West Virginia · Certified copy
West Virginia Birth Certificate: Order a Certified Copy Online
We prepare your application and file it with the Vital Registration Office, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The office mails the certified copy to you.
- Secure payment
- Encrypted data
- Email support
- Private service — not a government agency
West Virginia at a glance
- Issuing office
- Vital Registration Office, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources
- Who can order
- 15 relationships · see the list
- Standard processing
- 20–25 Business Days
- What you need
- Photo ID, names, date and place of birth, parents' names
- Expedited processing
- 10–15 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. West Virginia issues it for births recorded in the state.
West Virginia birth certificate: in-laws, great-grandchildren and Charleston
West Virginia lets the registrant and a wide immediate family order a birth certificate: parents, children, siblings, a spouse, in-laws, every generation of grandparents and grandchildren, stepparents and stepchildren, plus guardians and authorized representatives. Applicants must be eighteen or older, enclose photo ID, and add proof of relationship whenever the certificate is not their own.
A broad definition of immediate family
West Virginia Code 16-5-28 names the registrant, parents, spouse, adult children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, legal guardians and their authorized representatives, along with child-placing agencies and anyone who shows a personal or property right. The 2025 vital statistics rule widens immediate family to brothers and sisters, mothers-, fathers-, sons- and daughters-in-law, all generations of grandparents and grandchildren, and stepparents and stepchildren. Genealogists may apply with the family's authorization. A father who is not named on the certificate needs proof of paternity, and birth parents of an adopted child are excluded unless they kept their parental rights.
Charleston walk-in service and the county clerks
The Vital Registration Office in the Capitol Street building in Charleston serves walk-in customers the same day. Someone collecting a certificate for another person brings a signed permission slip with a copy of that person's photo ID. County clerks, including the Kanawha County Clerk, record births too, but the state archives note that a county clerk can certify only the records it issued itself. The state office holds births from 1917 plus delayed records reaching back to about 1850; for an earlier birth, ask the county first.
Photo ID and proof you enclose
Every order needs a photo ID. The state accepts a driver's license, even an expired one, a U.S. or foreign passport, a military ID or a photo ID from a government program, and it allows two other documents, such as a major credit card, a vehicle registration, a social services card or a utility bill, in its place; exceptions are granted case by case. The application asks for the registrant's name, date of birth, sex, county, city and hospital, the mother's maiden name and the father's name, and no notary is involved.
Public after a century
Birth records open to the public a hundred years after the birth, and researchers are pointed to the West Virginia Archives for older material. Certified copies of changed or late records carry an "Amended" or "Delayed" mark.
Adoption, paternity and corrections
After an adoption, a legitimation or a paternity determination, the State Registrar issues a new certificate and seals the original, which opens only for administration of the system, child support enforcement or a court order; adoptees can use the state's mutual consent registry. Corrections need two documents at least five years old or created close to the birth, or else a court order, and people who live outside the state can petition the Kanawha County Circuit Court. Records more than a hundred years old cannot be amended, and a delayed registration cannot be filed for someone who has died.
How it works when you order with BirthChek
Our West Virginia form includes the wider family the state recognizes, from in-laws and great-grandparents to stepparents. You enter the county, city and hospital of birth and both parents' names, upload your photo ID and, unless the record is your own, a document showing the relationship. BirthChek then files the order with the Vital Registration Office.
Facts checked October 24, 2026 against the sources below.
Sources
- Certificate requests — West Virginia Health Statistics Center – Vital Registration
- Application for a certified copy of a birth certificate — West Virginia Health Statistics Center – Vital Registration
- W. Va. Code §16-5-28: certified copies — West Virginia Legislature
- 64CSR32: vital statistics rule — West Virginia Secretary of State
- Correct or amend a certificate — West Virginia Health Statistics Center – Vital Registration
- Genealogy — West Virginia Health Statistics Center – Vital Registration
- Vital records — West Virginia Archives and History
- Where to write for vital records: West Virginia — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Where to get a West Virginia birth certificate: state and local offices
Certified copies for births recorded in West Virginia are issued by the Vital Registration Office, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
We take orders for births anywhere in West Virginia, including Charleston, Kanawha County and Cabell County.
Who can order a West Virginia birth certificate
- You, the person named
- Brother · 18 or older
- Daughter · 18 or older
- Father
- Grandchild · 18 or older
- Grandparent
- Great Grandchild · 18 or older
- Husband
- Legal Guardian · proof needed
- Legal Representative · proof needed
- Mother
- Sister · 18 or older
- Son · 18 or older
- 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.
Relationships marked "18 or older" must confirm their age in the application.
If your relationship is not listed, the office may refuse the application or ask for a court order.
Reasons to request a West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia birth certificate?
About ten minutes. Have your photo ID nearby.