Introduction to Florida Birth Certificates

This article is designed to help you get a Florida birth certificate.  Counter to common belief, not everything is on the Internet.  Personal birth certificates are one of the items that are not readily available online, and that is probably a good thing.  You do not want your birth certificate in the public domain, where it can be seen by anyone.  However, this does not mean that you can’t easily get your birth certificate.  

Florida birth certificates have been maintained by the Florida Office of Vital Statistics, Department of Health for individuals born in the state of Florida since 1963.

Online Databases that have Florida Birth Information  

Database	Description
American Vital Records from the Gentleman's Magazine	The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London in 1731. The first publication of its type, it featured a broad mix of news, essays, poetry, parliamentary debates, book reviews, and antiquarian notes. For the genealogist it is an absolute treasure-house of useful data. From the day of its inception until 1868 it published columns listing births, marriages, and deaths, enabling people throughout the English-speaking world to keep abreast of friends and relatives at home and abroad. These columns contain thousands of entries relating to North American which have now been extracted to form a unique source of genealogical reference material for the period from 1731 to 1868.
Scots in the USA and Canada, 1825-1875	This is the fourth book in David Dobson's Scots in the USA and Canada, 1825-1875, a series designed to compensate for the lack of official Scottish passenger lists to North America during the nineteenth century. Containing about 1,300 sketches not found in the prior books, Part Four brings the total number of descriptions of the Scottish men and women and their families who were part of this great exodus to about 6,000. In addition to skilled craftsmen, a number of the immigrants found in Part Four were dispossessed Highland farmers who had suffered as a result of the Highland Clearances, a kind of enclosure movement, or by periods of famine at mid-century.
National Huguenot Society Bible Records	The National Huguenot Society is one of our most esteemed lineage organizations. Its members, of course, are the descendants of the French Protestants who fled their homeland during the religious wars of the 17th century and, especially, following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685. Many of those Huguenots who ultimately fled to the American colonies would settle in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia, later arrivals dispersing to Pennsylvania and other states.
U.S. County History Catalog	Thousands of county histories organized by state and county
Mayflower Births & Deaths, Vol. I	This work is a compilation of birth and death records from the Bowman files, the largest manuscript resource on Mayflower genealogy in existence.  With references to 50,000 Mayflower relations, this two-volume work contains, besides records of births, baptisms, deaths and burials, references to burial location, cause of death, and address at death gleaned from land and will records, court and church records, transcripts of personal letters, and more. Volume I
Mayflower Births & Deaths, Vol. II	This work is a compilation of birth and death records from the Bowman files, the largest manuscript resource on Mayflower genealogy in existence.  With references to 50,000 Mayflower relations, this two-volume work contains, besides records of births, baptisms, deaths and burials, references to burial location, cause of death, and address at death gleaned from land and will records, court and church records, transcripts of personal letters, and more. Volume II

Florida Birth Certificate Authorized Persons

By Florida state law, Florida birth certificates are confidential records and can only be obtained by the following authorized individuals:

• Person Named on the Florida Birth Certificate
• Mother/Father (or Legal Guardian) of Person Named on the Florida Birth Certificate
• Legal Representative of an Authorized Person of Person Named on the Florida Birth Certificate

Florida Birth Certificate for Genealogy Purpose

To obtain a Florida birth certificate for genealogy reasons you need to meet one of the above criteria.

Florida Birth Certificate Ordering

Options Option 1 – Order Florida Birth Certificate Online

This option is the simplest and easiest way to get your Florida Birth Certificate.  Order online and you will get your Florida Birth Certificate usually in less than a week.  Many times you will have the option of receiving your vital record by next-day or second-day service.

Order Birth and Death Records Online!  

Option 2 – Order Florida Birth Certificate through the Mail

Follow the instructions below, if you are not ordering your Florida birth certificate online.  It usually takes 10 business days upon receipt of request to be sent to you:

Step 1: Download Mail-In Application

Step 2: Please provide as much of the following information as possible to locate the Florida birth certificate:

• Full name of person at birth on the Florida birth certificate
• Date of birth on the Florida birth certificate
• Sex on the Florida birth certificate
• County (or city) of birth on the Florida birth certificate
• Hospital of birth - if not in a hospital state "home" 
• Full maiden name of mother on the Florida birth certificate
• Full name of father on the Florida birth certificate
• Your name 
• Your signature 
• Your relationship to the person whose Florida birth certificate you are requesting 
• Address where the Florida birth certificate is to be mailed 
• Self addressed stamped envelope
• Your daytime phone number
• By Mail: Send the above information and the appropriate fee to:

 

Bureau of Vital Statistics

Attn: Customer Services

P.O. Box 210

Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042

Option 3 – In Person

In Person in Florida: You may go to any county health department in the State of Florida to obtain a certified copy of a Florida birth certificate. Most Florida birth certificates can be issued while you wait.

Florida Birth Certificate Ordering Cost

The fee to search for a Florida birth certificate is $9.00 for a computer certificate (accepted by all government agencies), or $14.00 for a photocopy certificate.  If a certificate is not found then a “Certificate of Failure to Find" will be issued.  Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to “Vital Statistics." Please do not send cash. Fees are not refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service.