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.
When appealing for a vital record, you have to fill out an application form. For birth records, provide the full name of the person, date and place of birth, full name of father and the mother. For death certificates, include the full legal name of the deceased, date and county of death, sex, date of birth, name of spouse and of parents. For divorce and marriage records, include the county where the event was filed and granted or where the license was issued. In obtaining any of these records, you have to provide your personal details, your relationship to the person whose certificate you are requesting, the reason for your request, and your notarized signature. 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.Also, a personal check or money order should be made payable to the Department of Public Health.
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.
Usually, the turnaround time for record requests takes about 4 to 6 weeks depending on what method is utilized. Ways to obtain vital records in the state of Iowa are through walk-in or in person, via phone, mail, or online. If you want to get the vital records personally, then you can go to any agency mentioned above. For marriage and divorce records, you can choose to go to the District Clerk\'s office where the marriage license was issued or where the divorce was filed and approved. In any of these agencies, you are required to bring with you the abovementioned requisites. The vital record you have requested for will be mailed to you the following business day.
In appealing for a copy of vital record, you can also call the Vital Statistics Division. Their phone number can be obtained from the website of the Department of Public Health. The turnaround time for requests via phone is 7 to 21 days depending on the volume of requests in their office. If your request is returned to you via regular mail, expect that this will take 5 days before you receive it. This goes for mail requests as well as mail orders take 5 business days to reach the Vital Records Office, and an additional 5 business days to be returned to you. However, the turnaround time for such requests depends on the volume of requests and may take up to 20 business days. The only requests accepted by mail are genealogy requests. Such requests require a minimum of 30 business days 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.
