Contact the vital records office for the jurisdiction where the birth was registered. Use the CDC directory to identify the correct state, territory, city, or local office.
If you were born in a U.S. state or Washington, D.C.
Start with that state’s or D.C.’s official vital-records page. Depending on the jurisdiction and record year, the certificate may be issued by the state, a city, county, parish, borough, municipality, or local registrar. Follow the official page rather than assuming every state uses the same office.
If you were born in New York City
New York City is a separate vital-records reporting area. Use the New York City authority for births within the city, rather than the New York State process used outside the city.
If you were born in Puerto Rico or another U.S. territory
Use the territory’s vital-records office. The CDC directory includes Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. A birth in a U.S. territory is not a foreign birth for purposes of requesting a CRBA.
If you were born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent
Your citizenship-at-birth record may be a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. The Department of State handles replacement, amendment, and additional CRBA copies. A CRBA documents citizenship at birth but is not a state birth certificate.
If the record cannot be found
Ask the issuing jurisdiction to conduct the appropriate search. It may provide a Letter of No Record or explain how to request delayed registration. The evidence needed depends on the purpose, such as a passport application, and the jurisdiction’s law.
If you need the document for use abroad
First obtain the proper certified copy. Then determine whether the destination country requires an apostille or authentication. The birth-certificate request and document-authentication process are separate.
Official sources
- USAGov — Birth certificate
- CDC — Jurisdiction directory
- Department of State — Birth abroad
- USAGov — Apostille and authentication