Virginia Public Records

By law, constituents of the state have the right to perform a Virginia public record search. Like any other states which have imposed guidelines in the process of procuring the same records, Virginia’s jurisdiction has implemented its own rules, regulations, and restrictions as well. To request for any public record in the State of Virginia, a vital record application form must be completed first.

It is at the Department of Health Records Bureau that all of these vital documents, statistics, and other forms of information keeping are kept and maintained. These data may also be obtained from the State Library. Public records can be found from other agencies as well. Arrest and criminal records, for instance, are accessible at the State Police Department. All record requests require a corresponding payment. Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records each require a $12 processing fee whereas a criminal background check requires $15. The processing time for public record requests in Virginia depends on what type of public record is requested.

The usual methods of obtaining such records are through mail and walk-in. Counter service is also available at the Vital Records Office. However, this may be inconvenient to you. In such case, you can opt for online retrieval. This way you can save time plus you get to receive the results of your record search in just a matter of minutes.

Here are the steps which you can follow to get Virginia public records the usual way:

• Print the Vital Record Application form.
• Complete the form with all the essential details asked.
• As the requestor, state your name, address, and your contact number.
• Indicate your relationship to the person on the certificate and the reason of such request.
• Include a copy of a valid photo ID. Indicated in the application form is the list of acceptable IDs.
• Prepare a $12 fee for vital records or $14 for criminal background check.

The payment should be made through check or money order only. Bear in mind that such payment is non-refundable notwithstanding the possibility of not locating the record at all. The processing time for each entreaty depends on what record is requested.

See to it that you write all the important details required in the form. Provide as much information as possible to narrow the results and get the record easier.

Significant details which you must provide are the following:

• Birth record requests – name of the individual, date and place of birth, race, sex, full maiden name of mother, and full name of the father
• Stillbirth and death records requests – name of deceased, date and place of death, age at death, race, sex, full maiden name of mother, and full name of father
• Marriage and divorce decrees requests – full name of husband, full name of wife, date and place of marriage, date and place of divorce, and county where the license was issued

For more information about Virginia public records, feel free to visit the sites listed below:

• Vital Statistics Office, Department of Health
• State Library
• Virginia State Police
• Virginia Vital Records
• Virginia Court Records
• Public Records Directory of Virginia
• State Quick Facts