Oklahoma Public Vital Records can be accessed through several means, including online, via phone, mail, or through walk-ins. While the state offers access to these records, you may also choose to use other businesses and websites to access and provide these records on your behalf.
The Oklahoma Department of Health is the custodian of all vital records in the state.
Birth and death records form the most common part of vital records in the state. These can be accessed through the state’s Department of Health.
These records can be ordered online, via phone, or through mail orders. The state recommends using online orders and phone options, where the processing is relatively quicker. Generally, these methods take 1-2 days to deliver records. Using the mail option is more time consuming, and the turnaround with the records can take 12 to 16 weeks.
In case there are amendments or a new adoption, the vital records might take a longer time to process for all order methods.
Oklahoma vital records are also available for Genealogy & Records Searches. The state law says that births that occurred 125 years ago and deaths that occurred 50 years ago should be open record. No identification or eligibility is necessary to see such records.
However, for most cases, vital records are closed records. In such cases, accessing vital records requires identification and will only be released to eligible applicants. The eligibility ensures that the person attempting to access the record is working in the best interest of the subject of record.
Since records might contain private and privileged information, eligibility ensures they don’t get into the wrong hands.
Some vital records might be sealed, for example, adoption records. In such cases, information and the records can be made available only with a court order to such an effect.
Additionally, while marriage and divorce records are part of vital records, they are generally accessed through the court clerk where the event happened, and not through the department of health.
As already noted, the department recommends that interested parties use online or phone options for accessing vital records. However, the state makes available various vital record forms online for easier access. These can be used for mail orders, and for a better understanding of the scope and requirements of vital records.