Massachusetts · Certified copy
Massachusetts Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
Massachusetts at a glance
- Issuing office
- Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
- Who can order
- 15 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 14–21 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 10–14 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. Massachusetts issues it for births recorded in the state.
Massachusetts birth certificate: the Registry, town clerks and restricted records
Massachusetts keeps birth records in two places: the city or town where the birth happened and the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, which holds records from 1936 to the present. Records of births to unmarried parents are restricted to the person, the parents, a guardian or a legal representative.
Restricted records under chapter 46, section 2A
Massachusetts law treats one group of birth records differently: those of children born to parents who were not married. Since 1841 these records may be examined only by court order or at the request of the person named, their attorney, a parent, a guardian or conservator, or an authorized official. The Registry adds that a father who is not on the record may ask with documentation of paternity, and guardians and legal representatives show the papers that give them that role. Boston's registry likewise releases restricted records only to the people listed on them.
Boston, other city and town clerks, and the state Registry
Every Massachusetts city or town clerk keeps the births that happened there, and Boston's registry issues certificates for births at a hospital or home in Boston and for births where the parents gave Boston as their residence. The state Registry holds records from 1936 onward; records from 1841 through 1935 are at the State Archives, and some town records reach back to 1635. For an older birth, the city or town of birth is usually the first place to ask.
What you need to give and the identification rules
The Registry needs the person's name, the date and place of birth and your identification, and may ask for documents that show your relationship. Its mail form asks for the name at birth or after adoption, the date of birth, the city or town, both parents' names, your relationship and the reason, such as a passport, dual citizenship or benefits. A government photo ID is preferred and may be recently expired; otherwise two items such as a work or school photo ID, a utility bill, a W-2, a pay stub or a state benefit card are accepted.
Certified copies and the abstract without parents
The Registry issues only certified copies, whatever the intended use. On request, a clerk or the Registry must provide an abbreviated record that leaves out the parents' names, which some people prefer for school or employment. When no record exists, the Registry issues a certified negative statement, and that statement is the first step toward establishing a delayed record of birth.
Adoptees, parentage and corrections
Adult adoptees born in Massachusetts, the adult children of a deceased adoptee and the adoptive parents of a minor may obtain a noncertified copy of the pre-adoption birth record, with no birth-year limit since November 2022. Parentage is established by a voluntary acknowledgment, together with an affidavit of non-paternity when the mother was married to someone else, or by a court. Corrections need evidence that the entry was wrong at the time of birth; a later legal name change does not alter the record.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
BirthChek asks for the Massachusetts details the Registry works from: the name at birth, the date, the city or town and both parents. You choose your relationship, upload a photo ID and sign. Our team files the request for you and keeps your order page current until the certificate is mailed, and if the record turns out to be a restricted one, we tell you which document the Registry will need from you.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- Order a birth, marriage or death certificate — Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
- General Laws chapter 46 section 2A: restricted records — The 194th General Court of Massachusetts
- General Laws chapter 46 section 19: certified copies — The 194th General Court of Massachusetts
- Vital records mail order form — Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
- Learn about conducting genealogical research — Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
- Apply for a pre-adoption birth record — Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
- How to get a birth certificate — City of Boston – Registry of Birth, Death and Marriage
Where to get a Massachusetts birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in Massachusetts are issued by the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
We take orders for births anywhere in Massachusetts, including Boston.
Who can order a Massachusetts birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Aunt
- Daughter
- Father
- Grandparent
- Husband
- Legal Guardian · proof needed
- Legal Representative · proof needed
- Mother
- Other
- Sibling
- Son
- Uncle
- Wife
- 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.