NC residents needing birth certificates, marriage licenses quickly flood Johnston office

"We have had an unusual increase in business," Register of Deeds Craig Olive said. "We have had other people coming in from other areas of the state."

People are flocking to his office to get birth certificates quickly through a statewide database. Customers traveling from Wake County to Johnston to get a marriage license rose by more than 500 percent in 2020.

"The other places are closed," Olive said, noting many county offices haven't been providing in-person service during the pandemic.

WRAL Investigates called the North Carolina Office of Vital Records in Raleigh. A recording mentioned the office was closed for walk-in customers. When a staffer finally answered after repeated calls, she pointed the caller to Johnston County.

SarahLewis Peel, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said N.C. Vital Records has remained open for in-person service "with the exception of some very limited windows of time during the pandemic." She acknowledged one of those windows is now.

"The office appreciates our walk-in business, but it has been declining significantly over the years," Peel said in statement. "In fact, less than a fifth (closer to 15%) of all requests processed by the office in 2019 came from walk-ins."

The Wake County Register of Deeds also remains closed for walk-in service. Both the county office and N.C. Vital Records are fully open for online and call-in services, which can take days or weeks to complete.

"Our staff continue to work and complete requests that can only be completed by the State Vital Records Office, such as death and birth certification, adoptions and certain record amendments," Peel said.

Wake County Register of Deeds Tammy Brunner defends the decision to keep the public from coming to the office.

"We’re not only trying to protect our staff, but also the customers who come in here," Brunner said.

The Wake County office has had a coronavirus outbreak – but so has the Johnston County office.

"My employees are stressed out. They’re overworked, and they’re very concerned about the safety of their health," Olive said.

Even with only online and phone service, she said, Brunner said her team tackled increased work during the pandemic.

"Even in an office that is 'not open' to the public, everything that we do has increased. So, these folks are working overtime," she said.

Wake County does offer limited walk-in service for birth certificates at two regional offices: 350 E. Holding Ave. in Wake Forest (919-562-6300) and 130 N. Judd Parkway NE in Fuquay-Varina (919-557-2501).

Still, Olive said he feels his staff is taking on other agencies’ risks.

"That’s very concerning because it puts my employees at risk," he said.

"I took an oath to serve the citizens of Johnston County in North Carolina, and that’s what I’m here for," he added to explain the decision to remain open to the public.

Brunner said each county’s register of deeds needs to make the best decision for his or her staff and residents.

"He’s protective of his staff, and I get that. So am I," she said of Olive.

With improving coronavirus metrics in North Carolina, she said she’s working on a plan to resume in-person services at the main Wake County office.

"It is our hope that the governor’s recent executive order, which eased some [pandemic-related] restrictions, will prompt those not yet 100% operational to be more fully open," Peel said.