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1.
How do I get copies of my birth,
marriage or divorce certificate? |
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2.
How do I correct my Birth
Certificate? |
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3.
How do I get a Birth Certificate
for my foreign born child I
adopted in NH? |
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4.
Where can I research my family
history? |
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5.
What is the cost of a copy of a
vital record? |
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6.
How do I get a certified copy as
soon as possible? |
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7.
What is the normal turn around
time between the request and
receipt of a certificate? |
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Questions & Answers:
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1. How
do I get copies of my birth, marriage or divorce certificate?
Effective January 1, 2005 all individuals requesting
a certified copy of a record (Pursuant to RSA 5C-16)
must present positive identification, including, but
not limited to, a driver’s license, passport or
other government issued picture Identification.
NH vital records are considered to be private and NH
Statute restricts access to them to only those
individuals who can demonstrate a "direct and
tangible interest" in the record. Certain older
records are exempt from these access restric-tions.
Birth records prior to 1901 and death, marriage and
divorce records prior to 1948 are available with
unrestricted access. Individuals wishing to
research these genealogical records may do so by
visiting our Genealogical Research Center.
Alterna-tively, a written request may be made to the
Vital Records offices and staff will
research records upon receipt of request and search
fee.
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2. How do I correct my Birth Certificate?
Sometimes
a person finds that the information on the official
record is not complete or
that some item of information on the certificate
does not agree with what he or she believes to be
the facts. When this is the case, it is possible to
have missing information added, or to have errors on
the certificate corrected. Any person may
apply for completion or correction of any
certificate in which he or she is directly
interested. Ordinarily, this will be the person
whose certificate needs to be completed or
corrected, one of the parents or the legal
representative of the individual. If a registrant
is 18 years of age or older, he or she must approve
the requested change when the application is
submitted by anyone other than themselves.
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3. How
do I get a Birth Certificate for my foreign born child I adopted in NH?
NH Statute
requires that the Registrar of Vital Records will,
upon request, issue a birth certificate when a
foreign born person has been adopted in a NH Court.
Contact DVRA staff for a Form VS 37 FB. By filling
out and returning this form, you will supply DVRA
the information needed to prepare a new birth
certificate. The form needs to be signed by the
adoptive parent(s) and the signature(s) must be
notarized. The fee for preparing the birth
certificate will be $25.00 which includes issuing a
certified copy of the record.
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4. Where
can I research my family history?
You can request access to
unrestricted records (births prior to 1901; deaths,
marriages and divorces prior to 1948) by contacting
the DVRA offices. Furthermore, if you are a direct
family member, you can access DVRA's restricted
database. The Division also has a Research
Room
located at the DVRA offices. It is open to the
public from 8:30AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday.
Volunteers will assist you in your research.
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5. What
is the cost of a copy of a vital record?
The cost of a search for
a vital record is $12.00. If DVRA staff find a
record after the search, a certified copy will be
issued free of charge. Additional certified copies
of the same record are available at a cost of $8.00
each. Lamination of a birth card is available for
an additional charge of $.50 per card. Using a
credit card to pay will cost an additional $6.00.
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6. How
do I get a certified copy as soon as possible?
Using a major credit card, there is an expedited
vital record service provided through a third party
vendor, USCerts. In addition to the $12.00 search
fee, your credit card will be charged additional
processing and shipping fees. You should receive
your certificate within 3 to 6 days of your order.
You may initiate this service by calling USCerts at
877-878-8007 or by visiting them online at
www.uscerts.com.
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7. What
is the normal turn around time between the request and receipt of a
certificate?
If
you visit our office in person, we can issue the
certificate while you wait. If you mail in a
request, please allow 30 business days for
your certificate to arrive by return mail although
we endeavor to complete the requests as soon as
possible.
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