Birth Certificate Overview

A birth certificate is an official vital record kept by a government entity, documenting the birth of a child.  In the United States the term “birth certificate” usually refers to a certified replica of the original document, though it can also refer to the original document kept by the issuing state or county government.  Outside of the United States the term “birth certificate” is used to refer to the original birth record.

State Birth Certificate Links

Obtaining Birth Certificates

The easiest way to order a birth certificate is to order it online.  All states have now contracted with a third party provider to manage their online delivery of birth certificates.  Online ordering is not only the fastest and easiest way to get birth certificates, but for some states it is the only way to obtain a birth certificate using a credit card.  Click here to order a birth certificate online.

The state vital record department of the issuing state can also be contacted to obtain birth certificates.  All states have the ability to provide birth certificates to individuals who come directly to their offices or who order through the mail.  Ordering birth certificates by fax or phone is very limited.  To get specific ordering instruction click on the above link for the state that you are interested.

Though hospitals keep records of births taken place at their premises, these are not official government records.  The hospital cannot provide official certified birth certificates.

Information on Birth Certificates

Birth certificates contain all the important information that pertains to the birth of an individual.  The Birth certificates usually contains:

For the Child Documented by the Birth Certificate

• Birth Name of Individual
• Birth Date and Time of Individual
• Birth Place of Individual
• Sex of Individual
• Birth Hospital

For the Mother Documented by the Birth Certificate

• Mothers Full Name, Including Maiden Name
• Race
• Mother’s Birth Place
• Age
• Occupation
• Residence
• Term of Residence in the Community
• Term of Pregnancy
• Marital Status
• Number of Other Living Children
• Number of Other Deceased Children
• Number of Children Born Dead

For the Father Documented by the Birth Certificate

• Father’s Full Name
• Race
• Father’s Birth Place
• Age
• Occupation

Identification Uses for Birth Certificates

Birth Certificates have many uses throughout someone’s life. Most uses of birth certificates revolve around identification purposes:

• The first common use for a birth certificate is to register for school. 
• Most youth sports league require a birth certificate for registration
• A birth certificate is required to get a drivers licenses or identification card
• To obtain a passport a birth certificate is needed
• A birth certificate is needed to register for a marriage license
• Many times new employers request a birth certificate

Genealogy Uses for Birth Certificates

Birth Certificates are some of the most important documents for genealogy research.  Birth certificates are primary sources of information about the beginning of someone’s life.  Usually a birth certificate is created within a few days of the birth and the information found on the birth certificate is given by a witness of the birth.  Due to the timeliness of the creation of the birth certificate and the testimony of a directly involved witness, a birth certificate is a very reliable source of information about the birth. 

Birth certificates contain valuable information about the individual whose birth it documents, but it also provides valuable information about the mother and father.  Sometimes information that has been missing before can be found on a birth certificate and provide valuable clues to adding branches to a family tree.

Though every step is taken to make the birth certificate as correct as possible, mistakes can still be made.  This is truer of earlier birth certificates when the birth certificate creation process was more disorganized.  Even if a birth certificate is not complete, it may contain very valuable information to add to a family tree.  Family records are a great starting place to find individuals whose birth certificates might be of great importance to a family tree.  Such family records include:

• Family Bibles
• Family Record Books
• Journals
• Diaries
• Family Letters and Other Correspondences

History of Birth Certificates

Due to the strong ties of the American Colonies to Britain, early American settlers applied British laws and customs to recording of birth certificates.  Before the 19th Century, churches maintained records of christenings for their congregants in the American Colonies and all European countries.  Because of this historical context most early American birth certificates or information is only found in church records.  Eventually, some American Colonies required churches to report birth events and information to civil authorities.  As a result birth information is reported by both civil and church recorded in some locations.  Eventually, some colonies, primarily those in New England, passed laws to requiring local governments to record and maintain birth certificates.  Massachusetts was the most advanced in colony in regards to birth registration.

In the 19th Century many British and European countries began maintaining birth certificates on a national level but the United States was much slower in creating government mandates for birth certificate regulation and has never adopted a national registry.

Most states did not initiate birth certificate registration until after 1900, and passage of birth certificate registration laws was not uniform. This accounts for the difference in state birth certificate starting dates and information collected on birth certificates.  Fourteen states and five cities initiated birth certificate registration before 1880:

Early birth certificates can be a great treasure trove of information but the ability to find them is sometimes difficult.  Even if the locality had birth certificate registration laws in place, the laws were not always enforced in a uniform manner.  Many birth certificates were not registered and the exact extend of compliance is difficult to determine.  There were real reasons for the difficulty in compliance such as the struggle in traveling long distances over sometimes rough terrain to file a birth certificate.  Slave owners in the south were more likely to register a birth of a slave than the birth of their own child because the registration of the slave birth protected their property rights.  It was also common for some families to register the birth of one or some of their children, but not all of their children.