Monday 30 June 2014

Iowa Public Records Search Free Online

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.

Government records only available from such agencies are those that cover the years 1880 to present. The processing fee for birth, marriage, and death records is around $15 for each vital record stated. Deaths that are recorded prior to 1904 do not include the parent's name of the decedent though. Divorce decrees, on the other hand, require a processing fee of $6 but such fee varies from county to county. Divorce records should be obtained from the office of the county clerk in the county where the divorce was file and ratified. Bear in mind that the state's law limits access of such records to the registrants and family members only, genealogists representing the family, or others with a tangible interests such as those conducting 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.

Further, you can also obtain records via phone. The Vital Statistics phone number can be obtained from their website. The processing time for such requests is about 7 to 21 days. For mail requests, on the other hand, the usual turnaround time takes as much as to 20 days depending on the volume of requests in the Vital Statistics Office. Mail orders take 5 business days to reach such office, and another 5 business days to be returned to you. For genealogy requests, the processing time takes a minimum of 30 days or 1 month processing.

If you want to obtain vital records with ease and deftness, then pull a quick online record review. The State's Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Public Health has affiliated with an independent company called VitalCheck to provide online services. An additional fee is charged by VitalCheck though for such service. Moreover, if you want to obtain government records free of charge, then you can resort to other independent online records providers. Online record providers range from free to fee based. They only require you a minimal fee and with such fee, you can already have access to their database where all government records in the state can be obtained. What's more, instead of the usual days to month turnaround time, they can give you comprehensive results in just minutes. Indeed, with such providers, you will be able to save money, time, and effort.




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