Utah Birth Certificate: How to Order, Fees and Who Can Get One

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, issues Utah birth certificates. The first certified copy costs $25 under the fee schedule effective July 1, 2026, and you can order online through the state's own portal, by mail, or in person at most local health departments. For other states, see our guide to birth certificates by state.

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

This page covers how to order a certified copy of a Utah birth certificate, what it costs, who may order one, and how to amend or late-register a Utah birth record. It applies to births that occurred in Utah.

Where to order a Utah birth certificate

The state office is the Office of Vital Records and Statistics, part of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Its mailing address is Vital Records, PO Box 141012, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1012. The office is in the Martha Hughes Cannon Building, 288 North 1460 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, and its phone number is (801) 538-6105.

Start from the office's order a vital record page. Online orders go through the state's vital records ordering portal, which states that third-party vendors are not authorized to order vital records from the office on behalf of certificate holders or customers. If another website offers to get your Utah birth certificate for you, it is not an authorized route.

How to order

Online

Order on the state portal at secure.utah.gov/vitalrecords. Online orders carry a $4 convenience fee and a $2 identity verification fee on top of the certificate fee, plus shipping (see the fee table below). The fee schedule also lists a $7 enhanced ID verification fee.

By mail

The office says all requests need a completed application, the correct fees and valid identification. Send the birth certificate application, a check or money order payable to Vital Records, and a photocopy of the front and back of your ID to PO Box 141012, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-1012.

If you cannot print the application, the office accepts a signed letter giving the record type, the name, date and place of the event, the parents' names, your relationship to the person, and your reason for the request.

In person

Most Utah local health departments take in-person certificate orders. The state's list of local health districts says you may order in person at any local office with a Window Open listing and that last orders are taken 30 minutes before closing; some offices on the list require appointments. The list is marked as updated in May 2021, so call the office before you go. Bring a completed application, the fee and valid ID. Mail and online orders go to the state office, and county clerks handle marriage records, not births.

Ordering for a new baby

Utah does not send a birth certificate automatically. The office's frequently asked questions say parents must order the certificate and pay the fees. You can order right away, but it can take up to 10 days for the birth to be registered.

Birthing facilities and midwives must file the birth certificate within 10 days of the birth, and unassisted home births must also be filed within 10 days, according to the office's records page.

How much a Utah birth certificate costs

These fees come from the office's fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026:

If no record is found, the office issues a certificate of search instead. The fee schedule also warns that if you do not answer a written request for more information within 90 days, the office may keep all fees paid without issuing a certificate.

How long it takes

For mail orders, the office asks you to allow at least 6 weeks for processing and mailing. The pages we reviewed do not publish a turnaround for online or in-person orders, so ask the office before you rely on a date.

If you are short on time, expedited processing and expedited shipping are available for mail and online orders. Amendments are slower: the office estimates approximately 6 to 12 weeks, depending on volume, complexity and how complete your documents are.

Who can get a certified copy

The office says certificates can be requested by the person of record, an immediate family member, legal guardians or a designated legal representative. Immediate family means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, and a legal representative needs a letter of legal need.

The governing statute is Utah Code 26B-8-125, which reads:

"A custodian of vital records may permit inspection of a vital record or issue a certified copy of a record or a part of a record when the custodian is satisfied that the applicant has demonstrated a direct, tangible, and legitimate interest."

Under the same section, a parent whose rights were terminated, or who relinquished the child for adoption, is not treated as having that interest, subject to exceptions in Title 81, chapter 13. Immediate family members are asked to provide proof of relationship.

ID requirements

The application requires one current form of ID from its Primary list or two from its Secondary list. Mail requests need a photocopy of the front and back. The application says a Driving Privilege Card and novelty IDs are not accepted.

If you have no acceptable ID, your spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or adult child may request the certificate with their own ID plus proof of their relationship to you.

Certified copies and what they are used for

The Utah pages we reviewed describe a single certified copy. They do not describe an informational copy, and they do not say whether the office issues long-form and short-form versions or which one passport agencies accept, so ask the office if you need a particular format.

Salt Lake County's health department notes that the souvenir certificate many hospitals offer is not legally valid and is not provided by its vital records office (Salt Lake County Health Department). The state office also advises against laminating a vital record, because most places will not accept a laminated document as a legal document.

For a first U.S. passport, federal rules call for a birth certificate that shows your full name, place and date of birth, and your parents' full names, is signed by the official custodian of birth records, bears the issuing office's seal, and shows a filing date within one year of birth (22 CFR 51.42). For REAL ID, federal rules accept a certified copy of a birth certificate filed with the vital statistics office in your state of birth (6 CFR 37.11). To use a Utah birth certificate abroad, get a certified copy first and then contact the Utah Lieutenant Governor's office, which issues apostilles (authentications.utah.gov), as the office's frequently asked questions advise.

Correcting or amending a Utah birth record

Every amendment requires an affidavit or a court order, according to the office's amend a vital record page. Once amended, the record's status changes from registered to amended, and an Amendment History becomes part of the record as a second page. The amendment fee is $25 plus the certificate fee.

The affidavit is signed by the certificate holder and an immediate family member, or by the parents if the certificate holder is under 18. Common situations:

• Parent data-entry errors. Within the first year, use the non-amendment correction form; after that, an affidavit.
• The child's name. An affidavit works from birth to age 1, and a blank name may be added by affidavit before the 7th birthday. Changing a child's name after the first birthday requires a court order.
• Date of birth, person under 21. A correction from the hospital or a court order.
• Date of birth, person 21 or older. An affidavit can correct the date by up to 5 days without other documents; a larger change needs one piece of documentary evidence.
• Delayed birth certificates. Any amendment needs a court order.

Adding a parent

If the parents were married before the birth, a parent can be added by affidavit with the marriage certificate. If they were not married, the office uses a voluntary declaration of paternity, which the mother starts, with a Father's Worksheet. A court order is the third route. The fee schedule lists a $40 processing fee for legitimation or court order paternity, in addition to the certificate fee.

Legal name change

Under Utah Code 26B-8-111(1), you obtain a court order under Title 42 to change the name on your birth certificate, then submit a certified copy of the order to the office as an amendment. The court process itself is covered in our guide to Utah name change laws.

Sex designation

The office's amendments page, read on October 8, 2026 (the page is undated), describes two routes. An intersex individual may amend by affidavit with a genetic test confirming intersex status and an affidavit from a health care professional, facility or laboratory.

Otherwise, the page says a court order is required, and that the court order must state the person's full name and the current and corrected gender.

The governing statute is Utah Code 26B-8-111 (version effective May 7, 2025, read October 8, 2026). A court decides the petition by clear and convincing evidence. For a minor, the court may not grant it if the child is younger than 15 years and 6 months or if a parent or guardian with legal custody has not given permission, and an order does not take effect until the person is at least 16 years old.

If a birth was never registered

Under the office's records page, any live birth filed for a person one calendar year old or older is filed as delayed. Start with a birth certificate application and mail it with a picture ID and the fee; the office then contacts you with the next steps.

The fee schedule lists a $50 delay-of-file fee and a $40 delayed birth processing fee, both on top of the certificate fee. Once a delayed certificate is on file, changing it requires a court order.

Adoption and new birth records

After an adoption, the office updates the Utah birth record when it receives a Certified Report of Adoption from the court, according to its adoption page. Adoptive parents then order through the Attention Adoptive Parents prompts online or a mail application for adoptions, and the $40 adoption processing fee applies on top of the certificate fee. Access to an original birth record is covered in our guide to Utah adoption records.

Older records and genealogy

Utah birth records run from 1905 to the present, and the office says birth records become public after 100 years. Utah Code 26B-8-125(5) directs the office to make a birth record available to the public, on payment of a fee, once 100 years or more have passed since the date of birth, excluding confidential information collected for medical and health use. The rule does not open an original certificate that was replaced by a supplementary certificate (for example, after an adoption); under Utah Code 26B-8-110(4)(b), that original is not open to inspection except by order of a Utah district court or as described in Utah Code 81-13-103 or 81-13-504. Public records are searchable through the Utah State Archives. Whether birth certificates are public in other states is covered in are birth certificates public records.

For older births, the fee schedule lists a $5 book copy of the birth abstract when one is available, in addition to the certificate. There are no book copies for births after 1999.

This article is general legal information about Utah birth certificates, not legal advice. Fees and procedures change; confirm with the Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics before ordering. Information last verified on October 8, 2026.

Related

• Birth certificates by state
• Are birth certificates public records?
• Utah adoption records
• Utah name change laws

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a birth certificate in Utah?

Under the fee schedule effective July 1, 2026, the first certified copy costs $25 and additional copies of the same record ordered the same day cost $10 each. Online orders add a $4 convenience fee and a $2 identity verification fee, plus shipping.

Can I get a Utah birth certificate the same day?

Most Utah local health departments take in-person orders, and the state list says you may order at any local office with a Window Open listing. The office does not publish a same-day promise, so call the local office before you go.

How long does it take to get a Utah birth certificate by mail?

The Office of Vital Records and Statistics asks you to allow at least 6 weeks for processing and mailing. Expedited processing ($25) and expedited shipping ($30) are available for mail and online orders.

Who can order a Utah birth certificate?

The person of record, an immediate family member, a legal guardian or a designated legal representative. Utah Code 26B-8-125 requires the applicant to show a direct, tangible, and legitimate interest, and family members must prove their relationship.

How do I correct a birth certificate in Utah?

Every amendment requires an affidavit or court order, and the fee is $25 on top of the certificate fee. The office estimates amendment processing at approximately 6 to 12 weeks.

Does Utah mail a birth certificate automatically after a baby is born?

No. The office says parents must order the birth certificate and pay the fees. You can order right away, but it can take up to 10 days for the birth to be registered.