How to obtain birth certificate for child
Birth Certificates - MN Dept. of Health
On this page:
General Information
Homeless youth birth certificates
Veterans Administration (VA) birth certificates
Additional information
Birth certificate application forms
Related certificates
Office of Vital Records processing times
The fastest way to get your birth certificate is through a Minnesota county vital records office. Apply in person or by mail.
One certified copy of a birth certificate costs $26. No-cost birth certificates are available for homeless youth and veterans. See the sections below for more information about no-cost birth certificates.
You may get a birth certificate from:
- Any Minnesota county vital records office.
Check with the county office close to you about how they offer their services. County offices may print a birth certificate order while you wait.
- The Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health.
The Office of Vital Records does not have walk-in service. We accept applications by mail or fax. You must sign and date the application in front of a notary public before you send it.
General information
A birth certificate is an official legal document. It shows the subject’s name, sex, date and place of birth and parent information. A certified copy of your birth certificate is one of the documents you can use to apply for a Real ID driver’s license and other services. Fill out one of the birth certificate request forms below to order a certificate. If the birth record is confidential, you may not be able to get the certificate. The law specifies who may buy confidential birth certificates. For more information, see our Certificate Eligibility webpage.
You may also apply for a noncertified (informational) birth record. A noncertified copy costs $13.
You cannot use the noncertified copy to apply for a Real ID driver’s license or other services. The application for a noncertified birth record application is here: Noncertified Birth Record Application (PDF). Read more about noncertified copies of birth records here: Noncertified Copies of Birth Records.
Homeless youth birth certificates
A homeless youth birth certificate is an official legal document. It expires six months from the date issued. You may request this certificate at no cost from any Minnesota vital records office if you are homeless, 24 years old or younger, and born in Minnesota.
You must complete the Homeless Youth Birth Certificate Application (PDF) and provide identification. You may provide acceptable identification or submit a Statement to Identify or an original or a copy of a signed Affidavit of Homeless Status form. The Affidavit of Homeless Status is valid for six months after it is signed.
See the Birth certificate for homeless youth fact sheet (PDF) for more information.
Veterans Administration (VA) birth certificates
A VA birth certificate is an official legal document. The VA birth certificate is printed with a statement across the top of the document that limits how you can use the certificate. Use a VA birth certificate to present a claim to the United States Veterans Administration. Or use it in connection with any veteran's organization or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Fill out the Birth Certificate Application (PDF) and on page two, complete Section F.
- The veteran named on the record
- The surviving spouse or next of kin of a veteran
- Service officers of veteran's organizations chartered by the U.S. Congress or the Department of Veterans Affairs
- Representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Additional information
A birth record holds much of the information collected about the mother and child at the time of birth. A birth certificate is official documentation of a person’s birth.
Minnesota law lists who may obtain birth documents and the law limits who can buy certain birth documents.
You may buy a birth certificate for a person born in Minnesota from any Minnesota county vital records office. Or you may order a birth certificate from the state vital records office. For births before 1900, make your request to the county in which the birth occurred or the state vital records office.
If you have a parent notice, you can use it as your application form to request the birth certificate(s) for your newborn. You can also use the parent notice to correct the birth certificate before you buy it up until your child’s first birthday.
If you need to change the birth certificate after you buy one, you must request an amendment. See our Birth Record Amendments webpage.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline to May 1, 2023. When you apply for your REAL ID, you must provide documents required by federal law.
One document you can use is a certified copy of your birth certificate. If you were born in Minnesota, request your birth certificate now, and avoid the rush.
If you were born in another state, see Where to Write for Vital Records on the CDC website.
Birth certificate application forms
- Birth Certificate Application (PDF)
- Solicitud de copia certificada del acta de nacimiento - Spanish (PDF)
- Codsiga Shahaadada Dhalshada - Somali (PDF)
- Daim Ntawv Thov Ntawv Pov Thawj Yug - Hmong (PDF)
- Birth Certificate Application in the Karen Language (PDF)
- Homeless Youth Birth Certificate Application (PDF)
If you want a certificate for your stillborn child, see the Birth Resulting in Stillbirth webpage.
Top of Page
Office of Vital Records processing times
As of January 9, 2023, the Office of Vital Records is mailing birth certificates from applications received on or before:
- December 14, 2022 - regular processing
- January 5, 2023 - rush processing
The Office of Vital Records deposits fees the day it receives them; this is before we review and process your request.
How are we doing?
- Please provide feedback!
How To Order Birth Records
How To Order Birth Records
Louisiana is a "closed record" state. This means that birth and death certificates are not public records. All requests for birth or death certificates must include proper identification, appropriate fees, and a completed application.
Who May Order A Birth Certificate:
- The person named on the document
- The current spouse of the person named on the document
- Mother or father of the person named on the document
- An adult child of the person named on the document
- Sister/brother of the person named on the document
- Grandmother or grandfather of the person named on the document
- Grandchild of the person named on the document
- An attorney representing one of the above with a signed contract of representation or authorization.
When another adult other than the legally entitled individuals listed above is requesting the record of a child, they must present a judgment of custody for the child. Notarized custody papers or provisional custody mandates are not acceptable.
You may also request Apostille copies of vital records.
There are three ways to obtain a certified copy of a Louisiana birth certificate:
IN PERSON
Vital Records Central Office
New Orleans VItal Records Walk-In Services are currently available by using VitalChek ordering and choosing the "Will Call" option for delivery. Customers will receive an email once the order has been processed and is ready to be picked up.
Walk-in Service Hours: 8:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. (excluding state holidays)
You may complete an application for a certified copy of a birth certificate, bring your photo identification and correct fees to the Vital Records Central Office.
Walk-in services accepts cash, check, money order, and credit/debit cards as forms of payment.
Please fill out the application to obtain a certified birth certificate.
Clerks of Court
Participating Louisiana Clerks of Court offer certified copies of birth records (long and short form) at locations around the state. There is an additional fee for this service.
Vital Records Kiosks
Kiosk Service Locations Hours of Operation: 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. (excluding state holidays)
You may also order in person from a kiosk service location. Kiosk orders require the user to successfully complete an identity authentication screening. Once the kiosk order is placed, the order is shipped via USPS or expedited shipping, or made available for pickup at Vital Records Central Office. A security fee and shipping costs apply to kiosk orders.
You may mail your completed request, a copy of your photo identification and correct fees to:
Vital Records Registry
PO Box 60630
New Orleans, LA 70160
Please complete the application to obtain a certified birth certificate and allow approximately 8-10 weeks for delivery.
INTERNET, FAX AND TELEPHONE
You may use a major credit card to place internet, fax or telephone orders through VitalChek Network, an authorized service provider. There are additional fees when using this service provider or requesting expedited services.
To order using the VitalChek Network, visit their website or call 1-877-605-8562.
If you have already placed a VitalChek Network order, you may also check the status.
To inquire about an order placed with VitalChek, please call 1-877-605-8562.
Louisiana Office of Public Health does not directly accept credit cards or online orders; however, for your convenience, you can process online requests through the independent company that we have partnered with above in order to provide you with this service, VitalChek Network, Inc. An additional fee is charged by VitalChek for using this service and all major credit cards are accepted, including American Express®, Discover®, MasterCard® or Visa®.
In Ugra, you can get a birth certificate of a child without leaving your home — Local time. Socio-political regional newspaper of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra
Superservice "Birth of a Child" launched in the region on State Services
June 01, 2022, 17:29
The day before, the first electronic birth certificate of the baby was received by a mother from the Kondinsky district
We became the happy parents of the fourth child - this is a very big and long-awaited joy. On the State Services portal, I received a message that it is possible to apply for a birth certificate of a child in electronic form, which we took advantage of. I think that other parents will soon start using this service. It is not difficult. If e-mail and public services are installed, then everything can be done from a mobile phone, - Tatyana Khalturina.
It must be said that Yugra has become the fourth region in the country to take part in the pilot project of the Ministry of Digital Development, Telecommunications and Mass Media of Russia to introduce a super service.
Through it, you can issue a medical certificate of the birth of a child and register a newborn in the registry office, and information about this will be automatically sent to other departments, explained Deputy Chief of Staff of the Governor of Yugra Maxim Sysolyatin. In turn, such online registration will allow you to receive other services in a proactive mode - for example, receiving SNILS and social benefits for a baby. And this is not the whole range of possibilities of superservices:
It is planned that as early as July 1, such services as obtaining a compulsory medical insurance policy, attaching to a polyclinic, registering at a place of residence, enrolling in a kindergarten based on a birth certificate, receiving benefits - for temporary disability, for pregnancy and childbirth , a one-time allowance for the birth of a child, child care allowance, - Sysolyatin.
We add that the process of electronic registration is quite simple - while still in the maternity hospital, a mother can already apply in her personal account:
It is necessary to fill in all the data for yourself, the child and send it to the father's personal account so that he agrees to give the child a last name and first name. The father gives consent, the mother receives confirmation, and the application is submitted to the registry office. That is, you need only three electronic documents - a statement from the mother, a medical document of birth and the consent of the father. If a mother raises a child without the participation of a father, then consent is not required, - said the head of the registry office in Yugra, Evgenia Maltseva. nine0003
If you find an error in the text, select it and press the key combination ctrl+enter .
An error message will be sent to the portal editor.
May 22, 2022
Almost eleven thousand trees will be planted in Nizhnevartovsk
November 26, 2022
Yugra continues to provide assistance to Makeevka
October 13, 2021 nine0003
Students will provide refugees with free legal assistance
eMalyatko online. How to register a newborn without bureaucracy?
Since the beginning of the year, the eMalyatko service has been operating in Ukraine, which combines services related to the birth of a child. Until now, it was available only in maternity hospitals, Centers for the provision of administrative services (TSNAP) and departments of the State Registration of Civil Status Acts (GRAGS). Since October, young parents can register a child and issue a birth certificate online.
The Center for Public Monitoring and Control tells about the details and advantages of the digital service. nine0003
Registration procedure
As before, eMalyatko combines nine public services. Two of them are obligatory: state registration of birth and determination of the origin of the child, that is, information about the parents of the baby. Other services are available to choose from. So, online you can apply for assistance at the birth of a child, register a place of residence, determine belonging to the citizenship of Ukraine, assign a taxpayer number to a child, enter information about a child in the Unified State Demographic Register and the Register of Patients, and also assign benefits for children who are brought up in large families. families. nine0003
The Ministry of Digital Development notes that since birth registration is a basic service, only those parents who have not yet received a paper birth certificate of their child can use the digital service.
To use the "eMalyatko" service online, parents need to have an electronic medical report on the birth of a child. Previously, it was issued only in paper form, now parents should receive an SMS code. The Ministry of Digital Development says that it was the encrypted medical report on the birth of a child that made it possible to transfer "eMalyatko" online. nine0003
Parents also need to have a digital signature. Then the matter is small: you need to register on the Diya portal, fill out an online application, mark additional services, put an electronic signature and wait for a letter that will notify you about the registration of services. When the birth certificate is ready, it can be picked up at the Registrar's Office. It will soon be possible to arrange the delivery of the document home by mail.
Since only a part of maternity hospitals in the country managed to switch to electronic medical records, the connection to the service is gradual. Now you can use eMalyatcom online at 139settlements in 15 regions: Volyn, Dnepropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Lugansk, Lviv, Nikolaev, Odessa, Poltava, Ternopil, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernigov, as well as in the city of Kyiv.
The Ministry of Digital Development promises that by the end of 2020 the service will be launched throughout Ukraine.
Benefits for parents and the state
The main advantage of eMalyatko going online is saving young parents time and effort. The Ministry of Digital Development calculated that earlier, in order to receive services related to the birth of a child, it was necessary to make 11 visits to state institutions and collect 37 different documents. Now filling out an online application takes 15-20 minutes. nine0003
“Just think: before, you had to go around a dozen institutions to collect more than 30 documents. On average, it took 10 days. Considering that about 350 thousand children are born in Ukraine every year, only medical certificates, copies of documents are several million. Now you can fill out one application on your own on the Diya portal and get all the basic services at the birth of a child,” said Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov.
According to First Deputy Minister Aleksey Viskub, the digitalization of eMalyatka not only added convenience to parents, but also became an incentive for a whole reform within eHealth. In addition to the electronic certificate of the birth of a child, the Ministry of Digital Development, together with the Ministry of Health, plans to transfer sick leave and disability certificates to electronic form by the end of the year. In the future, according to Wiskub, all medical certificates will be replaced by an electronic medical report-record in the e-Health system. nine0003
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks about the importance of each electronic service for building a "state in a smartphone". So, while participating in “Diya. Summit, he noted that just a year ago, few people believed in the idea of digital public services, but today it is already a reality.
“At that time, many people twisted their fingers to their heads, saying that all this was impossible. But a year later, in the Apple Store and Google Play, citizens of Ukraine were able to download the Diya mobile application, obtain permits in the developer’s electronic account, register an FOP in 15 minutes without leaving the computer.
