Introduction to Louisiana Birth Certificates

This article is designed to help you get a Louisiana 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.  

Louisiana birth certificates have been maintained by the Louisiana Vital Records Registry for individuals born in the state of Louisiana since 1907.

Online Databases that have Louisiana Birth Information  

Database	Description
New Orleans, Louisiana Birth Records Index, 1790-1899	This database is an index to birth records for New Orleans (which is coextensive with Orleans Parish) between the years 1790-1899. New Orleans was one of the first cities to establish the keeping of vital records, which they began doing in 1790. Although New Orleans began keeping vital records in this year, the recording of these events was sometimes inconsistent. It was not until 1914 when the keeping of vital records became a state-wide mandate that this inconsistency faded. This index provides information such as the child's name, parent's names (including the mother's maiden name), birth date, child's sex and color, and a reference to the original record. A microfilmed copy of the index was obtained from the State of Louisiana, Division of Archives, Records Management, and History. In some instances the microfilmed copies were hard to read and the information from those pages could not accurately be keyed to be included in this database. Due to this and also the inconsistency in keeping records, if you do not find your ancestor in this index it does not necessarily mean that they were not born in New Orleans.
Early U.S. French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954	In the 1940s the Institut Généalogique Drouin began microfilming records pertaining to French Canadians throughout French Canada and America. Consequently, this filmed set of records has become known as the Drouin Collection.  The entire Drouin Collection contains vital, notarial, and other miscellaneous records from Quebec, as well as French Catholic parish records from Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S. This database only contains the French Catholic parish records from U.S.
Gulf Coast Colonials
Miscellaneous French Records (Drouin Collection), 1651-1941	In the 1940s the Institut Généalogique Drouin began microfilming records pertaining to French Canadians throughout French Canada and America. Consequently, this filmed set of records has become known as the Drouin Collection.  The entire Drouin Collection contains vital, notarial, and other miscellaneous records from Quebec, as well as French Catholic parish records from Ontario, Acadia, and the U.S. This database only contains the miscellaneous records. Most of the records are from Quebec, but some are from other parts of French Canada and America.
The New Orleans French, 1720-1733
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

Louisiana Birth Certificate Authorized Persons

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

• Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate
• Mother/Father (or Legal Guardian) of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate
• Grandparents and Great Grandparents of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate
• Husband/Wife of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate 
• Adult Son/Daughter of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate
• Adult grandchildren of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate
• Sister/Brother of individual named on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Legal Representative of an Authorized Person of Person Named on the Louisiana Birth Certificate

Louisiana Birth Certificate for Genealogy Purpose

Anyone can obtain a Louisiana Birth Certificate, 100 years or later from the date of the birth for genealogy or other reasons.

Louisiana Birth Certificate Ordering

Options Option 1 – Order Louisiana Birth Certificate Online

This option is the simplest and easiest way to get your Louisiana Birth Certificate.  Order online and you will get your Louisiana 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 Louisiana Birth Certificate through the Mail

Follow the instructions below, if you are not ordering your Louisiana birth certificate online.  It usually takes 4-6 weeks 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 Louisiana birth certificate:

• Full name of person at birth on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Date of birth on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Sex on the Louisiana birth certificate
• County (or city) of birth on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Hospital of birth - if not in a hospital state "home" 
• Full maiden name of mother on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Full name of father on the Louisiana birth certificate
• Your name 
• Your signature 
• Your relationship to the person whose Louisiana birth certificate you are requesting 
• Address where the Louisiana 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:

 

Vital Records Registry

PO Box 60630

New Orleans, LA  70160

Option 3 – In Person

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

Louisiana Birth Certificate Ordering Cost

The fee to search for a Louisiana birth certificate is $15.50, which includes one certified copy of the Louisiana birth certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." For each additional copy of the Louisiana birth certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $15.50. Checks or Money Orders should be made payable to "Louisiana Vital Records Registry." Please do not send cash. Fees are not refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service.