To get a birth certificate, order a certified copy from the vital records office in the state where you were born. You can usually apply online, by mail, or in person, and fees run roughly $10 to $30 per copy depending on the state. Standard processing takes a few days to several weeks, and you’ll need valid photo ID along with basic information about the birth.
Where to Order and How Long It Takes
Birth certificates are state records, not federal ones, so the office that issues yours is the vital records agency in the state where you were born.1USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a U.S. Birth Certificate Most states offer three ways to request a copy.
- Online. Many vital records offices take orders through their own websites or through an authorized vendor such as VitalChek. You upload a copy of your ID and pay electronically. This is usually the fastest route, with processing often taking about 3 to 7 business days before the copy ships.
- By mail. Send the application form, a photocopy of your ID, and a check or money order to the vital records office. Mail orders are the slowest, typically 2 to 8 weeks depending on the state.
- In person. Bring your completed form, original ID, and payment to a state or county vital records office. Some issue the copy the same day; others mail it later.
A single certified copy generally costs $10 to $30, with a few states charging more. Third-party vendors add a service fee on top. Expedited processing and faster shipping are available in most states for an extra charge. Fees are usually non-refundable, even if the office can’t locate the record.
What You Need Before You Apply
Pull this information together before you start the application:
- The full name at birth of the person on the certificate
- Date of birth
- City and county of birth
- Both parents’ full names, including the mother’s name before marriage
You’ll also need a valid government-issued photo ID: a driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or military ID. Some states accept two forms of non-photo identification, such as utility bills or official letters, if you don’t have a photo ID. Depending on your relationship to the person named on the certificate, you may need proof of that relationship or a notarized sworn statement.
Who Is Allowed to Request a Copy
States limit who can order a certified copy in order to prevent identity fraud. The exact rules vary, but eligibility usually falls to:
- The person named on the certificate, if 18 or older
- Parents listed on the certificate
- Legal guardians or authorized representatives with documentation such as guardianship papers or a court order
- Close family members such as a spouse, sibling, child, or grandparent, particularly when the person named on the certificate is deceased
If you fall outside those categories, most states let an eligible person designate you as an authorized agent through a signed and often notarized authorization form. Check your state’s vital records office for the exact eligibility rules and paperwork, since the definitions differ.
If You Don’t Have Any ID
Ordering without any form of identification is harder but not impossible. Many states accept alternatives such as a sworn statement of identity or a notarized letter paired with a copy of the photo ID of a parent listed on the certificate.1USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a U.S. Birth Certificate
If you’re stuck in the loop of needing ID to get a birth certificate and needing a birth certificate to get ID, the practical move is to replace a driver’s license or state ID at the DMV first. DMV offices sometimes accept a broader mix of identity evidence than vital records offices do. Once you have the replacement ID, use it to order the birth certificate. Call your state’s vital records office directly to ask about their specific workaround, because the rules genuinely vary here.
Getting a Birth Certificate for a Newborn
For a baby born in a hospital, the paperwork starts in the records department within hours of delivery. Hospital staff collect the information for the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth, a federal form developed by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.2CDC. U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth The form captures the child’s name, sex, date and time of birth, and birthplace, along with each parent’s full legal name, the mother’s name before marriage, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers.
The hospital submits the completed form to the local or state vital records registrar, which processes it and issues the official certificate. Most states mail the first certified copy to the parents, though timelines vary from a few weeks to over a month depending on the state’s backlog.
While you’re filling out the birth paperwork, the hospital will also ask whether you want to apply for a Social Security number for the child. Saying yes is the simplest path: the hospital transmits the application and the Social Security Administration mails the card separately, so you don’t need to visit an SSA office.3Social Security Administration. How To Get Your New Baby’s Social Security Number
If the parents are married, both names appear on the certificate automatically. If they are not married, the father’s name is added only when both parents sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity. Federal law requires every state to make that form available at the hospital, and the vital records agency must also offer paternity establishment services.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement If you miss the opportunity at the hospital, you can sign the form later through the vital records office, a child support agency, or another designated location, and the state will issue an updated certificate.
Home Births and Late Registration
Babies born outside a hospital still need a registered birth certificate. If a licensed midwife or physician attended the birth, that provider typically completes and submits the registration paperwork, much as a hospital would. If no licensed provider was present, the parents register the birth themselves by contacting the local vital records office.
States set their own deadlines, often somewhere between 5 and 10 days after birth. Miss that window and you’ll need to file a delayed birth registration, which requires more documentation than a standard filing. The usual framework calls for at least two pieces of supporting evidence (such as hospital, religious, school, or census records) if the birth is registered within seven years, and three pieces after that. Only one can be a personal affidavit, and the rest must come from independent sources. A delayed registration is marked as such on the face of the certificate.
Correcting or Amending a Birth Certificate
Certificates sometimes need to be changed after the fact: a misspelled name, a parent added after a paternity determination, an adoption, or a legal name change. Amendments run through the state’s vital records office.
For a simple typo, you usually submit a correction request form plus documents showing the correct information. Bigger changes have heavier requirements:
- A legal name change needs a certified court order granting the change.
- Adding a parent requires either a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or a court order establishing parentage.
- For an adoption, the finalizing court usually sends the paperwork directly to vital records, and a new certificate is issued with the adoptive parents’ names.
- Gender marker changes vary widely by state. Some accept a physician’s letter; others require a court order.
When an amended certificate is issued, the original record is typically sealed and replaced by the new version. The person named on the certificate (if 18 or older), a listed parent, or a legal guardian can request the amendment. Amendment fees and processing times are separate from, and generally higher than, the cost of ordering a straightforward copy.
Births to U.S. Citizens Abroad
If your child was born in another country to a U.S. citizen parent, the child doesn’t get a state birth certificate. The equivalent document is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), which establishes that the child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth.1USAGov. How to Get a Certified Copy of a U.S. Birth Certificate
Apply at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, usually starting the application through the MyTravelGov portal. The application must be made before the child turns 18, and the fee is $100. At least one parent, ideally both, must appear in person. If only one parent is a U.S. citizen or that parent can’t appear, additional paperwork (Form DS-5507) documenting the citizen parent’s time in the United States may be required.5Travel.State.Gov. Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad To replace a lost CRBA or amend one, submit Form DS-5542 to the State Department’s Passport Vital Records Section by mail with a photocopy of your ID and a $50 fee per record.6Travel.State.Gov. How to Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad
Using a U.S. Birth Certificate Overseas
If you need to present your birth certificate in another country for immigration, marriage, or a dual citizenship claim, most governments won’t accept it unless it has been authenticated. Which type of authentication you need depends on the destination.7USAGov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S.
- If the country is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, you need an apostille. Because birth certificates are state records, the apostille must come from the secretary of state (or equivalent office) in the state that issued the certificate.
- If the country is not a Hague Convention member, you need an authentication certificate from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications.8Travel.State.Gov. Office of Authentications
Either way, start with a fresh certified copy, since authentication offices usually require an original raised seal. Build in a few extra weeks if your filing abroad is on a deadline.