How to Obtain a Certified Copy of a Birth or Death Certificate


Certificates can be purchased in person at our office, or by mail, or online through VitalChek. Please see below for detailed instructions.

Walk-in Customers To purchase a birth or death certificate in person, you will need the following:
  1. Application for Vital Record English and Spanish
    • If purchasing a certificate in person, do not complete or notarize the second page of application.
  1. A valid government-issued photo identification
    • I.D. must be for the individual purchasing the record.
    • We do not accept expired identification.
  1. Pay fee ($28.00 per copy for birth certificates and $21 per copy for death certificates)
    • For walk-in customers we accept: cash, check, cashier’s check, money order and credit/debit.
Note: If no record is found, Health and Safety Code (H&SC) 103650 requires our office to retain the fee and issue a Certificate of No Public Record.

Mail-in Customers To purchase a birth or death certificate through the mail, you will need the following:
  1. Application for Vital Record English and Spanish
  2. Notarized Sworn Statement (page 2 of application)
  3. Pay fee ($28.00 per copy for birth certificates and $21 per copy for death certificates)
    • For mail-in customers, we accept check, cashier’s check or money order.
    • Do not send cash.
    • Checks should be made out to: Orange County Health Care Agency or OCHCA.
Note: If no record is found, Health and Safety Code (H&SC) 103650 requires our office to retain the fee and issue a Certificate of No Public Record.
  1. Stamped, self-addressed envelope (business size or manila envelope)
  2. Mail all items to:

County of Orange Health Care Agency
Office of Vital Records
200 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Suite 100-B
Santa Ana, CA 92701

Online  To purchase a birth or death certificate online please visit VitalChek, a third party website, at https://www.vitalchek.com/vital-records. 

1.     Select Birth or Death Certificate

2.     Complete the online application

3.     Pay fees by credit/debit or electronic check

  • Certificate fee ($28 per copy for birth certificates and $21 per copy for death certificates)
  • VitalChek online processing fee $12.95
  • Shipping fee ($1 for regular mail or $19 for UPS overnight delivery)

Note: If no record is found, Health and Safety Code (H&SC) 103650 requires our office to retain the Certificate fee and issue a Certificate of No Public Record. VitalChek will refund the processing and shipping fees.

Affidavit of Homeless Status for a Fee Exempt Copy of a Birth Certificate

Affidavit of Homeless Status for a Fee Exempt Copy of a Birth Certificate Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 103577, each local registrar or county recorder shall, without a fee, issue a certified record of live birth to any person who can verify his or her status as a homeless person or a homeless child or youth. This affidavit must be used for the purpose of requesting a fee exempt certified copy of a Certificate of Live Birth only. The Affidavit of Homeless Status for a Fee Exempt Copy of a Birth Certificate is to be completed by a “homeless services provider.”