Listening to some of the tales of how people obtained copies of their birth certificates is like hearing the hobbit, Frodo Baggins, recount his journey into Mordor. But Governor McAuliffe says Virginia is now writing a new chapter—by making those documents accessible through any DMV office.
Already since March first, more than six-thousand Virginians have requested birth certificates—and most left the DMV with copies in their hands. It took this long for the administration to make the announcement because officials wanted to make sure that all of the kinks were ironed out of the system that makes providing vital records possible. State Health Commissioner Marissa Levine applauds the change, saying it's one less public health issue to worry about.
Governor McAuliffe says this is a first step in creating one-stop shopping at DMV offices. He says by January 1st of next year VIRGINIA residents will be able to get copies of marriage, divorce, and death certificates. Virginia has also joined the multi-state Electronic Verification of Vital Events network. The DMV can now verify a customer's birth record through databases in 31 states.