Here's how a new law works in California. The state Vital Records Office has closed its doors to the public and it takes about 2 years to get a copy from the state. Yep....2 years. The counties are much faster, but I'm sure each one has similar restrictions. New Law Effective July 1, 2003 In an attempt to stop the illegal use of birth and death certificates, and as part of the effort to reduce identity theft, there has been a change in law and the way that certified copies of birth and death certificates are obtained. Effective July 1, 2003, there are two types of certified copies of birth and death records. The first type is a regular certified copy identical to those issued prior to July 1, 2003. These will be issued only to authorized individuals as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 103526. The second type is also a regular certified copy; however, it will have a legend across the face with the statement "INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY." Both of these documents are certified copies of the original document on file with our office. With the exception of the "legend," they are exactly the same and contain exactly the same information. The new law describes an authorized person as: a.. The registrant (person listed on the certificate) or a parent or legal guardian of the registrant. b.. A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code. c.. A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business. (Companies representing a government agency must provide authorization from the government agency.) d.. A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant. e.. An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate. (If you are requesting a Certified Copy under the power of attorney, please include a copy of the power of attorney with the application form.) In order to obtain a Certified Copy after July 1, 2003, you MUST complete the sworn statement included with the birth certificate application form and sign the statement under penalty of perjury. Your sworn statement must be notarized. If your request indicates that you want a Certified Copy but does not include a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury, the request will be rejected as incomplete and returned to you without being processed. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Clark" <Lclark@brtc.net> To: <KYCHRIST-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 5:53 PM Subject: Re: [KYCHRIST] Kentucky Vital Records Alert! > Very Good Question. I sure hope we can. Maybe this bill won't pass. > Linda > > > ==== KYCHRIST Mailing List ==== > Christian Co. History & Genealogy > http://www.kyseeker.com/christian > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > >