To order a certified copy of a birth certificate, you need four things: a completed application from the vital records office in the state where the birth occurred, a government-issued photo ID (or two secondary IDs if you don’t have a primary photo ID), proof of your relationship to the person on the record if it isn’t your own, and the correct fee. The federal government does not issue or distribute state birth certificates, so every request goes through the state or territory where the birth was recorded.
The exact list of accepted documents varies by state. What follows is what nearly every vital records office asks for, plus the places where requirements diverge enough that you should check your specific office before sealing an envelope.
Photo ID to Prove Who You Are
Every vital records office requires identity verification. Most sort acceptable documents into two tiers: primary IDs that carry a photograph, and secondary IDs that don’t. You’ll typically need one primary ID, or two secondary IDs if no primary document is available.
Primary IDs commonly accepted include:
- U.S. passport, valid or expired as long as it is undamaged
- Driver’s license or enhanced driver’s license with photo
- U.S. military or military dependent ID
- Government employee ID (city, county, state, or federal)
- Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship
- Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
- Trusted Traveler cards such as Global Entry, NEXUS, or SENTRI
- Enhanced Tribal Cards and Native American tribal photo IDs
Some photo IDs sit in a gray area. A learner’s permit with a photo, a non-driver state ID with a photo, a temporary driver’s license, or an Employment Authorization Document may be accepted as a primary ID, but the office might ask for a second document alongside it.
If you have no primary photo ID, bring two secondary documents. Common secondary IDs include a Social Security card, voter registration card, employee or student ID, Medicare card, Selective Service card, or an expired driver’s license.
State lists are not identical. Some offices accept documents that others reject. Pull the current list from the website of the office you are writing to before you mail anything.
Relationship Documents When the Record Isn’t Yours
Vital records offices restrict access to people with a direct connection to the record. You can always request your own. Parents named on the record can request their child’s. Beyond that, most states extend eligibility to legal guardians, spouses, adult children, grandparents, and siblings, and each of those must document the relationship on top of showing a photo ID.
What you submit depends on who you are relative to the person named on the certificate:
- Parents whose current name still matches the name on the child’s record can usually get by with a photo ID. If your name has changed since the birth, bring a marriage certificate or court-ordered name change document that links your current name to the one on the record.
- Legal guardians submit a certified court order of guardianship.
- Spouses submit a marriage certificate linking them to the person on the birth record.
- Adult children or siblings submit their own birth certificate showing a common parent.
- Legal representatives, including attorneys acting on your behalf, submit a power of attorney, court order, or letter of representation on official letterhead.
- Heirs of a deceased person submit legal representative documentation such as letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a court order from probate proceedings.
Relationship documents should be originals or certified copies. Regular photocopies are rarely accepted for this purpose, and the office won’t call you to ask for better paper. The request simply stalls.
The Application, the Fee, and How You Send It
Start at the website of the vital records office in the state where the birth was recorded. The CDC maintains a directory with links to every state and territory office. Download the official application form and complete every field. You’ll typically need to provide the full name on the record, date of birth, place of birth, and at least one parent’s full name as it appeared before any first marriage.
Some jurisdictions, particularly for mail-in requests, require the application itself to be notarized. If that applies, you’ll sign in front of a notary public rather than at home. Check before you sign.
Make photocopies of your supporting ID documents. Most offices want copies rather than originals in mail-in packets, and originals sent by mail may not be returned.
Fees for a certified copy run roughly $9 to $34 depending on the state. Many states charge extra for additional copies ordered at the same time, and expedited processing carries a separate surcharge, often between $15 and $25. Offices typically reject applications with incorrect payment amounts, so confirm the current fee on the state’s vital records website before writing the check.
Most offices accept applications three ways:
- By mail. Send the completed application, copies of your ID, and payment (usually a check or money order) to the address on the form. Use trackable mail. Standard processing can take several weeks, and five to seven weeks or longer is common during busy periods.
- Online. Many states partner with third-party services that take applications electronically. You upload scanned IDs and pay by credit card. Convenience fees from the processor add to the cost, but turnaround is often faster than mail.
- In person. Walking into a vital records office or county health department lets staff review your documents on the spot. Some offices issue certificates the same day; others accept the application and mail the certificate later. Not every office takes walk-ins without an appointment.
If you need the certificate quickly, ask about expedited processing when you submit. Expedited mail requests still take time for shipping both ways.
Long Form vs. Short Form
Most states offer two formats, and ordering the wrong one can set you back weeks. A long-form birth certificate is a certified copy of the original record. It carries your full name, date and place of birth, the hospital or birth location, your parents’ full names and birthplaces, the attending physician or midwife’s information, and the official seal of the issuing office. A short-form certificate, sometimes called a certification of birth, is an abbreviated summary that confirms basic facts without all the supporting detail.
The distinction matters because some agencies refuse the short form. The U.S. Department of State requires a birth certificate for passport applications that lists the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, the parents’ full names, the registrar’s signature, the date the record was filed with the registrar (which must be within one year of birth), and the seal of the issuing authority. A short form often won’t carry all of those elements. Electronic or mobile birth certificates are not accepted for a passport.
For school enrollment, employer verification, or basic proof of age, the short form is usually fine and sometimes cheaper. When in doubt, order the long form. It is accepted everywhere the short form is, and not the other way around.
If You Were Born Abroad
U.S. citizens born in another country don’t have a state birth certificate. The equivalent document is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), also called Form FS-240, issued by the U.S. Department of State. It serves the same legal purpose as a state-issued birth certificate for proving citizenship.
To replace a lost or damaged CRBA, submit a notarized Form DS-5542 to the State Department’s Passport Vital Records Section in Sterling, Virginia. The form must be signed in front of a notary public. Include a photocopy of the front and back of a valid photo ID (driver’s license, passport, military ID, or similar government-issued identification) and a check or money order for $50 per record, payable to the U.S. Department of State.
Eligible requesters are the person named on the record (if 18 or older), a parent of a minor, or someone with written authorization from the person on the record. If you authorize a friend or family member to request on your behalf, they must provide your signed written permission, a photocopy of your ID, their own notarized statement, and a copy of their ID.
Amending a CRBA, rather than replacing it, requires original or certified documents showing the change. Photocopies are not accepted for amendments.
If No Birth Record Exists
If your birth was never registered, the process is called delayed birth registration, and the documentary burden is heavier. Start by contacting the vital records office in the state where you were born and getting a statement that no record is on file. Then file a delayed registration application.
The application must be signed and sworn to under oath. If you’re 18 or older and competent to attest to the facts, you sign it yourself. Otherwise priority runs to a parent, then a guardian, then next of kin, then any older person with direct knowledge of the birth.
Evidence requirements turn on how long ago the birth occurred. Filing within seven years of the birth requires at least two pieces of documentary evidence, only one of which can be a personal affidavit. Filing seven or more years after birth requires at least three pieces, again with no more than one personal affidavit. Acceptable evidence includes hospital records, church or baptismal records, census records, school records, and insurance records. Documents must come from independent sources, and most states require that they were created at least ten years before the application or before the applicant’s tenth birthday. Facts about parentage need support from at least one document beyond a personal affidavit. If the registrar finds the evidence insufficient, they can refuse to register the delayed certificate and advise you to pursue the matter through a court.
If You Need to Correct a Birth Certificate
A misspelled name, wrong date, or incorrect parental information can be amended through the vital records office in the state where the birth was recorded. Most states require three things: a completed amendment application, an affidavit describing the error and the correction, and documentary evidence supporting the change.
The type of evidence depends on what’s being corrected. To fix a name, hospital records, baptismal certificates, or early school records showing the correct spelling can work. To correct a date, census records, insurance records, or medical records from close to the time of birth carry weight. Documents used as proof generally need to have been created well before the amendment request, and they must be originals or certified copies. An affidavit from someone with personal knowledge can supplement documentary evidence but usually can’t stand alone.
Typographical corrections tend to move faster than substantive changes. Changing a name after the first year of life often requires a court order rather than an administrative correction. Processing commonly runs nine weeks or more.
If You Need the Certificate for a Foreign Country
A birth certificate used by a foreign government usually needs an apostille, the certification that authenticates the document under the Hague Apostille Convention. For state-issued birth certificates, the apostille typically comes from the secretary of state’s office in the state that issued the certificate, not from the federal government. Fees and processing times vary by state. You’ll generally need a recently issued certified copy with the registrar’s seal before submitting it for an apostille; an old, worn, or unsealed copy will be rejected.
Federal documents are authenticated separately by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. The fee is $20 per document, submitted with Form DS-4194. Mail-in processing takes about five weeks. In-person drop-off at the Washington, D.C. office takes seven business days, and same-day appointments are available for life-or-death family emergencies abroad.