Official death certificates in Utah may be necessary for certain legal proceedings, e.g. adoption or probate cases. It's possible to obtain an official death certificate from online services that will obtain records for a service fee. However, it's often best to request official death or birth certificates from the Utah Office of Vital Records.
By directly placing a request with the Office of Vital Statistics in Utah, it's possible to save costly access fees charged by third-party sources.
Obtaining an official death certificate in Utah is relatively easy. Whether a case involves your loved one's probate or estate matter or a step-parent's adoption, the processes and procedures in a legal proceeding may be confusing. An experienced Utah probate attorney guides their client through the legal maze.
Utah's Data Restriction Law (2020)
A new law passed in Utah changes data restrictions to amend its discriminatory provisions. It applies to adoptees of adult age born in Utah. Prior to the passage of the new law, only adults whose adoptions were final (post-2015) were allowed to access or request their adoption documents. In the past, adoptees were required to obtain the written consent of their birth parent(s) to access these records.
The new Utah law concerns all adoptees of adult age born in the state--not only those whose adoptions were final after 2015. The law allows the adult adoptee to ask for their birth certificates and it requires the birth parent(s) to allow the release of the adoptee's original birth certificate. Without these consents on file, sometimes referred to as the "Mommy, May I?" provision, or if the requester cannot demonstrate that the birth parent(s) are dead, these documents aren't released.
Adoption in Utah
The laws in Utah define the adoption record as the record filed with the Utah Office of Vital Records, or the petition for adoption, or the adoption decree, or the adoptee's original birth certificate, or other evidence that supports the "supplementary birth certificate."
Adult adoptees can request their original birth certificates in Utah. The law states that an "adult adoptee" is an individual of at least 18 years of age now but was adopted as a minor child. The law is applicable to adults born in Utah and doesn't apply to individuals who were born in another state but adopted as minors in Utah.
If the adoptee is able to show that their birth parent(s) are deceased, it's possible to receive an unredacted copy of the original birth certificate in Utah. Even if no consents are on file from the adoptee's birth parent(s), the adult adoptee is permitted by law to obtain their original birth records. If only one of the birth parents is deceased, the living birth parent must agree to release the birth record. When only one birth parent is listed on the Utah birth record and that parent consents or is deceased, the adult adoptee is entitled to receive a copy of the original birth record.
If the adult adoptee doesn't know their birth parent(s) names, Utah law doesn't advise how to prove their status. One should presume that, without consents on file with the Office of Vital Records in Utah, you may have difficulties obtaining a copy of your original birth record. Consult an experienced vital records lawyer to request help. Without basic information about one's birth parent(s), it's unlikely that one will have access to other birth or adoption records without obtaining a Utah court order.
To obtain information, the Utah Office of Vital Records requires adult adoptees to use its "Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry." The registry is useful in matching adoptees, siblings, and the birth parent(s). The registry can be helpful to the user's request for an original birth record. The registry fee is $25 and may be paid online or by check in a paper application.
If you need help in obtaining an official birth certificate or death certificates in Utah, discuss your matter with an experienced attorney. Call Terry Spencer today.