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How to order a Massachusetts birth certificate

Who holds it: City/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Fees
  3. Older records and indexes
  4. More details
  5. Related records in Massachusetts
  6. How Massachusetts handles it
  7. Birth certificates in Massachusetts counties with a full guide
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Sources

Fee

RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.502

Who may order

Births to married parents are public records; births to unwed parents are restricted to the child, parents, father with paternity documentation, legal guardian or legal representative3

Processing time

Most orders filled in 2-3 weeks; mail orders within 30 business days3

How to search and order

Online ordering
Online/phone orders via VitalChek (state-linked)3

Fees

Fee in person
$20 per copy in person at RVRS2
Local fee (example)
Boston: $12 per copy in person, $14 online4

Older records and indexes

Before adoption
Pre-adoption birth records available to adult adoptees born in MA and certain descendants3

More details

State office
Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, 150 Mount Vernon St., 1st Floor, Dorchester, MA 021255
Local (example)
Boston City Registry Division issues Boston birth, death and marriage certificates6
Statute
M.G.L. c. 46, § 2A restricts out-of-wedlock birth records to the person, attorney, parent, guardian or court order7
Certified only
RVRS issues only certified copies; no online index3
Death certificates: who holds it
City/town clerk where the death occurred and RVRS (1936-present); pre-1936 also at the city/town of occurrence3
Death certificates: fee
Same RVRS fees as birth: $20 in person, $32 mail, $54/$42 online3

How Massachusetts handles it

  • Vital records kept by cities and towns, not counties. Vital records are held by city/town clerks and the state RVRS; Archives directs pre-1841 requests to town clerks8

Birth certificates in Massachusetts 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
Essex CountyCity/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present9—RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.5010
Hampden CountyCity/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present11—RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.5012
Hampshire CountyCity/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present13—RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.5014
Middlesex CountyCity/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present15—RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.5016
Norfolk CountyCity and town clerks and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics17—RVRS (state): $20 in person, $32 by mail, $54 first copy online or by phone ($42 each additional)18
Suffolk CountyBoston Registry Division (Boston births 1870-present)19——
Worcester CountyCity/town clerk of the place of birth (and of parents' residence) and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS, Dept. of Public Health), 1936-present20—RVRS: $20 in person; $32 mail; $42 expedited mail; $54 first copy online/phone (VitalChek), $42 additional; expedited online $62.50/$50.5021

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

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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: Massachusetts public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 21 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  2. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  3. Order a birth, marriage, or death certificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  4. How to get a birth certificateCity of Boston Registry Division
  5. Registry of Vital Records and StatisticsMassachusetts Department of Public Healtharchived copy
  6. Registry: Birth, Death, and MarriageCity of Boston
  7. M.G.L. c. 46, § 2A - Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditionsMassachusetts General Court (Legislature)archived copy
  8. Researching Vital Records at the Massachusetts Archives (Vital Records, 1841-1935)Massachusetts Archives (Secretary of the Commonwealth)archived copy
  9. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  10. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  11. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  12. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  13. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  14. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  15. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  16. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  17. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  18. Order a birth, marriage, or death certificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  19. How to get a birth certificateCity of Boston
  20. Ordering a CertificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  21. Vital records service feesMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy