Certified Pennsylvania Birth Certificate From the Department of Health

To receive a certificate you must complete an Application for Birth Certificate (Solicitud de un Certificado de Nacimiento in Spanish), show valid identification, sign your application and be an eligible applicant. Eligible applicants must be 16 years of age or older for in-person and mail applications; online applicants must be 18 years or older because of online payment and identity requirements. Eligible applicants include the person named on the birth certificate, a spouse, a parent or step-parent, a brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister, a son or daughter, a step-son or step-daughter, a grandparent or great-grandparent, a grandchild or great-grandchild, a Power of Attorney, and an attorney or legal representative of the person named. If the person listed on the birth certificate is deceased, a family member who is not on that list must also submit a copy of the death certificate.

The cost is $20 for each birth certificate, no matter how many you order. Payment is deposited when your application is received and is not refundable. Fee waivers are available for members of the U.S. Armed Forces: you or your spouse, including a widow or widower who has not remarried, must be in active service or discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, per Act 137 of 2024, and you must provide documentation of that status. Waivers are limited to ten copies per applicant per calendar year and cover only your own, your spouse's or a dependent child's birth certificate. The waiver does not apply to online service fees. Other fee-waived paper applications are listed under the "Forms" section.

There are three ways to apply:

• Online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. VitalChek is Pennsylvania's only authorized online vendor. Along with the $20 fee, a $10 non-refundable processing fee applies. Payment is by credit card. You can have the certificate sent by first class mail or pick it up at a Vital Records Office. Using any other online birth certificate website could delay your document or cost you more money.
• By mail. Complete an Application for Birth Certificate and mail it with a check or money order made payable to "VITAL RECORDS" to Division of Vital Records, Birth Certificate Processing Unit, PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. Cash is not accepted. All certificates are mailed using First Class Mail.
• In person at a Vital Records Public Office. Office locations and hours are listed on the Public Offices page at pa.gov, and payment there may be made by credit card.

If you need a certificate quickly, make your request in person at one of the six Vital Records Branch Offices or online. Current processing times for online, telephone and mail applications are posted on the Processing Times page at pa.gov; those times are based on the date the application is received and do not include delivery time. It can take longer if there are problems with your application, for genealogical requests, or if your request involves a subpoena, court order or power of attorney. Changes to a birth record also take extra processing.

The Division of Vital Records only issues birth certificates for births that occurred in Pennsylvania since 1906. If the birth record cannot be identified or found with the information you provide, you will receive a certified "No Record Certification of Birth," so give as much detail as you can. For someone born in another state, the National Center for Health Statistics website lists contact information for that state.

For questions about Pennsylvania birth certificates, the Division of Vital Records can be reached at 724-656-3100 or toll free at 844-228-3516, Monday through Friday from 7:15 am to 6:00 pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. There is also an online contact form, with a response in two to three business days.

Source: pa.gov/agencies/health/programs/vital-records/birth-certi…, read September 24, 2026.

The details

In Pennsylvania Department of Health’s words

A birth certificate is an official legal document that summarizes a person's birth record. In Pennsylvania, a birth certificate is printed on specialized security paper and contains a raised seal. This document is frequently used to prove identity when applying for a passport, employment, driver's license, social security card and school enrollment. Our office only issues birth certificates for births that occurred in Pennsylvania since 1906.

All help in Berks County →