How To Find Someone’s Birthday via Online Public Records

An image of a bearded man smiling, with only half of his face visible, holding a cake topped with brightly colored striped candles in red, blue, yellow, and white, all lit.

Knowing how to find someone’s birthday can be helpful for many reasons, whether you’re looking to plan a surprise or just want to remember an important date for a loved one, friend, or coworker.

Though there are a multitude of ways to reveal someone’s birthday, focusing on the methods that actually prove successful is crucial. Rest assured that this streamlined resource assists you in tracking down anyone’s date of birth by highlighting the best strategies, increasing your chances of getting accurate results without any unnecessary hassle.

How To Determine When Someone’s Birthday Is (Without Having To Ask Them Directly)

Discreetly figuring out a person’s birthday is possible through watching for subtle signs in their chats or social media feeds — from birthday posts to celebratory photos.

Birthdays may also be uncovered via official documents; these can include event invitations or workplace records. Another useful option is any third-party site that compiles public information. If you prefer to keep things low key, casually asking people in your social circle can give you the answer without drawing too much attention.

The next section explains how to discover a person’s birth date using public records.

Figure Out Anyone’s Date of Birth Using Public Records

Checking public records – which are available through a vast array of offices like county clerks, police departments, sheriff’s offices, state and local courts, the state Department of Corrections (DOC), government websites, or trusted third-party services like VitalChek – can help determine when someone was born.

The following are the most advised records to check out.

Birth Records: As the official record of a person’s birth, this will be the most direct and trustworthy source that states the date, time, and location someone was born. For instance, in New York, the State Department of Health holds the official birth records. Individuals can request certified copies of birth records for vital documentation purposes.

Death Records: These documents contain information on someone who’s passed away – typically including their place and date of birth, spousal and parental details, date of passing, age at which they died, and their location upon passing. As a sample state, Illinois residents can obtain death certificates for individuals who passed within the state from the Department of Public Health.

As another example, in Tarrant County, Texas, records of birth and death can be ordered online, in person, or by mail with a valid ID or notarized affidavit.1 You can submit an application for a certificate to obtain these valuable insights.2

A screenshot showing a birth or death certificate application to be printed with information to be filled in such as first, middle, and last name, date of birth, city of birth, county, parent's name, middle, and last name before first marriage from the Tarrant County Clerk website.
Source: Tarrant County Clerk2

Both full and abstract birth certificates are available, but only full copies are accepted for passports. Requestors should also be aware that death certificates are issued only after the funeral home files the record.

Tarrant County Clerk
Vital Records
100 E. Weatherford
Fort Worth, Texas 76196

Phone: 817-884-1550
Hours: Monday – Friday | 8 AM – 5 PM

Birth certificates cost $23; alternatively, death certificates are $21 for the first copy and $4 per additional copy needed. Those interested can contact the Tarrant County Records Offices or City Registrars with further inquiries.3, 4

View the search tutorial for locating free public records in Tarrant County, Texas, to learn how to obtain other publicly available files, like criminal history reports, property records, and much more.

Marriage Records: These usually list the complete names and birthdates of each spouse. Georgia’s Fulton County introduced an Official Custodian of Records and set up an online portal for open records access including marriage documents.

Divorce Records: Divorce or “dissolution of marriage” records may display birthdates in court filings, especially in cases related to child custody or financial support. County courts, including those in Cuyahoga, Ohio, allow you to find records of criminal, court cases and divorce files.

Court Records: Information relevant to court proceedings – from family law cases to civil and criminal proceedings, as well as custody disputes – may have birth details of involved parties. Retrieving information on any type of court case is seamless with the Maryland Judiciary’s Case Lookup, a cost-free online tool designed for convenience.

Background Checks: Often used for criminal history reviews, pre-employment checks, and other assessments, background checks show vital details pertaining to an individual’s past; they pull data from sources like criminal records, public court cases, and even financial documents to give a clear overview of someone’s history – and usually include a person’s date of birth to confirm their identity.

With the Internet Criminal History Check (ICHC), you can instantly access Colorado criminal history using a name-based background check search. If you need notarized records, use the “Individual Public Request By Name and Date of Birth” option from the CO Bureau of Investigation Background Checks and Employment.

Warrants: Warrants are issued by the courts, and give police the authority to arrest, search, or seize items; these online or physical warrants may include the person in question’s personal information like their name, birthdate, and further identifying insights.

To provide some examples, after agreeing to the terms, you can use a name or case number to search warrants via Tennessee court records. Meanwhile, concerned residents in Illinois may browse the State’s Most Wanted List for free, contact the IDOC or review the process for finding Illinois warrant info for further details.5, 6

A screenshot from the Illinois Department of Corrections website displaying a list of wanted fugitives with their mugshots and full names.
Source: Illinois Department of Corrections5

Mugshots: These are photographs of alleged offenders who’ve been taken into custody; there’s often accompanying information about the person too, whether they were detained at a local or state level.

In Alachua County, the Sheriff’s Office offers a free offender search to find inmate information and for seekers to view mugshots.

For instance, searchers can use the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) free Offender Search to find someone in an Illinois state prison by last name, IDOC number, or birthdate.7, 8

A screenshot of an individual in custody search with criteria such as last name, IDOC number, and birthdate from the Illinois Department of Corrections website.
Source: Illinois Department of Corrections7

After selecting your criteria, click ‘Find’; select the offender, then ‘Query A highlighted inmate.’ to view photos and personal details, including the physical profile, date of birth, and sentencing information.

A screenshot of an inmate's profile from the Illinois Department of Corrections website displaying a mugshot photo and physical profile information such as date of birth, weight, hair and eye color, sex, height, race, parent institution, offender status and location.
Source: Illinois Department of Corrections8

Inmate Details: Detainee profiles from correctional facilities display the person’s birthdate, along with name, mugshot, charges, and incarceration details. A list of local jails and detainee search tools across the state is made available by the Florida Department of State.

Arrest Information: Like inmate files, documenting arrests like name, date of arrest, and occasionally the person’s birthdate are often included. Law enforcement agencies like the Chicago Police Department generally offer prisoner locators with complete personal and arrest details.

Criminal Records: An individual’s criminal history reports frequently include a person’s date of birth, as it’s used for identification purposes. Several Texas counties, including Bexar and Comal, maintain portals where citizens can search for criminal documents.

Probation Insights: Individuals serving probation supervised by probation officers may have their birthday included in their identification file, and are worth checking into. Through its accessible databases, the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania ensures users can search, view, and print docket sheets for civil, criminal and probation cases. Look up “[state] probation records” on any search engine to check other jurisdictions.

Parole Records: Similar to probation records, parole files document people released from prison under certain conditions and may list their birthdate as part of their parolee profile. The case lookup in Indiana provides a convenient way to access court, civil, criminal and parole records by searching via name, case number or attorney.

While not all public records will include a person’s birth date, many can lead to this valuable piece of information. The records mentioned are some of the most useful resources for uncovering a person’s date of birth, but depending on the jurisdiction you’re checking, it can be prudent to check with various agencies at different levels to utilize city, county, state, and federal public records.

Run “[state] [record type]” in any search engine and check out the top few government-run sites for more guidance; try changing out the state for the county or city next to get precise information.

Now that you know how to acquire knowledge of a birthday through public records, the following section will show a more casual way of verifying the day an individual was born—via social media.

Verify Someone’s Birthday via Social Media Sleuthing

If you’re struggling to confirm somebody’s day of birth, social media can be the best place to turn. Posts, stories—even tagged images and videos—can reveal birth details; find them seamlessly by surfing the internet.

From LinkedIn to TikTok, many platforms give you clues about when someone was born—here are ways to uncover it.

  • LinkedIn: Check their profile to see if there’s a “Birthday” section. Coworker comments might have birthday hints, too.
  • Facebook: Facebook is the spot for finding out when somebody was born. Scroll through their profile for birthday posts or highlights; look under “Details” or “About” to view personal information that might present their date of birth; or check the “Events” tab for party invites. Being friends means you might also get a notification.
  • Instagram: Like Facebook, people often share birthday moments here. Check posts, stories, highlights, and bios might give it away—or even tagged friends and party videos.
  • YouTube: Search for birthday vlogs or celebration clips they’ve uploaded. They might mention their born day in the video or description; while it’s a longshot, peeking at their YouTube bio may also be worth a shot.
  • Twitter/X: Birthdays frequently get tweeted about; look for posts from them or tags from friends sending birthday shout-outs. If they’re active, it’s usually convenient to spot.
  • Snapchat: Stories here often showcase birthday celebrations. Whether it’s snaps of cakes, balloons, or birthday greetings, the captions or images might say their age or even the date.
  • TikTok: Scroll and keep an eye out for birthday-themed videos. TikTok users tend to love sharing clips from parties, nights out, birthday traditions, or exciting milestones. Check hashtags or captions that might give away how old they are or the exact date of their festivities.

Social media can reveal a lot, but for a different angle, official documents deliver a more direct route; though less casual, it can work just as effectively if you’re lucky enough to discover helpful records or even to find a paper left in plain sight that discloses the details you’re seeking.

Subtly Check the Day Anybody Was Born via Official Documents

Reviewing official documents can hint at somebody’s birthday without you having to blatantly ask them. Birthdays can often be found on bills, insurance papers, bank correspondence, membership renewals, financial documents like credit card statements or loan documents, as well as notices from the DMV or other government agencies.

Birth dates can appear on anything—passports, flight tickets, social security cards or government-issued IDs.

A date of birth might even be noted in personal sources like calendars, planner entries, or school records (particularly yearbooks, alongside their photos). Invitations to various events, especially birthday parties, are another opportunity; delve into any out-in-the-open work-related documents, employee records, and health insurance forms that may also include this information.

Note: It’s important, though, to remain respectful and to avoid snooping or overstepping. Sometimes, documents are in clear sight that can reveal these details naturally without invading their privacy; but never go digging or invade anyone’s personal spaces or belongings.

Find Out When a Birthday Is by Checking Third-Party Sites

Third-party sites can be a helpful tool in finding an individual’s day of birth. VitalChek, for example, allows you to request birth certificates and other official documents, though it might come with some fees or require specific permissions.

Keep in mind, too, that such sites are not always vetted or perfectly up-to-date, so do your due diligence when choosing a search tool.

Google can also be surprisingly effective; a quick search of their name, add a few keywords like “birthday”, “birthdate” or “date of birth” —might just lead you to the information you’re after, especially if they’ve been mentioned in public documents, news articles, or other accessible records online.

Solve the Mystery: Discover a Friend’s Date of Birth by Asking Around

If all else fails and you’re still stuck on uncovering the day someone was born, try asking around to people who know them well—family, friends, coworkers—without making it too obvious.

Bring up a potential birthday party or some sort of celebration and see if the birthdate just happens to come up in the conversation, or ask about other events in their life, hoping somebody casually mentions it.

Group get-togethers can be a good chance for others to mention it, too. If you know someone who was at their last celebration, chatting about how it went might lead to the date being mentioned without them even realizing it or you having to cut to the chase.

Stay relaxed and keep the conversation flowing naturally, so it doesn’t seem forced or suspicious. Avoid making it too obvious or making anyone feel uncomfortable. In fact, a light conversation might get you the answers you need without drawing attention and causing any suspicions.

All in all, figuring out a person’s day of birth isn’t always as complicated as it may appear. Social media, public records, and third-party services can give you the details. Combining these approaches will show you how to determine someone’s birthday without anyone catching on to your sleuthing.


References

1Tarrant County Clerk. (2024, September 11). Birth and Death Records. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/county-clerk/vital-records/birth-death-records.html>

2Tarrant County Clerk. (2018, December 17). New Birth Application in English. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/county-clerk/NEW_Birth_Application_in_English_12172018_Fillable.pdf>

3Tarrant County Clerk. (2021, May 14). Vital Records Locations. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/county-clerk/vital-records/locations.html>

4Tarrant County Clerk. (n.d.). New Vital Records Local Registrar Cities. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/county-clerk/NEW_Vital_Records_Local_Registrar_Cities.pdf>

5Illinois Department of Corrections. (2024). Wanted Fugitives. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://idoc.illinois.gov/offender/wantedfugitives.html>

6Illinois Department of Corrections. (n.d.). Contact Us. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://idoc.illinois.gov/contactus.html>

7Illinois Department of Corrections. (n.d.). Individuals in Custody. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://idoc.illinois.gov/offender.html>

8Illinois Department of Corrections. (2024). Individual in Custody Search. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from <https://idoc.illinois.gov/offender/inmatesearch.html>