Birth certificates
Amended birth certificate: what a correction costs
Choose a state that publishes its amendment fee: the tool adds the fee for the change and the new certified copies of the corrected record.
Cost of amending a birth certificate
Amendment + copies · California
$26
| Amendment fee | $26 |
| New certified copies | included |
An amended birth certificate is a birth record that the state vital records office has changed after registration, to correct an error or to reflect a later fact. Two kinds of change exist. A correction fixes a mistake made when the record was filed, such as a misspelled name or a wrong date, usually with an affidavit and documents created near the time of birth. An amendment records something that happened later: a legal name change by court order, an acknowledgment or court finding of paternity, an adoption, or a change of the sex marker where the state allows it. In both cases the office charges a fee for processing the change and then sells certified copies of the amended record at its normal copy fee; in some states the first copy is included. Of the jurisdictions read for this site, 14 publish an amendment fee, from $0 to $50. Many amended certificates show that the record was changed and the date; after an adoption, the state usually issues a new certificate and seals the original. The documents required are set by each state; this page lists the fees, not legal advice on a particular change.
Birth and death certificate fees in your state
First birth certificate copy · California
$31
| Extra birth copy, same order | $31 |
| First death certificate copy | $26 |
| Extra death copy, same order | $26 |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
Amendment fees published by the states
Fee for the change, price of one new certified copy, and the total when that copy is not included. Several states charge different amounts depending on the type of change; the figure shown is the one on the state page for a standard correction.
| State | Amendment fee | New copy | Total | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $30 | $20 | $50 | official page |
| California | $26 | $31 | $57 | official page |
| Florida | $20 | $9 | $29 | official page |
| Georgia | $10 | $25 | $35 | official page |
| Illinois | $15 | $15 | $30 | official page |
| Michigan | $50 | $34 | $84 | official page (archived copy of September 18, 2025) |
| New Jersey | $2 | $25 | $27 | official page |
| New York (outside NYC) | $0 | $30 | $30 | official page |
| New York City | $40 | $15 | $55 | official page |
| North Carolina | $39 | $24 | $63 | official page |
| Pennsylvania | $0 | $20 | $20 | official page |
| Texas | $15 | $22 | $37 | official page |
| Virginia | $10 | $15 | $25 | official page |
| Washington | $0 | $25 | $25 | official page |
The usual steps
- Find the right form on the state vital records office page: correction affidavit, paternity acknowledgment, court-order amendment.
- Gather the supporting documents and have the form notarized if required.
- Send the form, the documents and the amendment fee, with the fee for the new copies.
- Receive the certified copies of the amended record.
Birth and death certificate fees in your state
First birth certificate copy · California
$31
| Extra birth copy, same order | $31 |
| First death certificate copy | $26 |
| Extra death copy, same order | $26 |
After the change
Update the other records that rely on the birth certificate: Social Security, the passport and the driver's license, using the new certified copy. The passport page explains what the State Department checks, and the California page describes one state's affidavit process.