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How to order a Minnesota birth certificate

Who holds it: MDH Office of Vital Records and county vital records offices1

Last checked against official sources on .

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

Fee

$26 certified2

Who may order

Subject, parents, child, current spouse, grandparent, grandchild, legal custodian or guardian, health care agent, personal representative, attorney, others listed by MDH3

How to search and order

How to order
MDH: mail or fax only. Counties: in person or by mail1

Fees

Fee noncertified
$132
Fee verification
$92
Fee amendment
$40, MDH only2
Fee no record
$9 search fee is nonrefundable, even when no record is found4

Who may order and what is restricted

ID required
ID and a signature before a notary or county staff3
Restrictions
Birth to unmarried parents is confidential unless the birth parent opts to make it public3
Confidential expiry
Restricted birth data becomes public after 100 years5
Who may request confidential
Confidential birth records (unmarried parents, not made public): only the subject (age 16 or older, or a homeless youth), a parent named on the record, a legal custodian, guardian or conservator, a person with a U.S. court order, or listed Minnesota program representatives3

Older records and indexes

Dates covered
1900 to present at all offices; before 1900 from the county of birth2

More details

Any county
Any of the 87 counties can serve you, regardless of where you live6
County how
Counties take in-person and mail requests2
No email
No emailed applications or electronic delivery2
Non-certified copies
If the record is public, anyone may buy a noncertified copy3
Homeless youth
Free for homeless people 24 or younger born in Minnesota2
Long form
Long form certificates are no longer issued2
Death certificates: who holds it
MDH Office of Vital Records and county vital records offices1
Death certificates: fee
$13 certified2
Older records: births
Indexed 1900-1934, plus about 2,700 pre-1900 records7

How Minnesota handles it

  • Registered land. Land registered under ch. 508 has a registrar of titles alongside the county recorder8
  • Vital records at any county. Birth and death certificates can be issued by any county from one statewide system6
  • Marriage licenses from the local registrar. Any county's local registrar can issue; the copy comes from the issuing county9

Birth certificates in Minnesota 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
Anoka CountyAnoka County Vital Records10—$26 first certified copy; $19 each additional of the same record issued at the same time11
Carver CountyLand Records & Vitals Department12—$26.0013
Dakota CountyDakota County Service & License Centers14—$26 first certified copy; $19 each additional copy of the same record at the same time15
Hennepin CountyHennepin County Vital Records16—Certified copy $26 (each extra $19); Minnesota births17
Olmsted CountyProperty Records & Licensing: Vital Records and Licensing18—$26 certified; additional copies $19 each (2.15% credit-card convenience fee)19
Ramsey CountyRamsey County Vital Records Office20—Certified $26 first copy, $19 each additional copy of the same record; noncertified $13 per copy20
Washington CountyWashington County Vital Records (any Minnesota birth); county records from 187021—$26 first certified copy; $19 each additional at the same time; non-certified $13 / $621
Wright CountyRecorder's Office22—$26.00 first copy; $19.00 each additional copy of the same record purchased at the same time; optional expedite $20.00; postage $5.00 or Priority Mail $12.0023

For any other county, see the county list on the Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota: Minnesota public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. About the Office of Vital RecordsMinnesota Department of Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  2. Available Records and ServicesMinnesota Department of Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  3. Who Can Order RecordsMinnesota Department of Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  4. Minn. Stat. 144.226 FeesMinnesota Revisor of Statuteschecked November 4, 2026
  5. Minn. Stat. 144.225 Disclosure of information from vital recordsMinnesota Revisor of Statuteschecked November 4, 2026
  6. Directory of County OfficesMinnesota Department of Healthchecked November 4, 2026
  7. Vital Records: Birth RecordsMinnesota Historical Society Librarychecked November 4, 2026
  8. Minn. Stat. 508.31 Registrar's bondMinnesota Revisor of Statuteschecked November 4, 2026
  9. Minn. Stat. 517.07 Marriage licenseMinnesota Revisor of Statuteschecked November 4, 2026
  10. Vital Records | Anoka County, MN - Official WebsiteAnoka Countychecked November 4, 2026
  11. Birth Records | Anoka County, MN - Official WebsiteAnoka Countychecked November 4, 2026
  12. Land Records & VitalsCarver County, MNchecked November 7, 2026
  13. Vital Records Fee ScheduleCarver County, MNchecked November 7, 2026
  14. Birth CertificatesDakota Countychecked November 4, 2026
  15. Certified Birth CertificatesDakota Countychecked November 4, 2026
  16. Death certificateHennepin Countychecked November 4, 2026
  17. Birth certificateHennepin Countychecked November 4, 2026
  18. Property Records & LicensingOlmsted County, Minnesotachecked November 4, 2026
  19. Birth certificatesOlmsted County, Minnesotachecked November 4, 2026
  20. Ramsey Countychecked November 4, 2026
  21. Birth and Death RecordsWashington County, Minnesotachecked November 4, 2026
  22. DepartmentsWright County, MNchecked November 4, 2026
  23. Birth and Death CertificatesWright County, MNchecked November 4, 2026