Helpful Information

U.S. Vital or Civil Records. How to get them.

This page is designed to help you locate the vital records you need, e.g. a birth or marriage certificate, a certified copy of a divorce decree, etc.  The Embassy or Consulate cannot obtain such documents on your behalf.

Vital Records are documents such as birth, death or marriage certificates.  In the U.S., state, county or city governments, depending on location, usually hold such records.  Please follow the link to The National Center for Health Statistics for more information on obtaining vital records.

Note : For your U.S. document to be accepted by the Dutch authorities, for example if you plan to get married, they will also require that you provide an Apostille.  Please see our section on Apostille for further instructions on how to obtain this document.
There are also fee-based on-line services that help obtain records :

• www.Vitalchek.com (0800-255-2414), which allows you to request birth, death and marriage certifications online, by phone, or by fax.
  
• www.usbirthcertificate.net can help you obtain or amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, in addition to obtaining a birth certificate.