Birth Certificates and Birth Records - How to obtain a copy

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A birth record contains information about the birth of an individual. On a birth record, you can usually find the mother's full maiden name and the father's full name, the name of the baby, the date of the birth, and county where the birth took place. Many birth records include other information, such as the birthplaces of the baby's parents, the addresses of the parents, the number of children that the parents have, and the race of the parents, and the parents' occupations.

If you were born abroad, with US citizenship at birth, you can use our express ordering service to get your birth certificate.

To obtain a copy of any of a birth certificate in the United States, write or go to the vital statistics office in the state or area where the event occurred. To ensure that you receive an accurate record for your request and that your request is filled with all due speed, please follow these steps:

Make your letters concise and to the point.
Do NOT include more than one or two requests at once, and be careful not to write confusing details of your family lines.
Type or print all names and addresses in your letter.
Provide complete information on an individual and event for which you need documents. Include all names that may have been used, including nicknames, alternate spellings, etc. List dates and type of event as completely and accurately as possible. If you don't know the exact date, specify the span of years you wish searched and be prepared to pay for searches that span several years.
Always provide an S.A.S.E., (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope).
County offices have limited personnel and are often swamped with paper work. Genealogical queries are done as a service which is outside of their realm of responsibility. They ask therefore that you exercise patience and courtesy in your transactions with their offices.
Be sure and include following information:
- date of request
- full name of person (last name in caps)
- sex of that person
- date of birth
- place of birth (city or town, county, state, and name of the hospital, if known)
- mother's maiden name
- father's name
- relationship to party
- the purpose for which the record is needed
- requestor's name & address
- requestor's driver's license number & state (some counties require it)
- requestor's signature

For information on how to order a birth certificate, click on the State or Territory in which the birth occurred:

American Samoa
Canal Zone
District of Columbia
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico

New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Birth Certificate Links

Order Birth records online!
Find vital records online
Direct ordering of birth certificates for U.S. Citizen's born abroad
Vital Records Information - where and how to obtain copies of birth records
Amazon Genealogy Bookstore - Birth Records
Search for Ancestors

Additional Birth Certificate Links by State

Alaska State Vital Records Office
Alaska Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Alaska
Alaska, Vital Records, 1818 -1963
includes birth, marriage, and death records from Alaska that took place between the years 1818 and 1963

Alabama State Vital Records Office
Alabama Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Alabama

Arkansas State Vital Records Office
Arkansas Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Arkansas

Arizona State Vital Records Office
Arizona Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Arizona
Search Arizona Birth & Death Certificates - an online search of birth (over 75 yrs old) and death (over 50 yrs old) certificates from the Arizona Dept of Health Services
Arizona, Birth Records, 1880-1935
each record contains the full name of the individual, the full names of their parents, birth date, death date, county of birth, as well as an image of the original birth certificate

California State Vital Records Office
California Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for California
Sacramento Births 1858-9
Sacramento California, "Sacramento Bee" newspaper 1859, Obituaries, Marriages, Births
California Birth Index, 1905-1995
an index to over 24.5 million births occurring in California between 1905 and 1995
California, County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980
includes birth, marriage, and death records from various counties throughout California that took place between the years of 1849 and 1980

Colorado State Vital Records Office
Colorado Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Colorado

Connecticut State Vital Records Office
Connecticut Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Connecticut
Connecticut State Library - Vital Records - information on the vital records holdings at the Connecticut State Library

Delaware State Vital Records Office
Delaware Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Delaware

Florida State Vital Records Office
Florida Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Florida
About Vital Statistics in Florida

Georgia State Vital Records Office
Georgia Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Georgia
Augusta-Richmond County Public Library Vital Records Database - Online searchable index for 1982 to the present

Hawaii State Vital Records Office
Hawaii Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Hawaii

Iowa State Vital Records Office
Iowa Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Iowa

Idaho State Vital Records Office
Idaho Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Idaho
Idaho, County Birth and Death Records, 1863-1970
contains birth and death records from select counties in Idaho that took place between the years of 1863 and 1970

Illinois State Vital Records Office
Illinois Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Illinois

Indiana State Vital Records Office
Indiana Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Indiana
Pre-1882 Indiana Births From Secondary Sources - A book series that comprises nearly 10,000 births that took place in Indiana before recording of births was required by law

Kansas State Vital Records Office
Kansas Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Kansas

Kentucky State Vital Records Office
Kentucky Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Kentucky
Kentucky Vital Records Index - search indexes to Kentucky vital records

Louisiana State Vital Records Office
Louisiana Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Louisiana

Massachusetts State Vital Records Office
Massachusetts Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Massachusetts
Massachusetts Town Birth, Death & Marriage Records - search Massachusetts vital records
Massachusetts Vital Records - explains how to locate, research and order Massachusetts vital records, including birth, marriage and death certificates

Maryland State Vital Records Office
Maryland Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Maryland
Maryland State Archives - Vital Records Information

Maine State Vital Records Office
Maine Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Maine
Vital Records from Maine Newspapers, 1785-1820 - (book)

Michigan State Vital Records Office
Michigan Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Michigan

Minnesota State Vital Records Office
Minnesota Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Minnesota

Missouri State Vital Records Office
Missouri Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Missouri
Missouri Birth & Death Records Database pre-1910 - searchable abstract of the birth, stillbirth, and death records recorded before 1909 and that are available on microfilm at the Missouri State Archives

Mississippi State Vital Records Office
Mississippi Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Mississippi

Montana State Vital Records Office
Montana Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Montana

North Carolina State Vital Records Office
North Carolina Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for North Carolina
North Carolina Vital Records

North Dakota State Vital Records Office
North Dakota Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for North Dakota

Nebraska State Vital Records Office
Nebraska Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Nebraska

New Hampshire State Vital Records Office
New Hampshire Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for New Hampshire

New Jersey State Vital Records Office
New Jersey Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for New Jersey
Second in Line: Vital Records in New Jersey - New Jersey vital records were mandated statewide in 1848, just the second state to do so. These and earlier vital records collections can fill pedigree holes.

New Mexico State Vital Records Office
New Mexico Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for New Mexico

Nevada State Vital Records Office
Nevada Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Nevada

New York State Vital Records Office
New York Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for New York

Ohio State Vital Records Office
Ohio Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Ohio

Oklahoma State Vital Records Office
Oklahoma Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Oklahoma

Oregon State Vital Records Office
Oregon Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Oregon
OHD - Center for Health Statistics (and Vital Records)
Oregon State Archives - Vital Records

Pennsylvania State Vital Records Office
Pennsylvania Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Pennsylvania

Rhode Island State Vital Records Office
Rhode Island Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Rhode Island

South Carolina State Vital Records Office
South Carolina Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for South Carolina
South Carolina, Delayed Birth Records, 1766-1900 and City of Charleston, South Carolina, Birth Records, 1877-1901

South Dakota State Vital Records Office
South Dakota Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for South Dakota
South Dakota Birth Record Search Site - for birth records over 100 years old (from the SD Dept of Health)
Search Newspaper Vital Records Index - search births, deaths, marriages & more from South Dakota Historical Society

Tennessee State Vital Records Office
Tennessee Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Tennessee

Texas State Vital Records Office
Texas Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Texas
State of Texas Vital Records
Texas Birth Records: 1926 - 1993 - search online

Utah State Vital Records Office
Utah Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Utah

Virginia State Vital Records Office
Virginia Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Virginia

Vermont State Vital Records Office
Vermont Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Vermont

Washington State Vital Records Office
Washington Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Washington

Wisconsin State Vital Records Office
Wisconsin Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Wisconsin
Search Pre-1907 Vital Records - dating back to the 1840s (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Wisconsin Vital Records - from Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services
Wisconsin Vital Records

West Virginia State Vital Records Office
West Virginia Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for West Virginia
Search WV Birth, Death, and Marriage certificates on-line - from the West Virginia Division of Culture & History

Wyoming State Vital Records Office
Wyoming Genealogy and Family History Resources - record collections, history and genealogy resources for Wyoming

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