Missouri is one of the many states that are considered as an open state. This means that the public records Missouri manages are available for request anytime. The public records are composed of birth, marriage, divorce and death records.
These documents are the source of information when conducting genealogy research. The information that can be found on the public documents of the state of Missouri is used to update the family tree. If such event is not updated or indicated on the family history, it would be difficult of the later generations to track their origin. Aside from that, the documents are also used by the people when they deal with any government transactions. Most processes in government offices would call for any of the public documents. It is used as proof of one\'s identity or status. Furthermore, the document is also used by those who conduct a background check. They use it as an identity reference in their research.
The public documents of the state of Missouri would contain information about the event it is recording. For example, a birth certificate would shoe information as to when and where the person was born. Details about the death of an individual are also what are indicated on a death certificate. This includes details on when and where the person died as well as the reason for the death. This document is only given to the immediate family of the deceased. A marriage license is generated upon marriage. The same goes for divorce certificates.
In requesting for a copy of any of the public documents of the state, one has to know the basic information about the incident and the record being obtained. This can be easier if the one who filed the request is the person himself. The state actually allows its residents to only request for their personal files; otherwise an authorization has to be presented to proceed. The cost for the retrieval would depend on the type of file being requested. The cost would not go beyond $20 per type of document.
The Department of Health under the Vital Records Section is where all of the public documents are being archived. The said office is also responsible for releasing copies of such documents. Records of birth and death are have been indexed by the state since 1910 while marriage and divorce files have been kept since 1948. In order to get a copy of the said documents before the mentioned years, one may need to go to the office of the county clerk where the event took place or has been registered.
The Public Records Government of Missouri keeps are now stored electronically. This means that the retrieval of the documents is easier and a lot more convenient than before. Obtaining the document through the Internet is faster since there is no need to go to any office. One only needs to go to a website that offers such service and the results are delivered in just seconds instead of days or weeks.
