How to Replace Your Birth Certificate in California

As long as a person was born before 1905, it is not difficult to get a replacement of a California birth certificate. The California Department of Public Health Vital Records keeps a record of every birth that has occurred in the state of California since July 1905. If an individual loses their birth certificate, they can order a replacement from Vital Records for a small fee.

Anyone willing to travel to the County Recorder's Office in the county in which they were born can order a certified copy of their birth certificate in person. That might be a quicker way to get a copy than by mail. The processing time is between seven and 10 weeks, which begins when Vital Records receives the request.

The mail-in application process might be easier for those individuals far from the county of their birth. To do this, they must submit an application for a certified copy of a birth certificate, as well as a notarized, sworn statement declaring under penalty of perjury that they are a person authorized by law to receive the certified copy.

Since a certified copy can be used to establish the identity of the person named on the certificate, it is available only to the person named in the certificate, their parents and certain other individuals. Those not eligible to receive a certified copy can order a certified informational copy. This is the same certificate but stamped with the legend, “Informational, Not a Valid Document to Establish Identity."

The fee for a certified copy is $25. The application, fee, and other documents should be mailed to: California Department of Public Health/Vital Records – MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410.

Many people may prefer to order a replacement California birth certificate online. That means no trip to the agency, no envelope, no stamps or having to go to the post office for regular mail. The Office of Vital Records does not take online orders, but they have an authorized independent, third-party company, VitalChek, to accept and process online requests for certified copies of vital records.

Convenient as this may be, it is important to know that VitalChek charges a processing fee for online orders. That fee is $25, in addition to the $25 fee to the state for the certified copy of the document. Note that these are the fee amounts as of the date of publication but they may change over time.

Vital statistic documents are recorded and stored on a state-by-state basis, not on a federal or national basis. That means that an individual will not be able to order a birth certificate from Vital Statistics in California if they were born in Iowa or Texas.

A person who lives in California, but who was born in another state must check with the Vital Statistics agency for that state to learn how to order a copy of their birth certificate. Each state has different rules about who can order a certified birth certificate and has different procedures for obtaining the document. Some states have public birth records and allow anyone to obtain an official copy. Other states, like California, restrict access to the certificate holder and immediate family members.

While the procedures for ordering a birth certificate from another state vary from one state to another, with the birth state making the rules, there are certain common denominators. The applicant will usually be required to provide certain information about the birth. This may include:

• Name and gender of the person named in the certificate.
• Date and place of birth.
• Mother’s name and maiden name.
• Name of the child's father.
  
• Parents' marital status at the time of birth (in some jurisdictions).
  

Some states with closed records will ask for additional documents to prove the applicant is qualified to obtain a certified birth certificate. These usually include a government-issued photo identification like a passport, a driver license or a state-issued identification card.

There is a procedure for registering the birth of an American baby born abroad. The parents of the child register the birth with the local consulate or embassy, using a procedure called a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), or Form FS-240. A CRBA means that the baby was born in another country or at a U.S. military base outside the United States. The CRBA establishes that the child is an American citizen and can be used to obtain an American passport for the child. Many times, parents seek the CRBA registration, a Social Security number and an American passport at the same time.

If an individual was born abroad, registered with the consulate and given a CRBA, it is a very important legal document. If the CRBA is lost, damaged, misplaced or stolen, the person will need to obtain a copy of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad form (FS-240). The California Department of Public Health does not maintain copies of registered births abroad. Rather, these are kept by the U.S. State Department.

To replace a lost CRBA, an individual must submit a notarized request to the U.S. State Department. They must include details such as the individual's name at birth, the date and place of birth, passport information, and the full names of the individual's parents. Ideally, the person should also provide the serial number of the FS-240.

The person should also provide their contact information and a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID. A fee of $50 is also required. The application form and fee should be sent to U.S. Department of State Passport Vital Records, Section 44132 Mercure Circle, PO Box 1213, Sterling, VA 20166-1213.