How to Find Birth Records in Connecticut

Birth are recorded in every state in the US as required by law. Furthermore, they are public information which means they can be accessed by the public at any given moment. However, there are terms and conditions that govern the availability of birth records in every state. This guide will help you with ways on how to find birth records in Connecticut.

It is no doubt a good thing that birth records are available to the public but, the ability to know how to find them is of grave importance. Lack of such knowledge might result in taking hours searching for them without any success, which is why you are here.

Birth Records in Connecticut

As much as birth records are public information, they are a very sensitive case. This is to avoid cases such as identity theft. Access to them comes with conditions. These conditions vary from state to state. Let’s see what the laws in Connecticut say about accessing birth records.

Birth records in Connecticut were recorded from 1897 statewide. This is also true for other vital records such as marriage, death, adoption and divorce records. They are maintained by the Department of Health’s State Vital Records Office. Birth records that are available to the public without conditions are those that are more than 100 years old. They can be obtained by anyone who is above the age of 18 years.

The towns of Connecticut each have its own vital records office where they issue and retain copies of birth certificates that happened in the stat of Connecticut. The same applies to the other types of vital records. There are 169 towns in total.

Vital records that were recorded before January 1 1897 are found at the vital records office of that town which they were recorded at. Indexes as well as historical vital records collections are available from the Connecticut State Library. You can find out more information on the vital records collections available from the Connecticut State Library from here.

Who can Access Birth Certificates in Connecticut?

There are restrictions imposed on birth records that are less than 100 years. To qualify for a copy of birth records for people born within the last 100 years, you must be any of the following:

• Aged 18 years or older and must be the person whose name is on the certificate.
• Parent, grand parent or guardian to the person named on the certificate.
• Husband or wife to the person named on the certificate.
• Child or grandchild of the person named on the birth certificate and be above the age of 18 years.
• Must have legal proof that link you to the birth certificate.
• A lawyer representing the person named on the birth certificate or representing a relative to the person named on the birth certificate.

How to Request a Copy of a Birth Certificate

You can request for a copy of a certified birth certificate on all births that occurred after January 2003 from the vital records office from any town or the State Vital Records Office.

A certified copy of the birth certificate can be obtained from the vital records office of the town where the birth took place, the town of the mother’s location at the time the birth took place or the State Vital Records office.

What You Will Need to Get a Copy of the Birth Certificate

If you qualify to access the birth certificate by meeting any of the above mentioned points, you will need certain documents or criteria to get it. You will need to provide the following:

• A government issued valid identification document. The document should include the name of the requester, signature, date of birth and expiration date.
• If the government issued identification is not available, the requester can produce a social security card, utility bill copy with a name and current residential address, automobile registration among other things.
• Provide full name, date of birth, place of birth of the person whose birth record you are looking to find.

Birth records can be accessed online from VitalChek or by completing the State application which you can mail to the State Vital Records Office. You can submit a complete Town application and mail it to the town where the birth took place. These services come at a price.

Other Birth Records Sources

Marriage records, death records, census records, cemetery records and obituaries are other sources of birth records. Birth records are known to be a hassle to find so you might consider trying these suggestions out.

These are some of the ideas you can use as a guide on how to find birth records in Connecticut. Birth records need that you provide identification to be able to access them as well as enough information on the person whose birth record you want.