If you need a vital record, you may now obtain the certificate on-line from a commercial provider. The web address is: www.vitalcheck.com and you may use a credit card. You will be provided an order number and have the ability to check on the status of your order. This will save on long distance phone calls to the vital statistics offices of the state you are researching. The time required for an agency to find, reproduce, and ship your birth certificate varies from state to state. Neither I nor the Navy have any legal or financial interest in VitalChek nor is this an endorsement or recommendation of their services. Warm regards, -= Bruce =-