How to get a NYS certified birth certificate for a deceased person?

June 23, 2023 9:32 AM

I'm trying to collect the documents to eventually apply for dual Italian citizenship and it turns out that the only people who can get certified copies of birth certificates in NYS without a court order are the people named on the birth certificates (the child and the parents) (link). Unfortunately, my mother and grandparents are deceased so I guess I need a court order??

I requested uncertified copies of the birth certificates needed through the NYS Department of Health Genealogical Records and Resources (link) which supposedly will be helpful in obtaining the certified copies as they will prove that they exist and are in the place where I think they are.

Do I need a lawyer to help me with this? If so, what kind? How much can I expect to spend on this? It looks like the kind of thing some people have been able to do without a lawyer but I'd rather do it right the first time than have to revisit it repeatedly. I googled around for lawyers who do this and found a few people but I might not have been using the right search terms. Another hiccup is that I don't live in NYS and would prefer it if I didn't have to return for this purpose.

Thanks/gratzie in advance for your help!

posted by kat518 to Law & Government (10 answers total)

This may be a silly question, but have you tried using VitalChek to request the records? They've mostly automated the process and have developed authorized workarounds for many, um, bureaucratic oddities at various states.
posted by aramaic at 9:42 AM on June 23, 2023

Response by poster: Not a silly question, @aramaic! Having requested things from VitalChek previously, if one says that they are named on the birth certificate, they are then asked to submit proof of ID (which I don't have). If one says that they are not named on the birth certificate, they are then asked to submit proof that they are entitled to the person's birth certificate such as court order or power of attorney (which I don't have). Argh.
posted by kat518 at 9:54 AM on June 23, 2023

Genealogical-record requests from that office are backed up for about two years. Not kidding.

If you know the county or town/city, that is the best way to go. And you don't have to go there; just ask the relevant office what details they need and the amount and method of payment, and they'll mail it to you if they have it.
posted by jgirl at 10:10 AM on June 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for your reply, @jgirl. I requested birth certificates from that office and the relevant local officials but they can only provide uncertified copies. I mean, maybe they'll surprise me if/when I get a reply from them.
posted by kat518 at 10:16 AM on June 23, 2023

Perhaps if you re-characterize your inquiry as being genealogical in nature you may have better luck, as there are resources like the Genealogy Records & Resources section of the NYS Dept of Health, and a similar project for New York City, with looser guidelines if the people involved are long dead.
posted by aramaic at 10:23 AM on June 23, 2023

I'm in the same boat, and I was hoping you'd get more useful answers here. Are you a member of the Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship facebook group? A lot of group members have been through the process and will know how to deal with this.
posted by chaiminda at 4:46 AM on June 24, 2023

Response by poster: @aramaic, alas, that refers to uncertified copies.
posted by kat518 at 6:32 AM on June 24, 2023

Response by poster: chaiminda, I put out feelers for lawyers who might be able to assist. Can keep you posted. I’ve been avoiding Facebook but if I change my mind there, I’ll check it out.
posted by kat518 at 6:41 AM on June 24, 2023

From digging around NYS, it seems like you might be able to get the historic record (uncertified) and then possibly submit it to be certified/apostilled after having been issued. I have not called the DOS myself, but you might give them a call at the number listed on that page.

My condolences; I'm pursuing a similar effort in a different country and the number of hoops some places make you jump through is disheartening (I am currently mailing things to an embassy, so that they can mail it officially to a ministry in another country, who will mail it back to the embassy, who will mail it back to me, so that I can then turn around and mail it BACK to that country in order to have the document officially attested as valid. Fees at every step, naturally.)
posted by aramaic at 10:17 AM on June 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hi all, just offering an update. I've reached out to a few organizations that help US citizens seeking dual Italian citizenship and have been connected with two lawyers who seem to have expertise in this area. One said that they would want to have the uncertified birth certificates before starting to work on a court order so that's where I am now. Thanks all!
posted by kat518 at 8:49 AM on July 6, 2023