Q: How can you get a court order to obtain a birth certificate for a deceased parent in Maryland?
I would like to obtain my father's birth certificate. He is deceased, and he was born in Maryland. The Division of Vital Records in Maryland only allows people who are listed on the birth certificate (the parents of the child, and the child born) to request an official copy of the birth certificate. If you are not listed on the birth certificate, you must petition a circuit court to obtain a court order so that you may then request the birth certificate from the Division of Vital Records. How can this be done? Thank you for any help.
A:
How much money is it worth to spend in order to get a birth certificate of a deceased ancestor? What information is on the birth certificate that you cannot obtain anywhere else?
If you must have it, then you file a "Petition for Appropriate Relief" in the Circuit Court where you reside or where the Division of Vital records is located. In the petition, identify yourself fully, identify the person whose birth certificate you want, your relationship to the person, and the reason or reasons why you want/need a copy. Cite the response given to you by the Division of Vital Records, and that the Circuit Court has authority to issue an order granting a person access to a copy pursuant to the following code section :
MD Code, Health - General, § 4-217:
"(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall provide, on request, any person authorized by regulations adopted under this subtitle with a certified or abridged copy of a birth, death, or fetal death certificate registered under this subtitle or of the certificate of a marriage performed after June 1, 1951.
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(b)(1) A certified or abridged copy of a birth certificate may be issued only: (i) On order of a court of competent jurisdiction...."
You should affirmatively state the following: "The Petitioner is not making this request for any commercial, fraudulent or deceptive purpose." The reason you include this statement is because the above section of the Code prohibits the use of a birth certificate for any of these purposes, so you should state that to satisfy the Code requirements.
Or hire a lawyer to do it for you.
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