Free California Birth Certificate: Homeless Fee Waiver and Forms

You can get a free California birth certificate if you are homeless, a homeless child or youth, or a youth in foster care. California waives the standard $31 fee under Health and Safety Code Sections 103577 and 103578 when you submit the regular birth record application along with a signed affidavit verifying your status. You pay nothing, and the verification itself is also free.1California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code HSC 103577

Who Qualifies for the Fee Waiver

Three groups get certified birth records at no cost:

You can request the record for yourself. A parent, legal guardian, or other person lawfully entitled to the record can request one on behalf of an eligible child.

Separately, the governor can waive vital record fees by executive order after a declared disaster. Executive Order N-2-25 suspended birth, death, marriage, and dissolution record fees for people who lost documents in the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires.3Office of the Governor. Executive Order N-2-25 These waivers are tied to a specific event and location and expire when the emergency ends, so check the governor’s office site if a recent disaster affected you.

What Counts as Homeless

California uses the federal McKinney-Vento definition rather than writing its own. A homeless individual is someone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which covers:4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11302 – General Definition of Homeless Individual

  • Sleeping in a car, park, abandoned building, bus station, airport, or campground.
  • Staying in a shelter, transitional housing, or a hotel or motel paid for by a government program or charity.
  • Leaving a hospital or jail after having previously lived in a shelter or an unsheltered location.
  • Facing eviction within 14 days with no next residence identified and no resources to find one.

For children and youth, the definition also reaches families doubled up with others due to economic hardship, families living in motels or trailer parks for lack of alternatives, and children abandoned in hospitals.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 11434a – Definitions Neither the federal law nor the California statute sets an age cutoff. Eligibility turns on your living situation.

Forms You Need

Two documents make up the fee-exempt application.

Application for Certified Copy of Birth Record (VS 111)

This is the same form everyone uses. It asks for the person’s full name at birth, date of birth, city and county of birth, and both parents’ names using each parent’s last name at birth. Download it from the California Department of Public Health or pick it up at a county recorder’s office.6California Department of Public Health. Application for Certified Copy of Birth Record

Affidavit of Homeless Status

This is the form that makes the request free. You sign it, and so does a homeless services provider who knows your situation. Qualifying providers include shelter directors, social workers, government agency staff, and employees of nonprofits that receive federal, state, or local funding to serve homeless populations. Both signatures are required; without them, the office processes the request at the standard $31 fee.7California Department of Public Health. Affidavit of Homeless Status for Fee Exempt Certified Copy of Birth Certificate8California Department of Public Health. Vital Records Obtaining Certified Copies of Birth Records

Foster youth use a different affidavit under Section 103578 that verifies foster care status.2California Department of Public Health. Affidavit of Youth in Foster Care Status for Fee Exempt Certified Copy of Birth Certificate

The Sworn Statement and Notarization

Every birth certificate request also includes a sworn statement declaring under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to receive the record and identifying your relationship to the person named on it.9California Department of Public Health. Sworn Statement

If you mail the application, the sworn statement must be notarized by a U.S. notary public. California caps notary fees at $15 per signature, and some legal aid organizations offer free notary services to people experiencing homelessness. If you apply in person at a county clerk’s office, staff there can witness your sworn statement and you skip the separate notary step.10City and County of San Francisco Office of the County Clerk. Application for Certified Copy of Birth Record

Are You an Authorized Person?

The fee waiver does not change who is allowed to receive an authorized copy of a birth certificate. You qualify as an authorized person if you are:

  • The person named on the record.
  • A parent or legal guardian of that person.
  • A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner.
  • An attorney for the registrant or their estate.
  • A law enforcement or government agency representative acting in an official capacity.

Anyone outside those categories can only receive an informational copy, which is stamped “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY” across the face. Informational copies work for genealogy but not for a passport, driver’s license, or other identification.11California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 103526 Being homeless waives the fee. It does not expand who can get the record.

Where to Send the Application

You have two places to submit the completed package:

  • The county recorder in the county where the birth occurred. County offices only handle births that happened in their county. Applying in person avoids the notarization step.
  • The California Department of Public Health, which handles births anywhere in the state. Mail to CDPH Vital Records – MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410.12California Department of Public Health. Contact CDPH Vital Records

County offices generally process requests faster than the state office, which handles a much higher volume. Turnaround times vary, so call or check the office’s website before you send anything.

The State Registrar will provide up to three free certified copies per year to each qualifying applicant, and can issue additional copies beyond that limit at its discretion.1California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code HSC 103577 Each application covers one record for one person, so a parent requesting records for several children submits a separate application and affidavit for each child.

Skip the Third-Party Websites

A search for “California birth certificate” pulls up official-looking sites run by private companies that charge well above the government fee. Some charge more than $100 to file the same paperwork you can file yourself for $31, or for nothing at all if you qualify for the waiver. They are not scams in the criminal sense, but you are paying a heavy markup for something the state does directly.

The only official channels are the California Department of Public Health at cdph.ca.gov and your local county recorder. If a site asks for your credit card before you have chosen a government office, you are on a third-party site. Close it and go straight to CDPH or your county recorder instead.