Monday, August 31, 2009

"vital" records?

ok. so I don't know if this makes me feel good, or just scared. I went on my birthday (8/28) to DMV because my license was due. Granted I knew I needed my birth certificate so I knew I needed to just have a temp license until then. Ok, no problem. This was last friday. (got the temp, I'm good to go! I'll go in and get my new license the end of this month.) Knowing that I needed my birth certificate, I had ordered it on thursday when we had gotten paid so that I had it to go back in with.

to complete the process of ordering my birth certificate i went to vital statistics, and ordered it. you do it all online, you enter your name at birth, your birthdate, your parents full names (mother's maiden name of course), where you were born and your mailing address. To check that you are really you, then you print off a form you fill out, enclude a copy of your current license (or passport, picture id is what they recquest) and then you fax it to them. once they receive your fax, they mail you your birth certificate.

As you all know we live out in the boonies of the world. this means, no fax machine. So, I have it all ready to go in my bag for when we go into town this week. I'll fax it when i go in, then it'll take 2 business days for me to get my certificate... Well... That's the process and the plan anyway.

Today, when I went down to get the mail there was my birth certificate! I never faxed off the verification . So based on just the information that they received online from me (and my $32.50 which is paid for off a credit card you enter on the site) they decided that I was who I said I was and shipped it. I gotta admit... I don't know if I am comfortable with that. I could have said I was anyone and if I had the information then I would have gotten the birth certificate and stolen their id. On the other hand... It sure made it easy for me! lol.

2 comments:

Quawana said...

wow that is a bit frightening! If you had gone to the county court house it would have only cost you 15. I think they are too spendy! Still you got yours way faster than I could get mine. I was born in CA and if I had it mailed from Sacramento it would take 12 weeks and if I had it mailed from county I was born in it would have taken 8 weeks. Instead my grandmother was kind enough to drive the 5 hours to the county I was born in and get it for me. the government can be so dumb

Acorn Seasons said...

You can't go to the county court house anymore in Oregon. the only time you can go is if it's within a year of your birth. After that county sends all records to Salem to the Oregon Vital Records Department and they handle it all. They outsouce through an independant company that is online called vital records. It's $20.00 to the state and then 7.00 for processing and 5.00 for rush service (they charge rush on all requests so I don't know why they break it down like that). no other option.