Sunday, January 5, 2014

Ohio Public Records

By Ben Kingsley


If you are looking for public records Ohio, then you might find this article helpful in your search. There are several options or ways for you to obtain public records in Ohio. In fact, one can obtain these records through phone, mail, online ordering and even by in-person or walk-in application.

To start with, birth and death records are usually available from the State's Vital Office section or the County Department where the event occurred. For divorce decrees and marriage certificates, reports are available from the probate court or the county clerk where the cases were filed and granted. Marriage and divorce records are not obtainable from the Vital Records Office; however, the Office has an index or abstract of marriage and divorce reports, which can be useful for one to locate the actual court or county where the papers were filed and granted.

To obtain birth and death records, researchers can check out the Office of Vital Statistics. The Office has a large database and in fact has records that date back to 1908 for births and 1954 for death records. Some records though might no longer be accessible from the Office, as they have already been moved to the Ohio Historical Society for archiving. These records are those that are 125 years old (for births) and 50 years old (for deaths). To obtain copies, one can request for plain paper copies of the record from the Ohio Historical Society.

To obtain copies from the Office of Vital Statistics, researchers have several options. One is through in person or walk in. The Office is open weekdays from 8am-5pm. The Office is closed during holidays. Researchers have to fill up a form and pay the $21.50 fee. Payment can be made through several payment options, which include credit cards, check, cash and money order. Same day issuance is not guaranteed after 4:30pm. Researchers can however request the records to be mailed or picked up later.

For those who avail of the mail request, they can send their request and payment of $21.50 to the Vital Records Office. Processing time takes about three weeks from the receipt of request to delivery. Customer-assisted personnel can also take in the credit card information for online transaction services. For those who need the records urgently, they can check their local county health department. Fees vary and processing time can be shorter than the State's processing time.

For those individuals who are looking for records with no specific year or where the date of the event is unknown, the Office provides searching services. The Office charges $3 for up to 10 years of records and fees multiply for every 10 years added to the search. Processing time can take up to six (6) months to complete depending on the period given. For those who need the records for informational purposes, another way to obtain Public Records Search is through searching public record online sites which provide vital records searching making it the fastest way one can obtain reports or records while waiting for their requested certified copies.




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