How to Find Birth Records in Indiana

There are plenty of uses of the birth certificate that comes to mind. With it you can apply for a passport, government benefits, prove citizenship and a whole lot more. Birth certificate can also be used when tracing your lineage. This article covers on how to find birth records in Indiana, which is one way on how to find birth records online.

Indiana, the Midwestern state in the United States has about 6.7 million people living it in. With such a large population, you still can trace every birth that took place in the state since 1907.

A law was passed in 1881 that necessitated the registration of births in Indiana but statewide registration was started in 1907. Compliance with birth registration was achieved in 1920. You can find these records from the state’s counties. Copies can be obtained from the Indiana Vital Records State Department of Health.

A website like Family Search and Ancestry will assist you in finding birth records indexes. Birth records in Indiana are public information after 75 years.

Individual Who Qualify for Birth Records in Indiana

Birth records that are less than 75 years require that you qualify to obtain them. Here is a list of the people who qualify to obtain birth records in Indiana that are less than 75 years. These of course exclude the record owner.

• Mother
• Father
• Sister
• Brother
• Grandmother
• Grandfather
• Son
• Daughter
• Spouse
• Legal representatives

Birth Records Search Requirements in Indiana

Any of these relatives can access birth records in Indiana but they would need to prove their relationship to the record owner. They also need to be above the age of 18 years. Identification that is acceptable when requesting birth records in Indiana include:

• Current Driver’s License.
• State Issued ID Card.
• Valid Passport.
• Department of Correction ID issued within past 6 months.
• Current School ID with signature and/or photo.

You can also provide alternative identification documents if the above listed are not available. These has to be two of the following:

• Employment Identification document (with name, signature, photo, and date of employment).
• Health Insurance card (with name).
• Bank card with signature (not credit card).
• Voter Registration card (with signature).
• tax return for the previous year (with signature and Social Security Card).
• Marriage application/license issued by Clerk of Court (with signatures).
• Gun permit (with signature).
• Expired driver’s license.

Ways to Obtain Birth Records in Indiana

There are basically 3 ways one can obtain birth records in Indiana considering they meet the above listed requirements.

Walk in Option

Birth certificate are issued by the vital records office from Monday to Friday from 8am to 11 am then from 1 pm to 4 pm. Legal identification documents would be needed and records are to be issued to immediate family members. If you do not have any form of identification, you can ask a close family member to the person who owns the record for assistance.

The family member should be above the age 18 years and should be able to produce proper identification as well as prove relationship to the birth record owner.

Through the Mail

The Application for Birth Certificate form should be filled if you are looking to send your request by mail. Once you have filled the form, mail it with a copy of your valid identification document and necessary fees to the County Health Department where the birth took place. Birth certificate request are normally attended to the day they arrive but errors and omissions might lead to delays in processing them.

The residential address for the Department of Health in Indiana:

Indiana State Department of Health
2 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-1325

Online Solutions

A company like VitalChek, which has partnered with Indiana Health Department can help you process your online request quickly and efficiently. VitalChek will then charge a fee for this service. All major credit cards in the United States are accepted by VitalChek. Results may be received the same day but errors and omissions might result to delays.

For a list of Indiana Health Departments you can visit here.

Other Indiana Birth Records Sources

County death records at times include the age of the deceased and state records might have information like date of birth, place of birth and parents’ names. Social Security applications requests normally return a person’s date of birth, place of birth and parents’ names.

Federal Census records of 1850 to 1940 has age, state or county of birth information on each household member. Census records of around 1900 only had the month and year of birth.

You can also find a birth year or even at times the complete date of birth inscribed on tombstones. Other sources to consider would be church records, military records, and bible records.

These are some of the choices you have when it comes to ways on how to find birth records in Indiana. With this information, you will be able to find birth records on all births that took place in the state of Indiana.