Certified image copies of vital records

By jmguimond on Sat, 01/13/2024 - 18:27

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I have requested several death certificates from state vital records offices, and I received certified image copies of the originals.  I can tell they are the originals by the handwritten signatures and dates.  I have been citing them using the state-level vital records model, but now I am wondering whether I should indicate that they are image copies of the originals.  If so, is that another layer or do I just add "certified image copy of" birth certificate in the first layer?

Colorado, certified image copy of Certificate of Death, State File Number 90009264 (1990), Cecil Allen Diggs, Center for Health and Environmental Data, Denver.

or

Colorado, Certificate of Death, State File Number 90009264 (1990), Cecil Allen Diggs, Center for Health and Environmental Data, Denver; certified image copy of the original certificate issued 24 May 2011.

In one case, the image shows that the name of the state office at the time of creation was different than when I ordered the certificate, so would the original creator agency be named and then the current name be listed as the repository?

Oregon, State Board of Health, Certificate of Death No. 012095 (1969), Clara E. Sather, Vital Statistics Section, Portland; certified image copy issued 12 Dec 2002 by Oregon Health Authority, Center for Health Statistics, Portland. 

Another document says "This margin reserved for binding," but it has no book number, so I don't think it's relevant.  It does have what appears to be a date from a printer on the bottom right of the document.  My guess is that the images are stored digitally and then printed on watermarked paper as needed.  On the back it says "This is a true and correct copy of the official record on file in the Office of Vital Statistics,...certified on the date stamped.  There is no stamped date, so I'm assuming it's referring to the printed date.

Thanks for your help!

Jennifer

Submitted byEEon Sun, 01/14/2024 - 08:15

Jennifer, with any citation, the purpose of the wording we choose is to describe as clearly as possible what we are using. The purpose is not to follow formulaic language.

If our examination of the image convinces us that we have an image of the original, then we might say "certified copy of original" (or "certified copy of apparent original"). If we’re not sure, we might say "certified image." Image copy is a bit redundant, but not wrong. What kind of copy would we receive that was not an image? Typically, the alternatives to an image of the original would be (a) a short-form certificate; or (b) a transcription—in which cases we’d likely use those words for precision.

Regarding the image that "shows that the name of the state office at the time of creation was different than when I ordered the certificate," citations to original certificates cite the name of the entity that created the record. If we are citing, say, a 1950 certificate, we would not say it was created by an agency name that did not exist until 1994. (There is a fundamental difference between the creator of a record and the name of the office or agency where we consult or obtain a record. Our citations report those identities differently.)

The certificate in your last example is a bit iffier. It matters from an evidentiary standpoint. Does the header on the certificate use the modern term “Certificate of Live Birth” (which is typically a short-form extraction)? Does the certificate appear to have all the information that a full certificate would have?  The wording on the reverse is ambiguous. It could be interpreted as a “true” image, but the words “correct copy” suggests it may not be an image of the original—rather, as you suspect, it may be a certificate printed from selected data entered into a database. In either case, you might add a ”Citing …”  layer at the end of your citation to report exactly what your source states—for example: identified on reverse as “a true and correct copy of the official record on file.”

Submitted byjmguimondon Sat, 01/20/2024 - 10:52

Okay, I'm just making this too complicated.  I have a bunch of certified copies, identifiable because they have handwritten signatures and dates.  This issue date is not particularly important, as the document would be identical regardless of date. I need to make sure I have the creator and the repository documented correctly.

Thanks again.

Jennifer