Use this checklist with the issuing office’s instructions
No national checklist replaces state, territory, city, or county requirements. Mark an item complete only after checking the official jurisdiction page.
Correct jurisdiction
- State, territory, Washington, D.C., or foreign country of birth.
- City or town and county, parish, borough, municipality, or equivalent.
- Hospital or facility, if known.
- Correct central or local vital-records office for the year and location.
- CRBA route identified when the person was a U.S. citizen born abroad.
Purpose and copy type
- Organization that will receive the certificate.
- Certified versus informational copy.
- Long form, short form, abstract, parent-information, or other available version.
- Number of copies needed.
- Any issue-date, seal, registrar-signature, or document-condition requirement.
- Whether an apostille or authentication will be needed afterward.
Person named on the record
- Full name at birth.
- Current name and prior names, if the application asks.
- Month, day, and year of birth.
- Sex or sex marker shown on the record, when requested.
- Parents’ full names, including names before marriage when requested.
Requester eligibility
- Your relationship to the person named on the record.
- Proof of relationship, guardianship, legal representation, or authority.
- Court order or written authorization when required.
- Purpose for requesting a restricted record.
- Signature and notarization, if required.
Identity evidence
- Accepted government photo ID copied exactly as instructed.
- Secondary identity documents if photo ID is unavailable.
- Sworn identity statement or notarized form when permitted.
- Qualified relative’s identification and statement, if the jurisdiction allows that alternative.
- Current name and address evidence when different from the record.
Application and payment
- Current application form or official online portal.
- All required fields completed legibly.
- Current fee verified on the government page.
- Accepted payment method and correct payee.
- Search fee, additional-copy fee, vendor fee, expedited fee, and shipping understood.
- No cash sent unless the office expressly accepts it.
Delivery and timing
- Standard or expedited processing selected.
- Mailing address formatted correctly.
- Signature-required or secure-delivery needs considered.
- Travel, school, benefits, court, or identification deadline recorded.
- Order number, receipt, mailing proof, and tracking saved.
Special circumstances
- Lost all identification.
- Record not found or delayed registration.
- Adoption, parentage, sealed record, or court restriction.
- Name, date, parent, or other record correction.
- Birth in a U.S. territory.
- Birth abroad and possible CRBA.
- Use in another country and possible apostille or authentication.
After the copy arrives
- Check every biographical detail.
- Confirm the certification, seal, and registrar information required for the intended purpose.
- Keep the certificate in a secure place.
- Do not alter or laminate it when an agency requires an original certified copy.
- Use the amendment process, not handwritten corrections, if information is wrong.
Official sources
- USAGov — Certified birth certificates
- CDC — State and territory contacts
- CDC — Application facts
- USAGov — Documents for use abroad