The Florida birth certificate application, Form DH 726, is a one-page request you submit to the Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics to get a certified copy of a birth record for anyone born in the state from 1917 to the present. The first certified copy costs $9, each additional copy ordered at the same time is $4, and mail-in orders are usually processed within three to five business days before shipping.1Florida Department of Health. Birth Certificates You can download the form from the Department of Health website or pick one up at a county health department.
Who Can Request the Record
Florida birth records stay confidential for 125 years after the date of birth, so eligibility matters before you fill in anything else.2Florida Statutes. Florida Code 382.025 – Certified Copies of Vital Records; Confidentiality; Research You can request a copy if you are:
- The registrant (the person named on the certificate), if 18 or older
- A parent listed on the record
- A legal guardian, with guardianship papers
- A legal representative of an eligible person, with documentation of the professional relationship
- Anyone presenting a certified copy of a court order
If you don’t fit any of those categories, you can still submit the application, but it has to come with a notarized Affidavit to Release a Birth Certificate signed by someone who is eligible.1Florida Department of Health. Birth Certificates
How to Fill Out Form DH 726
The form has two parts. The top collects the information the Bureau needs to find the record. The bottom identifies you.
Birth Search Information
Enter the full name as it appears on the original record, the sex, the date of birth, and the Florida city or county where the birth occurred. Then enter each parent’s full name prior to their first marriage. The pre-marriage surname is what the Bureau uses to match your request to the correct file, so accuracy here matters more than almost anything else on the page.3Florida Department of Health. Application for Florida Birth Certificate If you’re not sure of a parent’s maiden name, leave it blank rather than guess. A wrong name can cause the search to fail.
If you don’t know the exact date of birth, you can ask the Bureau to search multiple years. Each additional calendar year beyond the first costs $2.
Requestor Information
The lower section asks for your name, mailing address, phone number, and your relationship to the person on the certificate. Check the box for your eligibility category: registrant, parent, guardian, legal representative, or court order. Sign and date the form. Providing false information on the application is a third-degree felony under Chapter 382 of the Florida Statutes.
Documents to Include
Every request has to include a copy of valid photo ID. The Bureau accepts driver’s licenses, state-issued ID cards, passports, and military ID cards.4Florida Department of Health. Application for Florida Birth Certificate Mail a legible photocopy; bring the original if you’re coming in person.
Guardians need to attach certified guardianship papers. Legal representatives need documentation of their authority to act for an eligible person. Court-order requestors need a certified copy of the order. Without the right supporting document, the Bureau rejects the application even if the form itself is filled out correctly.
How to Submit the Application
You have three options: mail, in person, or online through VitalChek.
By Mail
Send the completed form, a photocopy of your ID, any supporting documents, and payment to:
Florida Department of Health
Vital Statistics
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042
Make the check or money order payable to “Vital Statistics.” Don’t send cash. International payments must be a cashier’s check or money order in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. A bounced check adds a $15 service charge under Florida law. For rush handling, add $10 and write “RUSH” on the outside of the envelope.
In Person
The Bureau of Vital Statistics takes walk-in requests at 1217 N Pearl St., Jacksonville, FL 32202. Lobby hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Walk-in payment can be cash, check, money order, Visa, or Mastercard. Contactless and tap-to-pay transactions are not accepted. You can also visit a local county health department, which can access Florida birth records back to 1917; county fees vary and may differ from the Bureau’s schedule.
Online Through VitalChek
VitalChek is the only online vendor the Florida Department of Health authorizes.5Florida Department of Health. Certificates and Records Orders cost more than going directly to the Bureau: the first computer-generated certification is $19 (the $9 search fee plus a $10 rush fee), with a $7 VitalChek processing fee on top. Additional copies are $4 each. Payment is by credit card, and VitalChek handles identity verification before transmitting your request.
Fees
The $9 search fee is built into every order and is not refundable, even if the Bureau finds no record. If no record is found, fees paid for additional copies can be refunded on written request.
- First computer-generated certification: $9
- Each additional computer-generated copy on the same order: $4
- First photocopy certificate: $14
- Each additional photocopy copy: $4
- Shipping and handling: $1
- Rush processing: $10 added to the above
- Extra years searched: $2 per calendar year beyond the first
Fees are waived for unaccompanied homeless youth certified under Florida Statute 743.067, young adults who were in the custody of the Department of Children and Families at age 18, inmates obtaining a state ID before release, and juvenile offenders getting services from the Department of Juvenile Justice.6Florida Statutes. Florida Code 382.0255 – Fees
How Long It Takes
Computer-generated certificates are normally processed within three to five business days of the Bureau receiving your request. That doesn’t include shipping. Photocopy certificates and amended records take longer, and the Bureau doesn’t publish a timeframe for those. Rush orders get priority handling but no guaranteed turnaround. Same-day service for photocopy certificates is available for walk-in visitors who pay the $10 rush fee, “when available,” meaning it depends on that day’s staffing and volume.
When DH 726 Isn’t the Right Form
If you need to fix an error on an existing certificate rather than order one, DH 726 is not the form. Corrections go through the Application to Amend a Florida Birth Record (Form DH 429) and the Affidavit to Amend a Florida Birth Record (Form DH 430), with a $21 fee that includes one certified copy of the corrected record.7Florida Department of Health. Birth Certificate Corrections
If you’re ordering a certificate to apply for a U.S. passport, a computer-generated certification from the Bureau generally meets federal requirements, but the State Department has its own rules about what has to appear on the document and treats records filed more than a year after birth as delayed birth certificates needing extra documentation.8U.S. Department of State. Citizenship Evidence Check those requirements before you order so the copy you pay for is the one you can actually use.