How to order a Vermont birth certificate
Who holds it: Vermont Department of Health, Office of Vital Records (Statewide Registration System, January 1909 to present); town clerks and VSARA act as issuing agents1
On this page
Fee
$10.00 per certified copy (+$2 online processing)2
Who may order
Certified copy: the registrant or spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, grandparent or guardian; a person petitioning to open the estate; a court-appointed executor/administrator; their legal representatives; a person with a court order; authorized public agency employees3
How to search and order
- By mail
- Mail form, ID copy, check/money order to VDH Vital Records, 280 State Drive, Waterbury, VT 05671-83704
- Online
- Official online order service secure.vermont.gov/VSARA/vitalrecords/ ($2 online fee)1
Who may order and what is restricted
- ID required
- Copy of valid ID required (list on application; two alternative documents if no photo ID)4
Older records and indexes
- Pre
- Pre-1909 birth/death certificates are not issued from the statewide system; town clerks may issue certified copies of those on file3
More details
- Local office
- Any town/city clerk can issue certified and noncertified copies of births 1909 to present (and earlier ones on file in that town)1
- Non-certified copies
- Noncertified copies free; plain paper marked "noncertified"; request by email to VDH1
- Fee waivers
- Fee waived for people without fixed nighttime residence and for certain former foster youth aged 18-242
Related records in Vermont
- Death certificates: who holds it
- Same as birth: VDH statewide system (1909 to present), town clerks and VSARA as issuing agents1
- Death certificates: fee
- $10.00 per certified copy2
How Vermont handles it
- Towns, not counties, keep land and vital records. Town and city clerks hold land records, record vital events and issue marriage licenses and certified copies; Vermont counties have no register of deeds5
- Single statewide vital records system since July 1, 2019. Birth and death records from 1909 on are issued only from the Health Department's Statewide Registry System (town originals remain for research)5
Birth certificates in Vermont 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.
| County | Office | Search online | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chittenden County | Town and city clerks and Vermont Department of Health, Vital Records6 | — | $10.00 per certified copy (+$2 online processing)7 |
For any other county, see the county list on the Vermont guide.
Official warnings
- Fraudulent birth/death certificate applications. False statements on a certified copy application are punishable by fines up to $10,000 or 6 months4
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 Vermont 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 Vermont: Vermont public records guide.
Sources
Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 7 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.
- Order Vital RecordsVermont Department of Health
- 18 V.S.A. § 5017 Fees for copiesVermont General Assembly, Vermont Statutes Online
- 18 V.S.A. § 5016 Birth and death certificates; copies; inspectionVermont General Assembly, Vermont Statutes Online
- Application for Certified Copy of Vermont Birth or Death Certificate (PDF)Vermont Department of Health
- State Vital Records RegistryVermont Secretary of State, VSARA
- Order Vital RecordsVermont Department of Health
- 18 V.S.A. § 5017 Fees for copiesVermont General Assembly, Vermont Statutes Online