Birth certificates
Order a birth certificate online: what it really costs
The calculator separates the state fee, the vendor fee and shipping, and lets you enter a price quoted by any other website to see the difference.
Total for your order · North Carolina
$24
$24 per copy
| First certified copy | $24 |
Office: NC Vital Records. Published processing time: Mail: average 10 business days processing plus shipping; in person: expedited in-person service by appointment only. Official fee page
Every state lets you order a birth certificate online, but the order is fulfilled by the state's vital records office, and the online part is handled by one vendor the state has authorized, most often VitalChek, or by a state portal such as Texas.gov or Georgia's own service. The vendor adds a processing fee on top of the state fee, and shipping is extra. Of the 52 offices covered here, 20 publish that processing fee on their own page, from $2 to $22 per order; the others show it only at checkout. Many other websites also offer to order birth certificates. They are private services: they fill in the same state application for you, then charge their own fee in addition to the state fee and sometimes the vendor fee too, so the same certificate can cost far more than the state price. Ordering by mail directly from the state office costs only the state fee and a stamp, but takes longer. To be sure you are on the authorized channel, start from the link on the state office's page.
Mail or online: the difference in your state
Online with the published fee
$37.95
| By mail or at the counter | $24 |
| Published online fee | $13.95 |
| Online channel | Online through VitalChek ($13.95 added); county Registers of Deeds issue copies too. |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
States that publish their online fee
State fee for one copy, the processing fee published on the state page, and the total before shipping.
| State | State fee | Online fee | Online total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | $12 | $6.85 | $18.85 |
| District of Columbia | $23 | $6 | $29 |
| Florida | $9 | $7 | $16 |
| Georgia | $25 | $8 | $33 |
| Idaho | $16 | $10.50 | $26.50 |
| Illinois | $15 | $15 | $30 |
| Iowa | $20 | $14 | $34 |
| Maryland | $10 | $13 | $23 |
| Massachusetts | $32 | $22 | $54 |
| Michigan | $34 | $14 | $48 |
| New York (outside NYC) | $30 | $8 | $38 |
| New York City | $15 | $9.30 | $24.30 |
| North Carolina | $24 | $13.95 | $37.95 |
| Oklahoma | $15 | $5 | $20 |
| Oregon | $25 | $18.25 | $43.25 |
| Pennsylvania | $20 | $10 | $30 |
| South Carolina | $12 | $8.75 | $20.75 |
| South Dakota | $15 | $6.50 | $21.50 |
| Vermont | $10 | $2 | $12 |
| Washington | $25 | $15.50 | $40.50 |
For the others, the fee appears in the vendor's checkout before payment. The tool below shows mail and online side by side for any state.
Mail or online: the difference in your state
Online with the published fee
$43.25
| By mail or at the counter | $25 |
| Published online fee | $18.25 |
| Online channel | VitalChek: $43.25 for the first copy, of which $7 expedited handling and $11.25 vendor fee. |
Three ways to order, compared
- Mail to the state office: the state fee only, paid by check or money order, plus postage. The slowest, because of the post in both directions.
- The state's authorized online vendor: state fee, processing fee and shipping, paid by card, with identity checked online. Faster and trackable.
- A private ordering service: its own fee on top of the others, for help filling in the form. The certificate still comes from the state, at the same speed or slower.
How to recognize the authorized channel
Open the state office from the vital records office list and follow its own link to online ordering. The page you land on states the processing fee before payment and names the state office as the issuer. Be cautious with sites that ask for a flat package price without showing the state fee separately. If you want the certificate fast, a local counter is often quicker than any website; see how long it takes.