Fifty-Plus News - Genealogy

Genealogy
with David W Weatherill

Victorian Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
A new certificate service

For those family historians who would like an uncertified Victorian birth, marriage or death certificate almost instantly, the Victorian Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages started offering a new service as of 12 noon on Monday 1 March. The service will be via a new web site in place of the MAXI site (the MAXI site will continue in parallel for some weeks). The new URL is www.dvc.vic.gov.au
Follow the links as follows: Births Deaths and Marriages | Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages | Search BDM Indexes | Historical Indexes | Historical Index | Search Historical Indexes. That should get you to the screen inviting you to fill in your credit card details. Then follow the screen prompts. The search capability will be unchanged except that Marine BDMs and the newly released marriages 1921 to 1942 will be included, which gives access to over 6.5 million records.
A MAXI charged 99c page shows up to 10 results; the new system has up to 20 results per page for 99c. The fee for an image ($17.50) will be the same as for a certificate.
Having found the information via the index the next step will be to push the button to obtain an image. If a certified copy is required, you should take note of the Registration Number and Registration Year and proceed to the ‘Apply for a Certificate’ transaction page where you can complete the online application form. This certificate will be received via normal postage.
The information on the image will be identical to that on a certificate [but will not be a legally certified copy] and can be printed from the browser or saved to a file for later viewing or printing. But these images are only available for 30 days after which they will no longer be able to be accessed. It is recommended that you save the images to disk for long term access. Images will be viewable on the PC/Mac screen. The image will be in PDF format. No printing problem is foreseen for images of A4 size, or for the few of us that have A3 printers.
The latest Acrobat Reader, version 6, is recommended when faced with an A3 sized original and an A4 printer. Using the ‘Zoom In’ tool expand the image so that the left hand half fills the screen, click on ‘File’, then ‘Print’, amongst the ‘Print Range’ options enable ‘Current View’, then click ‘OK’. Repeat for the right hand page. This will give you a complete horizontal slice of the A3 image at close to the A3 size. You may need to experiment a little to get used to this procedure. Acrobat Reader may take up to 30 seconds before printing begins - be patient.
Clearly the advantage of getting an on-line image is the ‘instant’ result. One issue that should be kept in mind is that as a result of recent stringent security measures for the issue of passports and perhaps other documents there is a new, and very heavy demand for certified copies of certificates. The Registry is now unable to provide its former, very fast service and is advising a delay of up to 7 working days. A typical delay at the counter in Melbourne is probably now around one hour.
Good luck with your research. If you do have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me either by email at dww@tpg.com.au or phone or write to me care of The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc, Level 6, 179 Queen Street, Melbourne 3000, phone: (03) 9670 7033.