Birth Certificates by State: How to Order, Fees and Who Can Get One

A certified birth certificate comes from the vital records office of the state or territory where you were born, not the state where you live now. The federal government does not issue birth certificates: the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics says the federal government does not distribute certificates, files or indexes with identifying information for vital records.

Every state sets its own fee, ordering routes and rules on who may order. The table below compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia and links to a full guide for each one.

Information last verified on October 8, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This guide covers how birth certificates work across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and the federal rules (passports, REAL ID, Social Security, births abroad, apostilles) that decide which copy you need. Each state's own fees, forms, eligibility rules and correction procedures are in its state guide, linked from the table.

Where do you get a birth certificate?

You get it from the vital records office of the state or territory where you were born. USA.gov tells readers born in the United States to "contact your birth state or territory's vital records office to get a certified copy of your birth certificate."

That office tells you how to order online, by mail or in person, how to get a copy quickly, and what each copy costs. USA.gov notes you will need the city and county of birth when you order.

The CDC's "Where to Write for Vital Records" page is a federal locator that links to each state and territory office. It does not sell certificates itself, because, in the CDC's words, "the federal government does not distribute certificates, files, or indexes with identifying information for vital records."

Birth certificates by state: offices, fees and ordering

The fee column shows the state office's fee for the first certified copy, as each state guide reports it from the state's own pages. County and city offices can charge different amounts, and online vendors add their own fees: in Washington, for example, a copy that costs $25 by mail costs $40.50 when ordered online or by phone through VitalChek. "See state guide" means the fee depends on the route or could not be confirmed on the state's own pages.

The "Local offices" column says whether county, city or town offices also issue certified copies. "Online" names the ordering route the state uses: a vendor the state designates, the state's own portal, or no online ordering.

Fees and routes change. Several of the fees in this table took effect in 2026 (Colorado's and California's on January 1, Utah's and Virginia's on July 1), and California's state office moved to mail-only requests on July 1, 2026. Confirm the fee on the state's own page before you send payment.

State office or county office?

In many states you can order from either the state vital records office or a local office, and in some states the local office is the faster route for a walk-in visit. The details differ enough that it pays to check the state guide before you travel.

• California: the state office handles requests by mail only, so walk-in requests go to the county, which the California Department of Public Health says is often faster.
• Connecticut: a certified copy costs $20.00 from the town or city of birth and $30.00 from the State Vital Records Office.
• Minnesota: the state office takes orders only by mail or fax, but any county vital records office can issue certified birth certificates, often while you wait.
• New York: two separate offices. Births in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island are issued by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; births elsewhere in the state come from the New York State Department of Health or the local registrar where the birth happened.
• Oregon: most county vital records offices issue certificates only for six months after the birth.
• Pennsylvania: the Division of Vital Records issues every certified copy for births from 1906 on, through six state public offices. County courthouses issue only for births before 1906.
• Virginia: besides ordering online, by mail or in Richmond, you can get a copy at a DMV location or a local health department.
• Texas: the state office sells certified copies in person, where the Department of State Health Services says most applicants get the record the same day, and local county, city and district offices issue them too.

Some states have no local issuing offices at all. In North Dakota, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, only the state (or DC) vital records office issues certified copies. In Kentucky, local health departments hand out applications but do not issue copies.

Certified, informational and keepsake copies

A certified copy is the official document agencies ask for. The passport regulation, for instance, looks for the signature of the official custodian of birth records and the seal of the issuing office.

Some states issue two kinds of certified copy. California's Department of Public Health explains that "a certified authorized copy can be used to establish the identity of the person named on the certificate, whereas a certified informational copy cannot." California's informational copies carry the legend "Informational, Not a Valid Document to Establish Identity." Authorized copies go only to the registrant, certain relatives and others the state lists; the state guide has the full list.

Washington takes a similar split: it limits certified copies to qualified applicants but releases noncertified informational copies of birth records to the public.

Some states also sell a short form and a long form. Illinois charges $10 for a certified short form and $15 for a certified long form; Oregon charges $25 for a computer-issued short form and $30 for a full-image long form. Texas charges $22 for either. If you need the copy for a passport, check that it shows everything 22 CFR 51.42(a) lists, including the full name of the parent or parents, before you submit it.

Souvenir and keepsake certificates are not the same thing. Salt Lake County's health department says hospital souvenir certificates are "not legally valid" and are not provided by its vital records office. Some states also sell decorative keepsake certificates: Alabama's Center for Health Statistics issues a Keepsake Birth Certificate "suitable for framing." If you need a document to prove identity or citizenship, order a certified copy.

Using your birth certificate for a passport, REAL ID or Social Security

If a federal agency or a state ID office asks for your birth certificate, the federal rules below decide what that copy has to show.

Passports

For a first-time passport applicant born in the United States, 22 CFR 51.42(a) says "the birth certificate must show the full name of the applicant, the applicant's place and date of birth, the full name of the parent(s), and must be signed by the official custodian of birth records, bear the seal of the issuing office, and show a filing date within one year of the date of birth."

If the applicant cannot submit a certificate that meets that standard, such as one filed more than a year after the birth, 22 CFR 51.42(b) requires secondary evidence instead, which "includes but is not limited to hospital birth certificates, baptismal certificates, medical and school records."

The State Department's own passport pages could not be opened for this guide, so check its current instructions on what it accepts and whether it returns your original before you apply.

REAL ID

The REAL ID regulation lists a "certified copy of a birth certificate filed with a State Office of Vital Statistics or equivalent agency in the individual's State of birth" as an acceptable identity document (6 CFR 37.11(c)(1)(ii)). A Consular Report of Birth Abroad is also on the list.

If your current name differs from the name on your birth certificate because of marriage, adoption or a court order, 6 CFR 37.11(c)(2) says "the State shall require evidence of the name change through the presentation of documents issued by a court, governmental body or other entity as determined by the State." The TSA describes this as showing name traceability: "a connection between the name presented on the source document and the name requested to be on the issued document." Each state decides which linking documents it takes.

Social Security

Social Security's rule on evidence, 20 CFR 422.107, says paper documents "must be originals or copies of the original documents certified by the custodians of the original records and are subject to verification." The same regulation names a birth certificate as an example of evidence of age.

A newborn's Social Security number can often be requested without ordering a birth certificate at all. Where a state has an agreement with SSA, 20 CFR 422.103 lets a parent request the number as part of the official birth registration; the state vital statistics office sends the request to SSA, which mails the card to the child at the mother's address.

Born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent

A child born outside the United States to a U.S. citizen parent does not get a state birth certificate. The record is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), which USA.gov says "serves the same purpose as a U.S. birth certificate."

Under 22 CFR 50.7, a consular officer may issue a CRBA on application with proof of the child's birth, identity and nationality. Amended and replacement CRBAs "may be issued by the Department of State's Passport Office upon written request and payment of the required fee." A CRBA is listed as evidence of citizenship for a passport applicant born abroad (22 CFR 51.43(b)).

Children who became citizens through a foreign adoption are a separate case. Alabama, for example, can prepare a Certificate of Foreign Birth on request from an adoptive parent or an adopted individual 19 or older, for a child who holds a Certificate of Citizenship. Whether another state offers anything similar depends on that state's law.

Who can get a certified copy?

States limit who may order a certified copy, and the rules differ. A common pattern lets the registrant, close family, a guardian and legal representatives order one, sometimes with a broader category for people who can show a legal need.

Virginia's rule is an example of that broader category. Under 12VAC5-550-470, the registrar issues certified copies when the applicant has a "direct and tangible interest," which "may be evidenced by requests from the registrant, members of his immediate family, his guardian, or their respective legal representatives." California limits authorized copies to "the registrant or a parent, legal guardian, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant."

Many states also open older birth records after a set number of years. Alabama keeps birth certificates "confidential records with restricted access for 125 years from the date of birth." The state guides put the cutoff at 125 years in North Dakota and the District of Columbia, 100 years in states such as Michigan, Maryland (where the older records are at the Maryland State Archives) and Utah, and 75 years in Arizona (on the state's genealogy website) and Maine (for noncertified copies). Each state guide explains its own rule and what kind of copy an older record comes as.

Correcting or amending a birth certificate

Corrections are handled by the vital records office that holds the record, in the state of birth, even if you live somewhere else now. Each state sets its own forms, fees, evidence rules and processing times for fixing a typo, adding a father's name, recording a legal name change or making other changes, so start with the state guide.

How a legal name change gets onto a birth certificate is a state-by-state question that each state guide covers. For REAL ID, 6 CFR 37.11(c)(2) has the state require documents from a court, governmental body or other entity it chooses that show the name change. Our name change laws by state guides cover the court process.

On passports specifically: Executive Order 14168 (January 20, 2025) directed the State Department and other agencies to require that identification documents, including passports, reflect the holder's sex as the order defines it. On November 6, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower-court order, allowing enforcement of the policy that new passports display an individual's biological sex at birth while litigation continues. Later developments could not be verified for this guide; check the State Department's current guidance before you apply.

Delayed registration: a birth that was never recorded

If a birth was never registered, there is no certificate to order until the state registers it late. States handle delayed registration under their own rules and evidence requirements; the state guides cover the process where the state publishes it.

A delayed certificate can matter for federal paperwork. The passport regulation expects a filing date within one year of birth (22 CFR 51.42(a)); an applicant whose certificate does not meet that standard must submit secondary evidence such as hospital, baptismal, medical or school records (22 CFR 51.42(b)).

Adoption and birth certificates

Adoption affects which birth record a state issues, and whether an adult adoptee can get the original, pre-adoption certificate depends on the law of the state where the birth happened. Our adoption records guides cover each state's access rules, and the guide on how to get your original birth certificate walks through the request.

Are birth certificates public records?

The answer varies by state. Many limit certified copies to the registrant, family and others with a legal interest; Washington releases noncertified informational copies of birth records to the public; and many states open older records after a set number of years. Our explainer on whether birth certificates are public records covers the open and closed approaches in more detail.

Avoid unofficial birth certificate websites

Order a certified copy only from the state's vital records office, the local offices that issue in that state, or the online vendor the state designates. Other "birth certificate service" websites are not the issuing office.

Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services warned in a January 3, 2019 release that unofficial sites are "likely to charge much higher fees" and collect personal and payment information. It pointed readers to the state Office of Vital Statistics or its approved partner instead.

Check the vendor against the state's own page. Florida's Department of Health contracts only with VitalChek; Washington says VitalChek is its only contracted vendor; New Mexico calls VitalChek its authorized expediting service. Other states use their own portals, such as Texas.gov in Texas and the state portals in Arkansas, Hawaii, Nebraska, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming. California's state office does not take orders through third-party online vendors at all.

Getting an apostille for use abroad

A birth certificate headed to another country often needs an apostille (for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention) or an authentication certificate (for other countries). USA.gov says vital records issued by a U.S. state need an apostille from that state's secretary of state, while federal documents, such as a CRBA, need one from the U.S. Department of State.

In practice, which state office issues the apostille varies. The secretary of state is the office the state guides name in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana and North Carolina. Some states route it differently:

• Hawaii: the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, with the request made by mail through the Department of Health.
• District of Columbia: the DC Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications.
• Wisconsin: the Secretary of State or the Department of Financial Institutions (only the Secretary of State for non-Hague countries).
• New Jersey: the Department of the Treasury's Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, on a certified copy issued by the state Office of Vital Statistics and Registry (local copies cannot take the seal).

Each state guide names the apostille office where the state publishes it. Order the right kind of certified copy first, because some states require a specific copy for the apostille. In Alabama, for example, you order an apostille copy from the Alabama Department of Public Health for $25; it carries an additional certification signed by the Alabama Secretary of State.

This article provides general legal information about birth certificates in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and the federal rules that apply to them. It is not legal advice. Fees, procedures and eligibility rules change, so confirm with the vital records office of the state of birth before you order. Information last verified on October 8, 2026. For advice about your situation, consult a lawyer licensed in your state.

Related

• Death records by state
• Marriage and divorce records by state
• Adoption records by state
• Name change laws by state
• Are birth certificates public records?

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my birth certificate from the state I live in now?

No. Birth certificates are issued by the vital records office of the state or territory where you were born, and USA.gov directs you to that office. The federal government does not issue birth certificates.

How much does a birth certificate cost?

It depends on the state of birth and how you order. For example, Florida's state bureau charges $9 for the first certified copy, Michigan's $34 search fee includes the first copy, and Massachusetts charges $20 in person but $54 for a first copy online. The table above lists every state.

Is there a national birth certificate database?

Not one you can order from. The CDC says the federal government does not distribute certificates, files or indexes with identifying information for vital records. Each state and territory keeps its own records.

What birth certificate do I need for a passport?

Under 22 CFR 51.42(a), it must show your full name, place and date of birth, the full name of your parent or parents, the custodian's signature, the issuing office's seal and a filing date within one year of birth. Otherwise you submit secondary evidence.

Can I use a hospital birth certificate as ID?

Not as a certified birth certificate. Salt Lake County's health department says hospital souvenir certificates are not legally valid, and the passport rule treats hospital birth certificates only as secondary evidence (22 CFR 51.42(b)).

Does Social Security accept a photocopy of a birth certificate?

SSA's rule, 20 CFR 422.107, requires originals or copies certified by the custodian of the original record. Order a certified copy from the state of birth if you only have a plain copy.

How do U.S. citizens born abroad prove their birth?

With a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which USA.gov says serves the same purpose as a U.S. birth certificate. Amended and replacement reports come from the State Department's Passport Office on written request and payment of the fee (22 CFR 50.7).

Are online birth certificate services legitimate?

Only the state office, its local issuing offices and the vendor the state designates can supply a certified copy. Check the state's own page for its vendor; Kentucky warned in 2019 that unofficial sites are likely to charge much higher fees.

Who issues an apostille for a birth certificate?

An office the state of birth designates. It is the secretary of state in many states, but Hawaii uses the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and DC uses its Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications. Each state guide names its office where published.