CALIFORNIA: FYI - Access to CA Vital Records changing [Posted to the Genie-Angels list by Terri Walker] If you've put off getting vital records documents for family members who were born or died in California, now is the time to get moving. Informational copies of California birth and death certificates will become more difficult to obtain after January 1, 2006. After that date, according to the State of California website, INFORMATIONAL certified copies of birth and death certificates will be available only through the statewide database prepared by the State Registrar. This is a significant change from the current source, the county recorder's office. Through the end of the year, informational copies of birth and death certificates for Los Angeles County can be ordered online at the Recorder's website, http://lavote.net/recorder/birth_death.htm. Be sure to specify the INFORMATIONAL copy and follow instructions on the website. Other counties may have similar websites. Ron Filion, a force behind the great San Francisco genealogy website, www.sfgenealogy.com, reports that he spoke recently with one of the local County Clerk's offices. He was told that the State was NOT ready to do this. So, unless they get a legal extension, there may a significant delay (12 to 24 months) as compared to the 2-3 week wait that we are currently experiencing in Los Angeles. Here's a link to the State of California regulations and the relevant paragraph: http://www.privacy.ca.gov/code/hsc103525.htm Informational certified copies of birth and death certificates issued pursuant to subdivision (b) shall only be printed from the single statewide database prepared by the State Registrar and shall be electronically redacted to remove any signatures for purposes of compliance with this section. Local registrars and county recorders shall not issue informational certified copies of birth and death certificates from any source other than the statewide database prepared by the State Registrar. This subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2006