Birth certificates
Vital records office: the official office in each state
Pick a state to see its office, its fees and its online channel. The table below links to the official ordering page of all 52 offices.
Your state's vital records office
Office
NYSDOH Bureau of Vital Records
| Birth certificate | $30 |
| Death certificate | $30 |
| Online | VitalChek: $45 a copy including $15 priority handling, plus $8 per order; local registrars issue copies too. |
Each state has one central vital records office, usually part of its health department, that registers births and deaths and sells certified copies: the Vital Statistics Section of the Texas Department of State Health Services, the California Department of Public Health, the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics, and so on. New York City runs its own office, separate from New York State, and the District of Columbia has one too, which makes 52 offices in all. In 29 of them, county, city or town offices also issue certified copies, often the same day at the counter, at the state fee or a local one. The state office is the right one for the state where the birth or death took place, not the state where you live now. Each office takes orders by mail, and most sell online through one authorized vendor, named on the office's own page; websites that are not listed there are private services that charge extra. Marriage and divorce records are often held by counties rather than the state. The office pages linked below were read on October 24, 2026.
Mail or online: the difference in your state
Online with the published fee
$33
| By mail or at the counter | $25 |
| Published online fee | $8 |
| Online channel | State online service adds an $8 processing fee; county offices issue copies too. |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
The 52 offices and their official pages
Each link opens the office's own page with its current fees and ordering options. Local offices are marked when they issue certified copies as well.
Mail, counter, online
Every office takes mail orders: an application form, a copy of a photo ID and a check or money order. Counters, at the state capital or at local offices, are the fastest. Online orders go through the vendor named by the office and add a fee; the tool below shows it for any state that publishes it. See ordering a birth certificate online for the comparison of channels.
Mail or online: the difference in your state
Online with the published fee
$33
| By mail or at the counter | $25 |
| Published online fee | $8 |
| Online channel | State online service adds an $8 processing fee; county offices issue copies too. |
What the office cannot do
A vital records office issues copies of what was registered; it does not give legal advice, and it does not change a record without the documents that the law requires. It cannot issue a record held by another state. For births abroad to U.S. parents, the record is the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, ordered from the U.S. Department of State. For marriages and divorces, many states send applicants to the county: see marriage certificate copies.