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How to order a Delaware birth certificate

Who holds it: Delaware Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Office of Vital Statistics (central office: Jesse Cooper Building, 417 Federal St., Dover; also Newark and Georgetown). Birth records 72+ years old (through 1953) are at the Delaware Public Archives.1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Who may order and what is restricted
  3. Related records in Delaware
  4. How Delaware handles it
  5. Birth certificates in Delaware counties with a full guide
  6. Official warnings
  7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  8. Sources

Fee

$25.00 per certified copy (fee kept as a search fee if no record is found); free with a valid Delaware personal credential card (29 Del. C. § 8915); heirloom birth certificate $35.1

Who may order

The registrant, spouse, children, parents or guardian, or their authorized representatives; others who show the record is needed to determine or protect personal or property rights or for genealogy. Adult adoptees (21+) may get a noncertified copy of the original birth certificate.2

How to search and order

How to order
In person (Dover, Newark or Georgetown offices, Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.), by mail to the Dover office with the application, ID copy and check/money order payable to the State of Delaware, or online via VitalChek or GoCertificates (extra vendor fee). Archives copies (pre-1954) from Delaware Public Archives at $25.00.3

Who may order and what is restricted

Restrictions
Vital records are confidential; birth records become public 72 years after birth. Applicants need valid photo ID; relatives need proof of relationship.2
Death certificates: who holds it
DHSS Office of Vital Statistics; death records over 40 years old (through 1985) are at the Delaware Public Archives.4
Death certificates: fee
$25.00 per certificate (part goes to the distressed cemetery fund). One free certified copy of a veteran's death certificate to a relative when essential to settling a claim.5
Older records: public vital records
Archives holds birth certificates 72+ years old (through 1953), death certificates 40+ years old (through 1985), marriage certificates 50+ years old (through 1975); certified copies $25.00 each. Delaware vital records before 1913 are incomplete.4

How Delaware handles it

  • Divorce decrees come only from Family Court; Vital Statistics keeps divorce data for statistics only.6

Birth certificates in Delaware counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Kent CountyOffice of Vital Statistics, Kent County, Delaware Division of Public Health7——
New Castle CountyDelaware Office of Vital Statistics - New Castle County office8——
Sussex CountyDelaware Office of Vital Statistics, Sussex County office9——

For any other county, see the county list on the Delaware guide.

Official warnings

  • Vendor fees for vital records ordered online (DHSS Office of Vital Statistics)3

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Delaware office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: birth certificates in every state. Everything else in Delaware: Delaware public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 9 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Application for a Certified Copy of a Delaware Birth Certificate (Rev. Mar 2022)DHSS Office of Vital Statisticsarchived copy
  2. Delaware Code Title 16, Chapter 31, Subchapter I - Vital Statistics General Provisions (incl. § 3110)Delaware General Assembly
  3. Office of Vital StatisticsDelaware Health and Social Services, Division of Public Healtharchived copy
  4. Visiting & Researching at the Delaware Public Archives (fees, vital records, records availability)Delaware Public Archives
  5. Application for a Certified Copy of a Delaware Death Certificate (Rev. March 2022)DHSS Office of Vital Statisticsarchived copy
  6. Delaware Code Title 16, Chapter 31, Subchapter II - Registration Requirements (incl. §§ 3128, 3132)Delaware General Assembly
  7. Vital StatisticsDelaware Division of Public Health
  8. Office of Vital StatisticsDelaware Health and Social Services
  9. Vital StatisticsDelaware Division of Public Health