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Vital records · New York

New York birth certificate by mail: state rules versus New York City rules

New York keeps two separate sets of records. Births and deaths in the five boroughs belong to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; everything else belongs to the State Department of Health in Albany. The two offices do not share rules. The state asks for a photocopy of your ID and no notary; the city requires every mailed application to be notarized and is the strictest jurisdiction in the country about who may apply.

A New York City birth certificate application open at the section headed Notarize Your Application, with an ID card and the city skyline behind

New York State: what the mailed application needs

Mailed application needs

ID copy, no notary

A mailed NYS DOH application is NOT notarized. You enclose copies of one current photo ID (driver license, non-driver ID, passport, U.S. military ID) OR two documents showing name and address (utility/phone bill, government letter dated within 6 months). The only notary trigger: if the certificate is to be delivered to a P.O. Box or to a third party, you must also enclose 'a notarized statement signed by the applicant AND a copy of the applicant's driver's license' (free-form statement; no notary block is printed on the form).

Authority: N.Y. Public Health Law §4174 and 10 NYCRR Part 35 (eligibility)

Fees

Birth certificate
$30
Death certificate
$30
Marriage certificate
$30

Per copy by mail (regular handling 10-12 weeks); $45 per copy expedited via VitalChek plus vendor fee; check/money order payable to New York State Department of Health; NYS DOH Vital Records Certification Unit, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. NYC births/deaths: NYC DOHMH; NYC marriages: NYC City Clerk.

New York State Department of Health – Bureau of Vital Records (events outside New York City) ↗

Official forms

Who may order a certified copy

  • birth: the person named on the birth certificate (if of age), or a parent of that person whose name appears on the certificate; anyone else only by order of a New York State court
  • death: spouse, parent, child or sibling of the deceased; others who document a lawful right or claim (court order, or official letter from an agency stating the record is needed to process a claim)
  • marriage: the bride, groom or spouse named on the record; others must document a judicial or other proper purpose (court order or official letter)

Outside New York City: ID copy, no notary

The state forms, DOH-4380 for birth, DOH-4376 for death and DOH-4382 for marriage, have no notary block. You sign, enclose a copy of one current photo ID, or two documents showing your name and address, and a check or money order for the $30 fee, and mail the packet to the Vital Records Certification Unit in Albany. Standard processing runs ten to twelve weeks; VitalChek expedites for a higher fee.

Local registrars, the town and city clerks who recorded the event, issue the same certificates and are usually quicker. Their own applications vary: many are a simple request with an ID copy, while some, listed below, print a notary block of their own.

When the state does want a notarized statement

There is one trigger. If the certificate is to be delivered to a P.O. box, or to anyone other than the applicant, the state requires a notarized statement signed by the applicant together with a copy of the applicant's driver's license. The form prints no wording for it; a short signed statement that you are the applicant and that you direct the certificate to be sent to the named address, with a jurat, is what the unit expects.

That mechanism lets an eligible applicant send the record to a lawyer or a relative. It does not let the lawyer or relative apply.

Applying for someone else in New York

Attorney representing the registrantCourt order

The forms contain the field 'If you are an attorney, give name and relationship of your client to person whose record is required' and 'In what capacity are you acting?' (DOH-4376), so a lawyer may apply for an eligible client, giving the client's name/relationship; the DOH pages do not list extra attorney documents. A power of attorney, notarized authorization letter or guardianship papers are not mentioned anywhere on the DOH mail pages or forms – for a birth record the only route for a non-parent/non-registrant is a NYS court order ('Others, such as a spouse or child, can get a copy only by order of a New York State court'). The 'notarized statement' mechanism lets the eligible applicant direct DELIVERY to a third party, not let the third party apply.

For a birth certificate the state's eligibility list is short: the person named on the record, or a parent whose name appears on it. Anyone else, including a spouse, child or agent under a power of attorney, needs an order of a New York State court. The form has a field for an attorney to give the name and relationship of their client, so a lawyer may apply for an eligible client, but the state publishes no POA or authorization-letter route.

Death and marriage records are broader: a spouse, parent, child or sibling may order a death certificate, and others may do so with a court order or an official letter from an agency showing the record is needed to process a claim.

Different rules

New York City

The city's premium mail application for a birth certificate, VR 69, devotes its fourth section to the notary. The death application VR 66 carries the same requirement. In both cases the notary completes a jurat, “subscribed and sworn before me,” and you also enclose a photocopy of your current signed photo ID. Marriage records are a different agency altogether: the Office of the City Clerk, which does not require a notary for a standard mail request.

Mailed application needs

Notarized signature

Every mailed DOHMH application must be signed before a notary: VR 69 'Section Four: Notarize Your Application – This application must be notarized. You only need to notarize this page', and VR 66 '22. Customer signature. If by mail, must be notarized'. The notary act is a JURAT ('Subscribed and sworn before me'). You must ALSO enclose a legible photocopy of a current, signed photo ID (or two proof-of-address documents dated within 60 days). Certificates cannot be mailed 'in care of'.

Authority: NYC Health Code §207.11 (birth) and §207.13 (death)

Fees

Birth certificate
$15 per copy (max 3) + $7.50 premium mail processing fee; $3 per extra year searched beyond two
Death certificate
$15 per copy + processing fee; $3 per extra year searched
Marriage certificate
City Clerk: $15 short-form / $35 extended-form certificate (first copy)

Check or money order payable to NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (no cash, no starter checks); a non-premium birth form exists without the $7.50 fee but is processed manually and slower. Mail: NYC DOHMH, Attention: Premium BC Request, 125 Worth St., Room 119, CN-4, New York, NY 10013.

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Office of Vital Records (births and deaths in the five boroughs; marriages are held by the NYC Office of the City Clerk) ↗

Official forms

Who may order a certified copy

  • birth: the person named on the certificate, 18 or older
  • birth: the parent or legal guardian of the person named on the certificate (parent must be named on the certificate)
  • birth of a deceased person: spouse, domestic partner, parent (if deceased was 18 or younger), child, sibling, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, grandchild, grandniece/grandnephew, great-grandchild (separate application + death certificate)
  • death with cause of death: spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, informant listed on the certificate, person in charge of disposition
  • death without cause of death: also niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, great-grandchild, great-great-grandchild, grandniece/grandnephew; anyone else must document their right
  • death: funeral director handling disposition, up to one year after death

Births and deaths: notarize the signature page

VR 69 tells you to notarize only the page that carries Section Four. The notary watches you sign, administers the oath and completes the jurat with the state, county and date, then seals it. Certificates are never mailed “in care of” a third party, and the fee is $15 per copy with a $7.50 processing charge on the premium form; a non-premium form without the charge exists but is processed by hand and more slowly.

The death application works the same way: item 22, the customer signature, must be notarized when the form is mailed, and the same ID rules apply. Both forms accept two proof-of-address documents dated within sixty days in place of photo ID.

Section Four of form VR 69

From the Premium Mail Service Application to Request an NYC Birth Certificate, VR 69 (Rev. 4/25). The notary completes everything after the applicant's signature.

Section Four: Notarize Your Application

This application must be notarized. You only need to notarize this page. You must submit a copy of your current ID with this application.

Signature of applicant ______   Date ______

To be completed by notary. State of ______, County of ______. Subscribed and sworn before me this ___ day of ______, 20__.   Notary Public signature ______   (Notary Public seal)

A copy of a birth certificate can be issued only to the person to whom the record of birth relates, if of age, or to a parent. It is a violation of law to make a false, untrue, or misleading statement or to forge the signature of another person on this application.

A jurat: you swear to the contents in front of the notary. Contrast California and Texas, whose sworn statements use an acknowledgment.

Applying for someone else in New York City

Attorney representing the registrantNotarized authorization letterCourt order

Birth: an agent under a power of attorney is not recognised; the only third-party route is a licensed ATTORNEY using the Attorney Protocol (VR 210): Section A written authorization signed by the registrant (18+), mother/parent or father/parent ('I ___ authorize ___ to act on my behalf to obtain my/my child's birth certificate'), client's photo ID (Section B) or alternative ID (C) or an attorney affirmation with a photo taken in the attorney's presence (D), plus a completed and NOTARIZED VR 69 with the attorney's name in Section One and 'Attorney' as relationship, copy of the attorney's photo ID, proof of bar licensure and the fee; mailed to 125 Worth St, Room 119, CN-4, 'Attention: Premium Attorney Protocol Request'. Nonprofits serving minors/developmentally disabled adults may apply with a notarized application, letterhead letter and proof of legal standing (court order if applicable). Death: 'attorneys retained by an entitled party' may order with a letterhead letter, an ORIGINAL letter from the entitled party authorizing the attorney, the entitled party's ID, attorney ID and licensure; paralegals/couriers may not. Court orders are the fallback for anyone else.

The city does not recognize an agent under a power of attorney for birth certificates. The only third-party route is a licensed attorney using the Attorney Protocol, form VR 210: a written authorization signed by the registrant or a parent, the client's photo ID or an attorney affirmation with a photograph taken in the attorney's presence, a notarized VR 69 naming the attorney as applicant with “Attorney” as the relationship, the attorney's own ID and proof of bar admission, and the fee. Nonprofits serving minors or developmentally disabled adults may apply with a notarized application and proof of standing.

For a death certificate an attorney retained by an entitled relative may order with a letter on letterhead, an original authorization letter from the relative, that relative's ID, and the attorney's ID and license. Paralegals and couriers may not. Everyone else needs a court order.

A notarized authorization letter is a short jurat or acknowledgment and takes one online session.

County and city application forms in New York

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 New York page.

Notarize your New York 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 New York birth certificate application need to be notarized?
It depends where the birth was recorded. For births outside New York City, the state Department of Health form DOH-4380 is not notarized; you enclose a copy of your ID. For births in the five boroughs, the city's form VR 69 must be notarized on every mailed request, in addition to the ID copy.
Can I order my spouse's New York birth certificate?
Not without a court order. Both the state and the city issue birth certificates only to the person named on the record or to a parent named on it. Death and marriage records have wider eligibility lists.
Which office holds my record?
If the birth or death happened in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx or Staten Island, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Anywhere else in the state, the New York State Department of Health or the local registrar in the town or city where it happened. New York City marriages are held by the City Clerk, not the health department.
How much does a New York birth certificate cost?
$30 per copy from the state by mail. New York City charges $15 per copy plus a $7.50 processing fee on its premium mail application.

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

California

Notarized sworn statement

Texas

Notarized sworn statement

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.