Vermont · Certified copy
Vermont Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Vital Records Section, Vermont Department of Health. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
Vermont at a glance
- Issuing office
- Vital Records Section, Vermont Department of Health
- Who can order
- 16 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 15–17 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 5–7 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. Vermont issues it for births recorded in the state.
Vermont birth certificate: any town clerk, from Burlington to Rutland
Vermont issues certified birth certificates to the registrant, spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, grandparent, guardian, estate petitioner or executor, and their legal representatives. The state does not verify the relationship you state, any town clerk can issue a Vermont birth from 1909 onward, and noncertified copies are open to everyone.
Eligible applicants under 18 V.S.A. 5016
Vermont's statute lists the registrant, a spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, grandparent or guardian, a petitioner for an estate or a court-appointed executor or administrator, the legal representative of any of them, a person named in a court order, and authorized public agency staff. Genealogists qualify only through one of those relationships or a court appointment. The state's own guidance explains that applicants state their relationship on the form and the law does not require proof of it; a court order, when one is the basis, must be a certified copy.
Burlington, Rutland and every town clerk
Births from January 1, 1909 to the present can be issued by the Vital Records Office in Waterbury or by any Vermont town clerk, wherever in the state the birth occurred. Burlington's clerk says it can issue any birth record filed in Vermont, and Rutland City issues certified copies to eligible applicants with valid ID, though its online requests cover 1909 onward only. Births before 1909 come only from the town clerk where they were filed, and corrections go to the state.
Certified on antifraud paper, or noncertified for anyone
Certified copies are printed on antifraud paper. Noncertified copies, once called informational, are marked "Noncertified", cannot be used for legal purposes, and are available to anyone without an application; Vermont has no closure period for that kind of copy. The public may also inspect certificates at issuing offices.
Application and identification
The application asks for your name, address, date of birth and contact details, the date and town of birth, the name and sex on the certificate, the parents' names, your relationship and your ID number and expiration date, signed under the state's false-statement law; no notary is needed for an ordinary copy. Vermont accepts a U.S. driver's license or ID card, tribal or military ID, a U.S. or foreign passport, a permanent resident card, an employment authorization card or a Vermont employee ID. Two documents that together show your current address and signature also work, such as a school ID with proof of enrollment, a Social Security card, a voter card or a utility or bank bill.
Adoptees, parentage and corrections
Since July 1, 2023, adoptees eighteen or older, emancipated adoptees and adult descendants of a deceased adoptee can obtain a certified copy of the original birth certificate, marked as not for identification, with a notarized application; birth parents may file contact preference forms. A Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage or a court order adds a parent. Name changes made after the first half-year following the birth need a certified court order, and delayed registrations are filed with supporting documents and notarized.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
Our Vermont form lists the statute's relationships, including grandchild, executor or administrator and estate petitioner. You give the town of birth and the parents' names, upload your ID and sign, and BirthChek files the request with the Vermont Vital Records Office.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- 18 V.S.A. §5016: certified copies — Vermont General Assembly
- Vital records law frequently asked questions — Vermont Department of Health – Vital Records
- Application for a certified copy of a birth or death certificate — Vermont Department of Health – Vital Records
- Order vital records — Vermont Department of Health – Vital Records
- Vital record certificates — City of Burlington
- Vital records — City of Rutland – Clerk
- Adoptees' access to sealed adoption records — Vermont Department of Health – Vital Records
Where to get a Vermont birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in Vermont are issued by the Vital Records Section, Vermont Department of Health.
We take orders for births anywhere in Vermont, including Burlington.
Who can order a Vermont birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Father
- Mother
- Brother
- Sister
- Son
- Daughter
- Spouse
- Legal Guardian · proof needed
- Attorney · proof needed
- Other
- Grandparent
- Grandchild
- Executor / Administrator · proof needed
- Estate petitioner · 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 Vermont birth certificate
- Personal Records/Use
- Passport
- Social Security
- Legal
- Government Assistance
- Insurance
- Inheritance
- Other
What you need to order a Vermont 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 Vermont birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.