hard copies of documents

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I was wondering: can someone point me in the right direction? I am going to send off for hard copies of our birth certificates, marriage liscense (can't find it! oops). Do I write to the state or to the county in which the event happened? Am also going to send off for my husband's Benefit Estimate Statement from the SSA, although I read this afternoon that there is 9 trillion dollars of unfunded social security commitments!! So will probably never see any of it anyway,y2k or not!! Any way, thanks for any help!!

-- Donna in Texas (Dd0143@aol.com), September 29, 1998

Answers

Donna,

In our neck of the woods a local (county) register of deeds can be petitioned for a certified copy of a birth certificate, death certificate, or marriage license. Depending on circumstances, they may or may not maintain copies locally, and might have to write off to the state themselves; but the county's where to start.

Of course the law in Texas might be different, but that's how they do it up thisaway.

-- John Howard (Greenville, NC) (pcdir@prodigy.net), September 29, 1998.


Start with the County Clerk's office for marriage license - the county you were married in, by the way. . Speaking of the county, don't forget to get copies of the property taxes you have paid on your home. In Iowa and Illinois, the state keeps track of birth certificates but I was also able to get a copy for my kids from the county. Baptismal records too, from the applicable church, if applicable :-) because those are accepted as proof of identity by some people.

-- Melissa (financed@forbin.com), September 29, 1998.

Donna, I don't know where you would go in Texas, but here in Kansas, I had to go through the Vital Statistics Department of the state government to get certified copies. Documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates are not necessarily public information. I had to state whay I wanted it and provide i.d. that I had a right to it. I found the address by looking up the Kansas government on the web. Hope this helps.

-- Gina (gngdecker@ckt.net), October 04, 1998.

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