Obtaining a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate is believed by some to be a time consuming affair. Most people expect to slog through traffic during the day to reach the vital records office in their county, and then proceed to wait in more lines.

The perceived notion of a long wait, unfriendly business office hours and clerks, tracking down a certified copy of any vital record is generally not seen as an easy task. With some county offices striving to make it more convenient for customers, the rest of the country's vital records offices now have a model they can emulate. Orange County in California is an example of a county that is working to make the task of ordering a birth record easier for citizens.

Orange County Clerk Recorder Department has Two Offices:

At the Orange County Clerk Recorder Department in California, vital records can be accessed in a much smoother manner than in the past. Because of the volume of customers the office assists, they operate two offices, the main location in Santa Ana and a branch office in Laguna Hills.

How to Order an Orange County Birth Certificate:

In order to receive a California birth certificate, death or marriage certificate from either location, the easiest thing to do is first visit the Orange County Clerk-Recorder's website. There, customers can process an application for the vital records they're searching with a few mouse clicks. The average processing time to fill out the application is 3 minutes. The customer can also schedule an appointment to pick up the document, reducing time spent in lines. If customers don't have access to a computer, or walk into the Clerk-Recorder Department without an appointment they go to a computer station where they can begin the automated process.

When one arrives for their appointment to pick up the Orange County birth, death or marriage certificate, applicants go to a specific window to provide required identification. The certificate and receipt are printed at this time. The Clerk-Recorder Department accepts several methods of payment, including cash, check, money order, cashier's check, travelers check or debit card. Credit cards are not accepted at this time.

Approximately forty percent of all requests for birth certificates, death certificates and marriage certificates in the county are provided to applicants through this automated process.

How to Bypass the Line:

There is another method to request certificates and bypass lines completely. You can access Orange County, CA birth certificates online through a third party vendor and order as an express service.

Now you know how to obtain birth certificates and other vital records. The next step is ensuring you are keeping these records stored in a secure, safe location for the next time you need to present a copy.

Some typical life events or situations which require you to present a government certified copy of an original vital record include: registering a child for school, applying for a driver’s license, completing the passport application process, registering for social security benefits, joining the military, registering a child for organized sports and settling the estate of a deceased spouse, parent or child.