Vital statistics, or birth and death records, are critical to public health and are required in all states. The keeping of good vital statistics is important to society for several reasons. For one, they are a good way to monitor a population's health. The infant mortality rate is generally considered to be the single best indicator of the health of a population. Accurate vital statistics also allow for allocation of health care funds to areas of greatest need. Vital statistics are of great historical value as well, documenting a population's health through time. On the individual level, the documentation of a birth certificate establishes a person's legal existence and his or her basic legal relationships, including citizenship and parentage.

Historically, vital statistics records were kept in the locality where the event occurred rather than the place of current residence or a unified state office. A person born in Boston who moved to Los Angeles as an infant and lived there until he was killed in a Chicago plane crash would have a Massachusetts birth certificate and an Illinois death certificate. There would be no record of this person in the California vital statistics records. Another problem is that parents may not remember accurately where and when their children were born, making it impossible for these offspring to obtain their birth certificates. It also makes it difficult to match birth and death certificates to determine if a person has taken a false identity.

Although there have been efforts to standardize state laws on keeping vital statistics, there are still significant differences among states. The forms, the information required, and the keeper of the records differ. Usually a county office houses these records. The records may be open to public view, access may be limited, or the records may be confidential. These records are always available to the person on whom they are kept or to a court. These records also fall under the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution. A state must honor the birth and death records of another state.

The registrar of vital statistics at the state health department is the best source of information about that state's laws. It is anticipated that vital statistics records will become a more useful resource as states centralize their records and begin to correlate them with other states and with federal social security records.