Is there a way to get a copy of my grandfathers birth certificate if he's still alive?

Question

The situation is he is still alive but refuses contact with any family members. I need this for my research. How can I get a copy of his birth certificate or do I just wait until he dies? I want it because I don't know his family linage. Who his parents were etc. All I know is his name.

Answer 1

Not that I know of.  I needed a copy of my own birth cert and I had to fill out a document and get in notarized and everything.

Answer 2

Ordinarily a relative could write to or visit the probate court for the county of the state in which a relative lives or lived and provide as many details as are  known of - Full name, date of birth, township, and your relationship to this person. There will be a nominal fee for the certificate.

If you don't know the county, you will just have to guess by writing letters to various probate courts asking them to do a little research as to whether your relative was born there. Nearly all will oblige you on this, good luck!

Answer 3

I think it depends on the state.  I realized just yesterday that I could order a certificate for my grandfather in PA, but in my state of FL, you can only order a birth certificate if your relative is deceased, or your their Power of Attorney.

Answer 4

He is your grandfather and nobody is going to ask you if he's still alive or not...as long as he's old enough to reasonably be dead. You will have to sign a form stating this is for genealogy research and that you are his granddaughter. But that is honestly all that's going to happen. While you're there, also get a copy of his marriage license to your grandma. You'll find it's also full of information that you'll want to find out more about your family.

The only time you're going to have a problem is if you're looking for someone who's not old enough to be a grandparent. When somebody's in their 20s, 30s, 40s and early 50s there's more to it. But once someone is in their mid-50s, genealogy is something that courts recognize as a respectable reason for a record. They might ask you which of his kids is your parent, but that's more small talk than anything else.

Answer 5

Where was he born?

If you know where and what date it is easy to look up the ref. no. in the index (there are a few online)....then order the certificate from the GRO -

They will even provide one without the reference if you pay a little more!

Answer 6

Short answer is yes, if you are in England.

If you don't have access to a site where you can look up his registration details, I can do that for you if you wish, do not enter any details on this forum but please feel free to email me with his name and birth date, or approximate birth year and, if you know it, the area he was born in, and I'll see what I can find for you.