Connecticut Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online

Who may order under section 7-51 of the General Statutes

Connecticut's list is set by section 7-51 and reaches further than many states:

• the registrant, once over eighteen, or an emancipated minor or certified homeless youth
• the registrant's parent, spouse, child, grandchild or grandparent
• a legal guardian, a legal custodian or a conservator of the person
• an attorney for the registrant or the registrant's family
• a member of a Connecticut genealogical society, a local director of health and approved agencies or researchers

Records sealed because of parentage, adoption, a gender change or a surrogacy arrangement need a court order whatever the relationship. When you order someone else's record, the forms ask you to prove the link, for example with your own birth certificate when ordering a parent's.

Which town can issue your copy

Connecticut registers births through its towns, and where you can order depends on the year. For a birth on or after January 1, 2003, any town registrar in the state, or the state office, can issue the certificate, so someone born in Norwalk, Hartford or New Haven can order through any town. For an earlier birth, only the town of birth, the town where the mother lived, or the state office can issue it. The State Vital Records Office holds births from July 1, 1897, and anything older is held only by the town where it happened. In Hartford the Bureau of Vital Records is at City Hall; Bridgeport's Office of Vital Records issues copies for everyone born in Bridgeport and keeps records back to 1850.

Full size or wallet size

Both the state and town request forms let you choose a full-size certified copy or a wallet-size version. The wallet card leaves out information, so it will not work for a passport and, according to the town form, not for a driver's license either. For most purposes, order the full size. The form also asks for the full name, date of birth, town of birth and each parent's name before first marriage, plus your relationship and reason, and neither form has a notary block.

Photo ID or two alternative documents

Connecticut asks for a government-issued photo ID that shows an expiration date. Without one, send two other documents such as a Social Security card, a pay stub or W-2, a school ID, a vehicle registration, a utility or bank statement or a voter card. If your current name differs from the one on the record, add the court order for the name change.

Genealogists, adoptees and amendments

After a hundred years, anyone eighteen or older may buy a certified copy, and members of Connecticut genealogical societies can research registrar records at any age, except Social Security numbers and the sealed files. An adult adoptee, or an adoptee's adult child or grandchild, can get an uncertified copy of the original birth certificate from the town of birth without a court order, marked as superseded. Corrections are filed with the town where the birth occurred using a notarized affidavit and documents, and a name change needs a certified court order. Acknowledgments of parentage go to the state's paternity registry.

How it works when you order with BirthChek

On our Connecticut form you choose from the relationships section 7-51 allows, including grandchild, conservator and genealogical society member. Anyone other than the registrant or a parent uploads proof of the relationship, and we check it before filing. You pick the full-size certificate, enter the town of birth and the parents' names, upload your ID and sign, and BirthChek files the request with the Connecticut Department of Public Health.