Vital record

In the United States, vital records are public and in most cases can be viewed by anyone in person at the governmental authority.

There may be additional restrictions in place on who can actually request a certified copy, such as immediate family or someone with written authorization.

Some states have started making vital records available online for free.

Various European countries are members of an International Commission on Civil Status which provides a mutually recognized convention on the coding of entries appearing in civil status documents, with common codes and translation tables between the language of the member states.

However, more than 100 developing countries still do not have functioning systems that can support efficient registration of births and other life events like marriages and death.