How to obtain my grandfather's birth certificate?

Factual Questions
1

Hello folks,

I’m new here–and I joined up so I could solicit some advice on how to obtain a copy of my grandfather’s birth certificate from the city of Rochester, New York. The city hall records department refuses to let my father get a copy "because it might lead to ‘identity theft’ (though my grandfather was born in 1896 and is long deceased. :confused:

I was wondering if there are any other avenues that I could take to bypass all the red tape.

Thanks in advance.

2

You or your father can apply for an uncertified copy from the state Department of Health. There’s an application form and mailing address at the bottom of this page. (It says that sending it to the city will save time, but if they’ve been unhelpful, maybe it won’t.)

3

The link Lord Feldon gave is good. I’ve received birth, death, and marriage certificates from New York. Every State in the union allows genealogical copies, with some restrictions on time-range (that is, typically X number of years must pass, etc.) Even then, some States will allow viewing the certificate, and will let you copy info by hand, just not give you a photocopy. Missouri is the best State to deal with - they have everything up to about 1960 or so online, free to download as PDFs. :slight_smile:

Never go by the agencies which charge you for it - always deal with the State directly. All the agencies do is fill out the form and send it in, and skim money off the top. And surprise, sometimes the form you fill out for the agency is the exact same form you would have sent to the State anyhow.

Note that many States have warnings of dire legal consequences should you copy or scan the copy of the birth certificate, etc. Whether or not you can actually be prosecuted for such is open to debate, but if you want to be safe, don’t copy it.

4

I do know Illinois can be a stickler. I tried to get a certificate for genealogical purposes, but unless I was the person or the child of the person, the certificate had to be 75 years old. I can’t believe they’re giving you grief for one that’s 114 years old. Hope the state link works for you.

5

You should actually contact the county clerk, not city hall.