Saturday, January 4, 2014

Ohio Public Records Search

By Ben Kingsley


Are you looking for public records Ohio? Public records such as birth, death, marriage and divorce records are important as they contain information that can be used to serve as supporting documents and determine an individual's eligibility. Records such as these are available for the public either through walk in, online, phone and mail requests.

Public records such as births and deaths are available from the State's Local Vital Statistics Office and can be requested through the local County Health Department Office. The State's Office however only has abstracts or indexes for marriage and death records and as such certified copies are not issued. Certified Marriage certificates and divorce decrees are available from the County Clerk Office and the Probate Court where these were issued and granted.

To obtain copies of birth and death certificates, the researcher can go to the State's Vital Statistic Office. The Office maintains a database ranging from records filed after December 20, 1908 (for birth) and January, 1954 (for death). Some old records which date back (50) fifty years for deaths and (125) one hundred twenty five for births are stored at the Ohio Historical Society archives. The Vital Statistics Office cannot issue certified copies for these records however; researchers can obtain plain copies of these records from the Society Office.

To obtain copies from the Office of Vital Statistics, researchers have several options. One is through in person or walk in. The Office is open weekdays from 8am-5pm. The Office is closed during holidays. Researchers have to fill up a form and pay the $21.50 fee. Payment can be made through several payment options, which include credit cards, check, cash and money order. Same day issuance is not guaranteed after 4:30pm. Researchers can however request the records to be mailed or picked up later.

For the mailing process, those who request the records must send the payment through money order or check. Each record costs about $21.50 each. Processing time takes about 3 weeks. For online ordering, the person requesting the records can place their order to the State Office or to their county health department and pay the order with credit cards. Processing time is 3 weeks; however, processing can be shortened in some counties or city health departments depending on the volume of the requests that the office may have received. Fees of counties and cities can vary from that of the state's office.

The Office also provides searching services for those who are unsure of the exact year the event occurred. Each search service would cost $3 and covers up to 10 years. The search fees double in multiples of 10. For example, when a person wants to cover 20 years in the search, they have to pay $6. The search fee is in addition to the records fee that one has to pay. For researchers who do not need the certified copies or need only basic information, they can check out online public record sites that offer free basic public records search. Alternatively, for full access, they may be charged a minimal fee. This is the fastest and the most convenient way to retrieve information.




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