Guide to What To Do If You Lose An Important Vital Record

Vital records, such as birth certificates, death certificates and marriage records, play an important role in our lives. But it seems that few people are concerned about vital records until a life event makes having official copies a necessity. Occasions such as marriage, divorce, school, travel, education, insurance, legal proceedings, and driver's license applications all require the submission of a certified copy of a vital record. And a missing document can spell disaster if you are in a hurry.

Most home organization pros recommend keeping your vital records in a safety deposit box or a fire proof safe at home. Ask yourself, do you know where your vital records are? Are they stored in a safe place?

There are many sites on the Web that enable consumers to acquire vital records from the appropriate government agency, including the government agencies themselves. The problem with most government sites is that they are not setup for ecommerce transactions. The good news is that most of these agencies have setup relationships with websites to help them fulfil these transactions online. The largest vendor approved by most state and local government agenicies is VitalChek Network Inc. (www.vitalchek.com).

"It's not always convenient to make a trip to a vital records office where your documents originated," explains Billy Burns, vice president of sales for VitalChek. "If you live in another state or city, or you simply don't have the time, you previously were out of luck. But with access to a computer and VitalChek.com, certified copies of your vital records are just a few clicks away."

VitalChek is an official service provider for more than 600 government agencies throughout the United States and U.S. Territories, safely delivering millions of important documents every year, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage records and divorce records. VitalChek uses identity verification and authentication tools to ensure accurate identification. If you need to buy an official copy of a vital record for yourself or a family member, VitalChek can help.

If you're researching your local vital record office Web site, be sure to look for the VitalChek logo or link.