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The Minnesota Historical Society hosts an online index to birth certificates to provide access to images of Minnesota birth certificates. These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide more details on this project.
Why can’t I find a certificate that I know should be there?
Creating a birth certificate and creating a database index are not exact sciences. When the information for a certificate is first compiled, there is room for error. People providing information about birth often forget to include certain pieces of data. In some cases, they may have not chosen the child’s name yet. For example, it is not unusual to find misspellings in older records of all types. In addition, poor handwriting may have led to transcription or re-keying of data errors.
While both the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Historical Society are greatly concerned with the quality of this index, not all these errors can be corrected. Information in original records, even when erroneous, cannot be changed. To help make your searches successful, be aware of the possibilities of misspellings and different spellings. Consider all the possible variations in a name when doing a search (e.g., Johnson, Johnsen or Jonson).
Use the Soundex options to give yourself the best chance to find a name. Remember that the complete record is not available through the index; you may need to order copies of a number of certificates to get more information and narrow your search.
Please be aware that the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MN Statutes, chapter 13.10, Subd 2) prevents us from making available certain birth certificates, such as the records of out of wedlock births, for a period of 100 years.
If, after all of your searching, you are still unable to find the correct birth certificate you may need to consult with the individual county in which the person was born.
Where do I find birth certificates?
The Minnesota Historical Society Library has copies of non-certified birth certificates online through the Society’s web site. Dedicated computer terminals are available for use in the Library by patrons searching the Birth Certificates Index. Currently, certificates for the years 1900-1934 are available, though more will be added over time.
The Birth Certificates Index contains only a few birth records before 1900. For additional birth certificates before 1900, contact the vital statistics registrar's office for the county in which the person was born, not necessarily the county of residence.
Note: Minnesota law required the recording of births beginning in 1870, although compliance and enforcement was sporadic during the 19th century. Many counties were not formed until well after 1870, so births occurring in what became those counties may be recorded in their parent counties.
How can I get copies of birth certificates?
You may use this site to search for and gather any certificate copies that you wish to order. Once you are ready to purchase your selected certificate(s), our online store will safely and securely process your transaction. The price for each non-certified record is $9.00, plus sales tax if applicable.
Once the transaction has been processed, you will receive an e-mail notification explaining how to retrieve your non-certified certificate electronically. This e-mail will provide a link to the certificate(s). Click on the link to view the certificate. This link will be accessible for 72 hours following the initial e-mail notification.
For patrons who chose to mail in their payment, they will have to wait until we receive their payment and process the order (approximately 3-5 business days). Once the order is filled by our staff, an e-mail notification will be sent to the customer instructing them on how to access their certificates through the Society’s web site. The certificate(s) will be accessible for 72 hours following the e-mail notification.
The Minnesota Historical Society does not mail out paper copies of birth certificates. All orders are made available over the Internet through the Society’s web site.
As an alternative, you may use the dedicated computer terminals located in the Minnesota Historical Society Library in St. Paul to search and print non-certified copies for $9.00 per certificate.
In order to protect the privacy of the subjects of the records and to prevent the risk of identity theft, the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota Department of Health have agreed not to sell or distribute copies of the complete set or of any subsets of the records. The MHS can provide single copies of individual public records reproduced from the originals. It will not provide “official” or “certified” copies of records.
What will the online index tell me?
The index should provide the first, middle, and last name of the individual, date of birth, county of birth, mother’s maiden name and the certificate number. Data that was missing from the original birth certificate, frequently the first and middle names of the child, will not appear in the index.
How do I use the online index?
This online index allows for specific or general searches for four basic types of data: name, year of birth, county of birth, and mother’s maiden name.
The name category has fields for the first and last names to focus the search for a particular individual. A field for the mother’s maiden name is also included.
The two pull-down menus to the left of the first, last and mother’s maiden name fields allow a query for an exact name or for only part of a name. For example, if you were looking for a J. Doe but you weren’t sure of the first name, the first name field menu could be set to “begins with” to include all first names that begin with J. See help page for further instructions.
When you are not sure of the spelling of a name, you may also try the Soundex option.
The birth-year category can be set to search all years, one year or a range of years. The county-of-birth category allows searches of a single county or several counties simultaneously.
A query might produce a long list of results. By default, the index will arrange the results alphabetically by last name, but you can also request the results arranged by first name, date of birth or county of birth.
For more detailed directions, see the help page.
What is Soundex and how can it help me?
Soundex is an indexing system based on how a surname sounds rather than how it is spelled. This system enables one to search for a name even if it was recorded with a variety of spellings. By selecting one of the Soundex options on the search screen, this function will be performed automatically. If you wish to perform your own soundex conversions, try our Soundex tool.
This index gives the researcher the choice of using either the traditional Soundex system or the Extended Soundex system. The traditional system is based on the first letter of the last name, so it is crucial that this letter is known and has been correctly transcribed from documents. Occasionally, letters such as ‘I’ and ‘J’ are misread from paper documents and then incorrectly entered into the database. In such cases, the traditional Soundex system will not be useful.
The Extended Soundex system, however, assigns a numeric code to the first letter and to later consonants. Because the code consists of only six numbers and there are 20 consonants in the alphabet, it is likely that a number will represent more than one letter. Therefore, a search for a surname that begins with one letter could result in surnames that begin with other letters. For example, the results of a search for the name “Jenson” would also include “Swenson” because the Extended Soundex program would similarly code the two names.
The National Archives and Records Administration’s web site provides more information on Soundex and genealogy.
What information is on a birth certificate?
Information on a birth certificate may include: first name, last name, middle name, sex, race, date of birth, place of birth, father’s name, father’s age, father’s occupation, father’s place of birth, mother’s maiden name, mother’s age, mother’s occupation, mother’s place of birth, number of previous children born to this mother, name and address of the attending physician or midwife, name and address of the person providing information about the birth, and the certificate number.
You may view two examples of birth certificates. The first, a birth record card was used between 1900 and 1907. The second example, the birth certificate, became the standard form used beginning in 1908.
Not all of this information will be on every birth certificate. The forms were not always complete.
Why does the mother’s maiden name field contain first names?
One of the most omitted or incorrectly documented pieces of information on the birth certificates is the mother’s maiden name. Frequently only the first name is provided on the certificate. Rather than leave this field blank, it was felt that indexers should provide researchers with whatever information is available from the certificate. When adding these certificates to the index, the rule was to enter the last part of the mother’s maiden name as it appears on the certificate.
For example, if "Jane Doe" was listed on the certificate, then "Doe" would be entered in the mother’s maiden name field. However, if only "Jane" appeared on the certificate then "Jane" was entered in the index. If no information was provided, the field was left blank.
Will I find any additional information besides the birth certificate?
No. The Minnesota Historical Society scanned the birth records under a contract with, and according to the directions of, the Minnesota Department of Health. What is online on the Society's web site is the complete record per the Department's definitions. While this may not comprise all of the information that a researcher wants to find (e.g, attachments, correction files), it is all the information the Society has available.
How can I find birth certificates for Native Americans?
Locating birth certificates for Native Americans may require some extra research. Although Native American births apparently were subject to the same birth reporting requirements as births of other Minnesotans, it appears that many Native American births were not recorded in the state records, especially during the early years from 1900 to World War I. This may be because many Native American births were home births, which were less likely to be recorded. For births that were recorded, many of the certificates contain Native American names in the original Ojibwe language, for example, or a combination of native and Anglicized versions. Researchers should check all variations of such names in the index (see "What do the letter prefixes before the certificate number mean?" for information about the IN record series). Researchers may also contact county offices for birth records that may not have been reported to the state. For births that occurred on Indian reservations, researchers may wish to contact the federal government archives.
Are there other sources for birth records?
The Birth Certificate Index contains only a very few entries for pre-1900 births. To find a birth certificate dated before 1900, you may need to contact the individual county in which the birth occurred. Minnesota did not have an official statewide birth records system until 1900. Until then, each county maintained its own birth registry.
Birth certificates/registers are usually under the care of the county vital statistics officer. The vital statistics officer is frequently the county recorder, but records may be found in other county offices. These early records may not contain as much detail as later ones.
Birth records not available in this index can be found at the Minnesota Department of Health and, possibly, at the vital statistics registrar’s office in each county. You may be able to obtain copies of a birth certificate from either location for a fee. The Minnesota Historical Society has birth records on microfilm for a few Minnesota counties; search the library card catalog at http://mnhs.mnpals.net to determine the Society's holdings.
How were the birth certificates created?
When someone was born, a physician or midwife compiled information about the child on a birth certificate. The certificate was registered with the local county registrar and the original copy sent to the Office of Vital Statistics, Minnesota Department of Health. There, the vital statistics staff ensured that the information was complete and that it met the state’s standards. At that point, the birth certificate at the Department of Health became the official, permanent record.
Where can I get certified copies of a birth certificate?
Certified birth certificates may be requested from the vital statistics registrar at a local county office or from the Minnesota Department of Health. Certification requires the completion of an application to establish your tangible interest in a certificate. Certification is designed to prevent fraud by restricting access to certificates used for illegal purposes, such as identity theft. The Department of Health’s web site provides more information about certified birth certificates.
Are there other research tips and warnings?
Keep in mind that certificates are issued and registered in the county in which the birth occurred. This may be different from the county of residence.
Remember that some Minnesota counties were established after 1900.
· Clearwater County was formed in 1902 from a portion of Beltrami County.
· Koochiching County was formed in 1906 from a portion of Itasca County.
· Mahnomen County was formed in 1906 from a portion of Norman County.
· Pennington County was formed in 1910 from a portion of Red Lake County.
· Lake of the Woods County was formed in 1922 from a portion of Beltrami County.
For example, the record of a birth in Baudette in 1920 was recorded in Beltrami County but one in 1923 would be recorded in Lake of the Woods County.
What is the goal of this indexing project?
The goal of the project is to index, preserve and provide access to Minnesota's 1900-1934 birth certificates. This will provide the foundation for a comprehensive project, encompassing all birth certificates, from 1900 through 2001 (approximately 5.9 million records).
The Minnesota Historical Society will digitize, index and make available the birth records from 1900-1934 in a searchable online format. As per the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MN Statutes, chapter 13.10 subd 2), certain birth certificates will not be made available, including the records of out of wedlock births, for a period of 100 years.
For certificates not indexed here, researchers must contact the Minnesota Department of Health or the county of birth.
What are the birth cards for 1900-1907 and how do they differ from the other birth certificates?
The birth record cards date from 1900 to 1907 and precede the official birth certificates. The cards are transcripts of birth information that were compiled by the Minnesota Department of Health.
Each card, if completely filled out, includes first name, last name, middle name, sex, race, date of birth, place of birth, father’s name, father’s age, father’s occupation, father’s place of birth, mother’s maiden name, mother’s age, mother’s occupation, mother’s place of birth, number of previous children, name and address of the attending physician or midwife, name and address of the person providing information about the birth.
Researchers should know that many cards were filled out very incompletely.
What do the brackets (< >) mean in the date of birth field?
Occasionally the birth certificate contains a date of birth that is erroneous, such as December 33, or incomplete, such as only including the month. Though it is an official record and cannot be changed, for the research purposes and to enable date searches these dates must be rounded to the nearest acceptable date. The brackets have been provided to inform researchers that the date shown in the online index does not match that shown on the actual birth certificate.
Another example of this type of correction happens when the birth date of February 29, 1901 is recorded on the certificate in a non-leap year. Indexers record a date of February 28, 1901 in the index and the display is shown as follows: <02/28/1901>.
What do the letter prefixes before the certificate number mean?
Most entries in the Birth Certificate Index consist of a year followed by a certificate number. However, occasionally a two-letter prefix will appear instead of a year. These prefixes indicate one of four special units of birth certificates. These special prefixes (codes) are:
DC: “delayed certificate” indicates that the certificate was filed well after the birth occurred. For various reasons the certificate was not recorded with the Minnesota Department of Health in a timely manner. This certificate usually gives the name of the individual attesting to the accuracy of the data on the birth certificate (usually an older relative) and may include references to documents (e.g., baptismal certificate, school record, census record) used as supporting evidence. These supplemental documents are not considered part of the record by the Department and are not available from the Minnesota Historical Society.
SV: “supplemental certificate” indicates that the certificate is a replacement for an earlier record that was on file. The supplemental certificate may have been the result of an adoption or a legal determination of parentage. These certificates will lack the original signatures of the doctor or other individual attesting to the birth. In most cases, the “original” certificate is not included in the index and is not available from the Minnesota Historical Society.
PR: “Pre-1900” records, usually cards, are for births that occurred before 1900 and for which delayed certificates appear not to have been regularly filed. It is unknown why these certificates were filed with the Minnesota Department of Health and kept separately from the delayed certificates described above. These pre-1900 records include only a very small proportion of the births occurring during this time period. See “Are there other sources for birth records?” for more information.
IN: “Indian” birth certificates were created for unknown reasons for some individuals of Native American heritage and filed separately by the Minnesota Department of Health. These certificates contain data similar to that in the main series of birth certificates. The IN set includes only a small number of Native American births in the state; others may be found in the main record series. See “How can I find birth certificates for Native Americans?” for more information.
In all four of these cases, the individual represented in the special unit may also have a birth certificate in the main record series.
Why Is the Fee Increasing?
Following a request from the State Department of Health the fee for a copy of a non-certified birth record increases to $9 on December 1, 2007. The Minnesota Historical Society has agreed to conform to the prices and practices of local registrars and the Office of the State Registrar:
As of December 1, 2007, copies will cost $9, the price set in statute (see Minnesota Statutes, 144.226).
A variety of concerns about individual privacy, identity theft and national security all inform decisions about access to vital records. The Society’s goals are to manage its resources responsibly and to support the research of its patrons.
When will birth record corrections made since 2000 appear in the index?
The Birth Certificate Index reflects those official corrections made by the Minnesota Department of Health through 2000 that were noted on the paper certificate. For access to certificates with corrections made since January 2001, contact the Minnesota Department of Health. Corrections to certificates made since 2001 will not appear in this index.
Is there a transcription error in the index?
This index currently covers 1900-1934, supplemented by about 2700 pre-1900 records. The index was created by volunteers and should accurately represent the content of each record, including misspellings. If you find a transcription error (as opposed to an error on the certificate itself), please send the certificate number and description of the error to birthrecords@mnhs.org so the index can be corrected.
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