Delaware · Certified copy
Delaware Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Office of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
Delaware at a glance
- Issuing office
- Office of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health
- Who can order
- 11 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 30–35 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 3–7 Business Days
- Proof of relationship
- Required for some relationships
A certified copy is the document most agencies accept for a passport, a driver's license, school enrollment or benefits. Delaware issues it for births recorded in the state.
Delaware birth certificate: Dover, Newark and Georgetown offices
Delaware issues a certified birth certificate to the registrant, a spouse, children, parents, a guardian, or their authorized representative, and to others who need it for personal or property rights or family genealogy with permission. Births become public 72 years after the event, earlier than most states, and three state offices serve each county.
Who may order under 16 Del. C. 3110
Delaware's statute names the registrant, a spouse, children, parents, a guardian, and an authorized representative of any of them, such as an attorney, physician, funeral director or agent. Others may qualify when the record is needed to protect a personal or property right, or for genealogy; a family genealogist, or one representing a relative, needs authorization from the registrant or the family unless the registrant has died. Birth parents of an adopted child who no longer have custody are excluded.
Proof that comes with the application
The application marks which relationships need proof. A spouse, a parent and an "other" relative show a birth or marriage certificate that links them to the registrant, a guardian sends the court order, and genealogists and agents send their supporting documents. Attorneys and other legal requesters use the state's legal request template on letterhead, stating the purpose, the client's relationship and the law that makes the client eligible, with documents such as a Register of Wills short certificate or a court order.
Dover, Newark and Georgetown
The Office of Vital Statistics serves the public at three sites: its central office in Dover for Kent County, Newark for New Castle County, which is the office that serves Wilmington residents, and Georgetown for Sussex County. Branch offices can reach every birth record filed in Delaware. Births more than 72 years old move to the Delaware Public Archives, while more recent ones stay with the Office of Vital Statistics.
Application and ID
The form asks for the name on the certificate, sex, date of birth, city and hospital, and the names of Parent A and Parent B, along with your relationship, contact details and signature, which certifies the request under the state's penalty statute; there is no notary block. A copy of a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license, state ID, work ID or passport, goes with it, and for a child, a parent's identification is used.
Adoptees, parentage and amendments
After an adoption the original certificate goes into a confidential file and a new one is issued. Adoptees twenty-one or older can obtain a noncertified copy of the original unless a birth parent filed a notarized denial in the past three years, and older adoptions follow a notice process. When the mother was unmarried, a father is added by Family Court order or a notarized acknowledgment signed by both parents. Amended certificates are marked as such, and an item already amended once needs a court order to change again. Delayed registrations are sworn before an official who can administer oaths.
Heirloom copies, legal requests by mail and new wording
Besides the certified copy, Delaware prints an heirloom birth certificate for display and can supply a long-form certificate on request. Requests from attorneys and other legal requesters all go by mail to the Dover office on the state's template. When a birth is registered late, the application is sworn, and the state asks for a hospital record or two documents if it is filed within ten years of the birth, or three documents after that. Delaware law is also moving from the word paternity to parentage in its birth record provisions.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
Our Delaware form includes the state's relationship choices, from domestic partner and genealogist to other relatives with proof, and asks for the linking certificate where the state wants one. You enter the city and hospital of birth and both parents' names, upload your ID and sign, and BirthChek files the request with the Delaware Office of Vital Statistics.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- Office of Vital Statistics — Delaware Division of Public Health – Office of Vital Statistics
- Application for a certified copy of a birth certificate — Delaware Division of Public Health – Office of Vital Statistics
- 16 Del. C. chapter 31: vital statistics — Delaware General Assembly
- Regulation 4205: vital statistics — Delaware Division of Public Health
- Frequently asked questions — Delaware Public Archives
- Adoptee application for an original birth certificate — Delaware Division of Public Health – Office of Vital Statistics
Where to get a Delaware birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in Delaware are issued by the Office of Vital Statistics, Division of Public Health.
We take orders for births anywhere in Delaware, including Wilmington and Dover.
Who can order a Delaware birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Daughter · proof needed
- Father
- Husband · proof needed
- Legal Guardian · proof needed
- Mother
- Son · proof needed
- Wife · proof needed
- Attorney · proof needed
- Other relative with proof · proof needed
- My relationship is not listed · proof needed
Relationships marked "proof needed" must send proof of the relationship with the application; we tell you what counts after you order.
If your relationship is not listed, the office may refuse the application or ask for a court order.
Reasons to request a Delaware birth certificate
- Adoption (International)
- Adoption (US Only)
- Driver's License
- Dual Citizenship/Immigration
- Employment
- Genealogy/Family History
- Government Assistance/Benefits
- Housing
- Identification
- Income Tax
- Inheritance/Estate Settlement
- Insurance
- Legal Purposes
- Marriage (International)
- Marriage (US Only)
- Passport
- Personal Records/Use
- Retirement
- School
- Social Security Card/Benefits
- Sports
- Travel
What you need to order a Delaware birth certificate
- A photo ID: driver's license, state ID, passport or military ID
- Full name on the certificate and date of birth
- City or county of birth
- Both parents' names, including the mother's maiden name
- A debit or credit card
- Proof of your relationship, for the relationships marked above
Prefer to order directly? Find the office in the CDC directory
Ready to order your Delaware birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.