Washington · Certified copy
Washington Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
Washington at a glance
- Issuing office
- Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health
- Who can order
- 18 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 5–7 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 2–3 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. Washington issues it for births recorded in the state.
Washington birth certificate: qualified applicants and the statewide database
Washington lets a wide circle of people order a certified birth certificate: the person named, a spouse or domestic partner, parents and stepparents, children and stepchildren, siblings, grandparents and great-grandparents, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, plus guardians and legal or authorized representatives. Anyone else can get an informational copy that cannot be used for legal purposes.
Qualified applicants under RCW 70.58A.530
The statute names every qualified applicant, and the list reaches further than most states: step-relatives and great-grandparents in both directions are included. A legal representative means a licensed attorney, and an authorized representative is someone a qualified applicant names in a notarized statement, or an agent acting under a power of attorney. Government agencies and courts may obtain copies for their official duties. The state asks each applicant for proof of the link: a marriage or partnership certificate for a spouse, your own birth certificate for a child or sibling, your child's birth certificate for a grandparent, and court papers for a guardian.
Seattle, King County and the statewide database
Washington keeps births from July 1907 onward in a central statewide database, and both the state office and local registrars issue certified copies from it. That is why a local office can print a record no matter where in Washington the birth took place: Public Health – Seattle & King County, for instance, says it holds birth records for everyone born in the state from 1907 on. After one hundred years, birth records pass to the State Archives, which can provide noncertified copies.
Certificate, heirloom or informational copy
Three products exist. The birth certificate is the legal document used for a passport, a driver license, school, health insurance and Social Security. The heirloom birth certificate, signed by the Governor and the State Registrar, is ordered by mail and is also legally valid. The informational copy carries a watermark saying it cannot be used for legal purposes; anyone may order one without showing ID, which makes it the route for family historians who are not qualified applicants.
What the Washington order form asks for
The state needs the person's first, middle and last name, the date of birth, the city or county of birth and the names of all parents on the record; the form also asks for the country of birth and the mother's surname before first marriage. You tick your relationship and sign under penalty of perjury, with no notary involved. A current government photo ID is expected, and the form explains how to ask for an exception when you cannot meet the identification rules.
Adoptions and parentage
After an adoption the original record is sealed, and the new certificate makes no reference to the adoption. Adoptees aged eighteen or older can obtain a noncertified copy of the original unless a birth parent filed a contact preference refusing release. A parent can be added or changed on a birth record only through an acknowledgment of parentage or a court order, and a birth registered late is marked as delayed.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
The Washington form at BirthChek lists every relationship the statute allows, step-relatives and great-grandparents included. You enter the birth details and each parent's name, upload your photo ID and sign, and we file the request with the state office from there. Your order page records each stage, from our review to the moment the certificate is mailed.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- RCW 70.58A.530: certified copies of vital records — Washington State Legislature
- Ordering a birth record — Washington State Department of Health – Center for Health Statistics
- Birth certificate order form (DOH 422-182) — Washington State Department of Health – Center for Health Statistics
- Acceptable proofs of eligibility (DOH 422-178) — Washington State Department of Health – Center for Health Statistics
- Original birth certificate for adopted persons — Washington State Department of Health – Center for Health Statistics
- Order a birth certificate — Public Health – Seattle & King County
- Where to write for vital records: Washington — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Where to get a Washington birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in Washington are issued by the Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health.
We take orders for births anywhere in Washington, including Seattle (King County).
Replacing a lost or damaged Washington birth certificate
A replacement is simply a new certified copy of the same birth record. You answer the same questions as for a first copy and nothing on the record changes. Order one when your copy is lost or damaged, or when you need more than one copy for applications running at the same time.
Who can order a Washington birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Authorized Representative · proof needed
- Child
- Court
- Domestic Partner
- Government Agency
- Grandchild
- Grandparent
- Great Grandparent
- Great-grandchild
- Legal Guardian · proof needed
- Legal Representative · proof needed
- Parent
- Sibling
- Spouse
- Stepchild
- Stepparent
- 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 Washington birth certificate
- Adoption (International)
- Adoption (US Only)
- Delayed Birth
- 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
- Tribal Enrollment
What you need to order a Washington 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 Washington birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.