Margaret Pennington, local registrar for the Warren County Combined Health District, said a person who required a copy of their certified birth certificate had to go to their county of birth to obtain it or from the state’s office of Vital Statistics.
“This makes it more convenient for residents to get a copy of their birth certificate when they need it,” she said.
She said birth certificates can be purchased for $22 at the health department office 416 S. East Street between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The health department accepts cash, checks or money order as payment for birth certificates.
Pennington said birth certificates can be ordered online through www.vitalchek.com. There will be a $7 service charge added to the $22 fee to order a birth certificate but that service accepts credit cards, she said.
Pennington said the Ohio Department of Health started working on this project in 2006 to enable statewide issuance and purchases of birth certificates at local health departments.
Since 2006, more than 20 million vital records have been scanned and keyed index information into the state database.
With this effort complete, all local health departments will now be able to access and issue a certified birth abstract for Ohio birth records dating back to 1908.
Duane Stansbury, county health commissioner, said all a person has to do is give their name, birth date and county of birth to obtain a copy of their birth certificate.
Stansbury said he has been concerned about possible identity theft through this system.
“The reality is that Ohio law is written so that anyone can get a copy of a birth certificate. But, if the local health department believes someone is doing something nefarious, they can contact the state (Department of Health) and they will investigate it,” Stansbury said. “This is something I’ve been pushing with the state health department to keep people from getting someone else’s birth certificate.”
He feels Ohio should do what Indiana does which requires the requestor to be one of the people (the child, mother or father) listed on the birth certificate or through a court order.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.
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