Sunday, 1 September 2013

Iowa Free Public Records

By Ben Kingsley


Should you wish to obtain vital records in Iowa, you can either acquire such record straight from the Vital Records Division, Department of Public Health or from the County Clerk's office where the event occurred. Pursuant to the Public Records law, all state agencies and institutions are accountable to the citizenry. It broadly creates a presumption that records created and held by public agencies are public. Free Iowa public records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths documented on registers and certificates.

In requesting a copy of any vital record, an application for must be filled out and acquiesced together with the corresponding fee required for a particular vital record. Such application form can be downloaded from the Department's website or obtained directly from the said office. Additionally, a personal check or money order should be made payable to the state's Department of Public Health. Written requests for certified copies of vital records will not be accepted unless they include a clear photocopy of the applicant's current government-issued photo ID and the applicant's notarized signature.

Vital records that are only available are those vital events that date back to 1880 up to present. For birth records, marriage certificates and death records, a processing fee of $15 is required for each. However, death records recorded before 1904 do not contain the parent's name. For divorce decrees, requests for such cost $6 depending on which county the divorce was filed and approved. You can obtain divorce records from the District Clerk's office in the county where the divorce was approved. The law of the State of Iowa restricts access to the person in the certificate and family members, genealogists representing the family, or others with a tangible interest such as in background checks.

The typical processing time for requests of such vital records takes four to six weeks dependent on the method used. Methods for obtaining records can either be in person, via phone, mail, or online. If you want to apply for a copy of a vital record in person, you can go to either the Department of Health's Vital Statistics Division or to the District Clerk's office in the county where the vital event took place. You have to bring with you all the requirements mentioned above and expect that the results will be mailed to you the following business day.

Should you wish to get a copy via phone, you can obtain their phone number from the state's Department of Public Health website. The processing time is currently 7 to 21 days depending on the volume of requests in their office. In case your request is returned to you via regular mail, expect another 5 business days to reach you. For orders sent by mail, anticipate that mail orders may take an average of 5 business days to reach the Vital Records Office, and another 5 business days to be returned to you. The processing time for such request depends on the number of requests received and may take up to 20 business days during high volume times. Genealogy requests are accepted only by mail and will require a minimum of 30 business days processing.

If you want to get government records in an expedited and convenient way, then pull a quick online record review. For the public's convenience, the State's Bureau of Vital Statistics which operates under the Department of Public Health has interlinked with VitalCheck, an independent company that provides the same service as that of the Vital Statistics Office but through the Internet. However, an additional fee is necessary if you choose to make use of VitalCheck. In such case, you can resort to other independent online record providers if you want to cut costs. There are other online providers proffering the same service but only for a minimal to no fee. Just see to it that you perform a background check on the independent online record provider you are eyeing for to ensure accurate and comprehensive results.




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