<P> The federal and state governments have traditionally cooperated to some extent to improve vital statistics . From 1900 to 1946 the U.S. Census Bureau designed standard birth certificates , collected vital statistics on a national basis , and generally sought to improve the accuracy of vital statistics . In 1946 that responsibility was passed to the U.S. Public Health Service . Unlike the British system of recording all births in `` registers '' , the states file an individual document for each and every birth . </P>
when were birth certificates first issued in the united states
1900