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How to order a Mississippi birth certificate

Who holds it: MSDH Office of Vital Records, 222 Marketridge Dr., Ridgeland (mail: P.O. Box 1700, Jackson, MS 39215-1700); records from November 19121

Last checked against official sources on .

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

Fee

$17 first certified copy (long form), $6 each additional copy ordered at the same time; $1 of each fee goes to the Children's Trust Fund2

Who may order

Persons with a 'legitimate and tangible interest': registrant (of legal age), parents on the record, spouse, siblings, grandparents, children, legal guardian, legal representative, licensed adoption agencies, others by court order1

How to search and order

Online
Online/phone through VitalChek, a private company that adds a fee; mail avoids extra fees1
Payment
Mail: cashier's check or money order to Mississippi Vital Records; no personal checks or cash2

Who may order and what is restricted

Not public
Vital records are not public; no public access to vault or indexes3
ID required
Copy of valid photo ID required2
Not eligible
Not eligible: commercial, political, for-profit and not-for-profit firms requesting copies or name/address listings; parents whose rights were terminated; natural parents of an adopted child without legal custody3

Older records and indexes

Genealogy
Genealogy: plain paper copies to researchers with family ties for birth records filed more than 100 years before the request; same fee as certified3

More details

Same day
In person: issued same day unless a search is required1
No short form
Only long-form certified copies; short form/abstracts no longer issued1
Not found
Fee kept if not found (Not-On-File certification issued); additional-copy fees refunded2
Death certificates: who holds it
MSDH Office of Vital Records; deaths from November 1912 to present4
Death certificates: fee
$17 first certified copy (also the non-refundable search fee), $6 each additional copy ordered at the same time5
Older records: no birth
No birth records at the archives6

Birth certificates in Mississippi 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
DeSoto CountyMississippi State Department of Health Vital Records (statewide, from November 1912)7——
Harrison CountyMississippi State Department of Health, not the county8——
Hinds CountyNo county vital records office; MSDH Vital Records ($17 first copy, $6 additional)9—$17 first certified copy, $6 each additional10
Jackson CountyMississippi State Department of Health (county Archives page refers requesters there)11——
Rankin CountyMississippi State Department of Health Office of Vital Records (no county birth certificate office found on the county site)12—$17 first certified copy, $6 each additional12

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

Official warnings

  • MSDH: VitalChek is a private company that adds fees; ordering by mail avoids them1

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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi: Mississippi public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 12 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Vital Records in MississippiMississippi State Department of Health
  2. Birth Certificate Application InstructionsMississippi State Department of Health
  3. Rules Governing the Registration and Certification of Vital Events (Title 15, Part 5, Subpart 85, Ch. 1)Mississippi State Department of Health
  4. Application for Certified Mississippi Death Certificate, Form 523Mississippi State Department of Health
  5. Death Certificate Application InstructionsMississippi State Department of Health
  6. GenealogyMississippi Department of Archives and History
  7. Vital RecordsMississippi State Department of Health
  8. A birth/death certificateHarrison County
  9. Hinds County Frequently Asked QuestionsHinds County Board of Supervisors (co.hinds.ms.us)
  10. Birth Certificate Application InstructionsMississippi State Department of Health
  11. ArchivesJackson County, Mississippi
  12. Birth Certificate Application InstructionsMississippi State Department of Health