Alabama Vital Records: Difference between revisions

The [http://www.alabama.gov/portal/secondary.jsp?page=AboutAlabama_Genealogy State of Alabama] required the registration of births on a state level beginning in 1908. Early registration in this time period was sketchy. Most births were recorded by 1927. Early birth&nbsp;registers and certificates generally do not contain the name of the child but may contain other important information (see table below). It is more common to find the child's name by the 1920's. Birth Certificates are kept confidential for 125 years following the date of birth.<br>

Alabama law requires the creation of a new birth certificate after a legal adoption has taken place. The original birth certificate and evidence of adoption are then placed in a sealed file and the new certificate is substituted for the original birth certificate in the [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/ State Department of Vital Statistics] files. Starting August 1, 2000, original birth records (as well as all documents in the sealed file) became available to adoptees once they reached the age of 19. The [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1563 Alabama Department of Public Health] has detailed information about obtaining copies of sealed birth records. See [[Adoption Research]] for more information.