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Vital records · California

California birth certificate by mail: the notarized sworn statement

California issues two kinds of copies. An authorized copy proves identity; an informational copy does not. To get the authorized copy by mail you sign a one-page Sworn Statement in front of a notary, declaring under penalty of perjury that you are one of the people Health and Safety Code §103526 allows to have it. No photocopy of your ID is required. The notary step is the whole of the identity check, which is why the state rejects mailed applications without it.

California's Sworn Statement page with a notary seal, in front of a birth certificate and the outline of the state

What the mailed application needs

Mailed application needs

Notarized sworn statement

For an AUTHORIZED certified copy by mail you must enclose the Sworn Statement (VS 20, page 4 of the 5-page VS 111/112/113-A packet) in which you declare under penalty of perjury that you are an authorized person under HSC §103526(c); the signature block is completed before a notary who attaches a California 'Certificate of Acknowledgment' (an acknowledgment, not a jurat). No photocopy of ID is required with a mailed request. Without the notarized sworn statement CDPH-VR rejects an authorized-copy request as incomplete; an INFORMATIONAL copy needs no sworn statement. Law-enforcement/government agencies (and funeral establishments for death records) are exempt from the notary requirement. A foreign notarization needs an apostille (except U.S. consular officers or a foreign judge of a court of record).

Authority: Health & Safety Code §103526 (authorized persons; notarized sworn statement for mailed authorized-copy requests)

Fees

Birth certificate
$31
Death certificate
$26
Marriage certificate
$19

Per copy, check or money order payable to 'CDPH-VR'; County recorders/registrars charge their own fees. CDPH holds public marriage records only for 1905-1999, 2001 and 2008-2025; confidential marriages are county-only. Mail to CDPH Vital Records – MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410.

California Department of Public Health – Vital Records (CDPH-VR) ↗

Official forms

Who may order a certified copy

  • the registrant (person named on the record)
  • parent or legal guardian of the registrant (legal guardian must provide documentation)
  • child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner of the registrant
  • a party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order (copy of the court order required), or an attorney or licensed adoption agency seeking a birth record to comply with Family Code §3140 or §7603
  • a member of a law enforcement agency or representative of another governmental agency conducting official business
  • any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate (e.g. agent under power of attorney, executor) – include a copy of the power of attorney or documentation identifying you as executor
  • an attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate
  • death records only: an agent or employee of a funeral establishment acting within the scope of employment on behalf of persons specified in HSC §7100(a)(1)-(8)

Authorized copy or informational copy

Every California application asks you to choose. An authorized certified copy is the one you need for a passport, REAL ID, Social Security, school enrolment, a probate file or a claim. An informational certified copy carries the same data but is printed with the legend “Informational, not a valid document to establish identity,” and anyone may order it with no sworn statement at all.

The sworn statement exists to police the authorized copy. If you tick the informational box you can skip the notary; if you tick the authorized box the notarized Sworn Statement must be in the envelope, or CDPH returns the application as incomplete.

How the mailed application works

CDPH publishes one packet per record type: VS 111 for birth, VS 112 for death and VS 113-A for marriage. Part 1 is the application; the Sworn Statement, form VS 20, is a separate page near the end of each packet and can also be downloaded on its own. You fill in the registrant's details, state your relationship, then stop: the signature and date on the sworn statement are completed in the notary's presence, after which the notary fills in a California certificate of acknowledgment.

Mail the application, the notarized sworn statement and a check or money order payable to CDPH-VR to the address on the form. The state office in Sacramento quotes several weeks; the county recorder for the county where the event happened is usually faster and uses the same sworn statement.

If the notarization is done outside the United States it must carry an apostille unless performed by a U.S. consular officer. Online notarization by a notary commissioned in a state that permits it is accepted, and is the easiest way to clear the step the same day.

Acknowledgment, not jurat

California is unusual in attaching a certificate of acknowledgment to its sworn statement. The penalty-of-perjury language is inside the statement itself, so the notary is only asked to certify that you are the person who signed it. Practically, that means you may be asked to sign in front of the notary anyway, because the form says the remaining information must be completed in the notary's presence, but the notary will not administer a spoken oath.

The sworn statement as printed on VS 111

Condensed from form VS 20 (07/2024), which is included in the VS 111, VS 112 and VS 113-A packets. The notary completes everything from the certificate of acknowledgment down.

Sworn Statement

I, ______ (applicant's printed name), declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, that I am an authorized person, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 103526(c), and am eligible to receive a certified copy of the birth, death, or marriage certificate of the following individual(s):

Registrant: ______   Applicant's relationship to registrant (must be an authorized person): ______

(The remaining information must be completed in the presence of a Notary Public.)

Subscribed to this ___ day of ______, 20__, at ______ (city), ______ (state).   ______ (applicant's signature)

Certificate of Acknowledgment: A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.

State of ______, County of ______. On ______ before me, ______, personally appeared ______, who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that they executed the same in their authorized capacity, and that by their signature on the instrument the person executed the instrument. I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct. Witness my hand and official seal. (SEAL)

If you are applying as an agent, attorney, guardian or executor, you are the applicant: your name goes on the statement and your relationship line says so (“agent under power of attorney for the registrant”).

Applying for someone else in California

Power of attorneyCourt orderAttorney representing the registrantLegal guardian (with papers)

California is the most explicit state in this set. HSC §103526(c), as restated on VS 111/112/113-A Part 1 and on CDPH's 'Authorized Copy vs. Informational Copy' page, lists (i) 'any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate' – the form instructs: 'Include a copy of the power of attorney or documentation identifying you as executor'; (ii) 'an attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate' (a lawyer, distinct from an agent under a POA; no separate attorney protocol form, the attorney simply checks that box and signs the sworn statement); (iii) a party entitled by court order (enclose the court order); (iv) a legal guardian (documentation required). Whoever applies (agent, attorney, guardian) is the one who signs the notarized sworn statement in their own name and states their relationship. A plain notarized authorization letter from the registrant is NOT among the listed categories; CDPH does not accept a mere letter in place of a POA/court appointment – otherwise the third party can only get an informational copy.

California is the clearest state in the country on this point. The authorized-person list on the form includes “any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate,” and the instruction beside it reads: include a copy of the power of attorney or documentation identifying you as executor. An attorney representing the registrant or the estate is a separate category and simply signs the sworn statement in that capacity. A legal guardian encloses the guardianship order; anyone else needs a court order directing release.

What California does not accept is a plain letter from the registrant asking that you be given the record. A letter is not a power of attorney. If the person you are helping can still sign, the quickest route is a limited power of attorney naming you to obtain vital records on their behalf, notarized in the same online session as your sworn statement.

The power of attorney usually has to be notarized as well: see notarizing a power of attorney online.

County and city application forms in California

Local registrars and county clerks issue the same certificates and publish their own application forms. These are the ones in our index, each with the PDF, the office’s instructions and a one-click path to an online notarization.

Forms with a notary block

Forms without a notary block

More local forms on the California page.

Notarize your California application online

Upload the completed application, meet a licensed online notary on video, swear and sign. The notarized PDF arrives by email in about 15 minutes, ready to print and mail with your ID copy and fee.

Common questions

Does a California birth certificate application have to be notarized?
By mail, yes, if you want an authorized (certified) copy: the Sworn Statement in the VS 111 packet must be signed before a notary. In person at CDPH or a county recorder you show photo ID and sign the statement at the counter instead. Informational copies never need the sworn statement.
Do I also need to send a copy of my ID?
No. California relies on the notary's identity check rather than an ID photocopy, which is one reason the sworn statement is mandatory for mailed authorized copies.
Can I get my parent's birth certificate with a power of attorney?
Yes. Health and Safety Code §103526 treats a person empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act for the registrant as an authorized person, and the CDPH form tells you to enclose a copy of the power of attorney. You sign the sworn statement as the agent and state the relationship.
Can the sworn statement be notarized online?
Yes. A remote online notarization by a notary commissioned in a state that authorizes it produces a notarized PDF you print and mail with the application. CDPH requires an apostille only for notarizations performed outside the United States.

Sources

Checked October 2026. Fees and forms change; confirm with the issuing office before mailing. General guidance, not legal advice.

Other states with a notary step

Texas

Notarized sworn statement

New York

ID copy, no notary

New York City

Notarized signature

Minnesota

Notarized signature

Iowa

Notarized signature

Arizona

Notarized signature or ID copy

Montana

Notarized signature or ID copy

Wyoming

Notarized signature or ID copy

All 50 states in the vital records guide. The sworn statement glossary entry explains the notarial act these forms use.

Need this notarized?

Upload the application, verify your ID, and sign with a licensed online notary in about 15 minutes.