified copy of a particular public document, the requester must meet the requirements necessary to acquire the reports. Just like in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia treats birth certificates, death reports, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees with a great deal of consideration and attention. As mandated by the Freedom of Information Act, any member of the public has the right to acquire such documents, but to protect the well being of each citizen, proper procedures must be observed.
Washington DC’s Vital Records Division is the main agency that has the capacity to disseminate birth and death certificates to the public. If you wish to acquire your own records, this is the office where you will submit your request. Under the DC Department of Health, the Vital Records Division maintains a huge database of births and death reports from August of 1874 up to the present. But agency policy prevents any individual from accessing third party birth certificates that are less than a hundred years old. Death reports filed within the last fifty years are also closed to the general public. Only the next of kin and authorized individuals have access to these documents.
In order for you to access your own birth certificate or an open death report of another individual, you will need to pick up the appropriate request form at the Vital Records Division office or download a PDF file from the agency’s official website. You fill up the form accordingly and you submit it in person or by mail. The District of Columbia Department of Health website contains the link that will direct you to the Vital Records Division page. You should refer to this page for more information regarding the mailing address, contact numbers and the current processing fees.
On the other hand, if you are interested in marriage certificates and divorce decrees, the Vital Records Division unfortunately has no authority to disclose these types of documents. The DC Superior Court is the main entity that houses and disseminates these kinds of files. Requesting access to a marriage certificate or a divorce decree will require a different kind of application form, which you can pick up at the district court offices. You can also download the form in PDF format at their website. This is also where marriage licenses can be requested, for those of you who are planning to get married in Washington DC.
Although access to vital documents through these government agencies is sound, some of us would probably still prefer a more convenient and practical process when trying to acquire vital information. For those who frequently perform a public records search on an almost daily basis, the abovementioned entities would certainly not make a practical and cost-efficient source. A reputable online record provider can do a much better job by giving you access to a comprehensive database of vital information. For a one-time fee, you can run unlimited birth, death, marriage, or divorce record searches in any state and territory, including the District of Columbia.