How to Get a Copy of Your Immunization Records If You No Longer Have Them

Immunization records are documents that verify the date when and location where a person received a vaccination. States require that each child receive a series of vaccines before starting school. These vaccines include measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, polio, tetanus, influenza, diphtheria and hepatitis B. There is no centralized location, however, that maintains immunization records. Although some states may have an immunization registry, it is the sole responsibility of the parent to keep track of a child's immunization records. If you lose your immunization records, there are several places where you can locate them.

Instructions

• 1

  Search through your filing cabinet or family records. Sometimes immunization records are tucked away in school records or a baby book.

• 2

  Ask your parent if he has any record of your immunizations.

• 3

  Check with all previous and current health care providers. Although immunization records are usually maintained for a limited number of years, your health care provider may have a copy.

• 4

  Check with your local or state health department.

• 5

  Check with your state or local immunization registry or information system. Although many doctors participate in an immunization registry or information system, few records exist prior to the mid-1990s.

• 6

  Contact any elementary school, high school or college you previously attended. Generally, schools do not maintain immunization records for more than a year or two after graduation or transfer to another school.

• 7

  Download and print a child or adult immunization record. Document any information you discover. Keep these records in a safe place for future reference. Immunize.org offers free immunization records for you to document your findings.