How to Get a Birth Certificate in Sacramento: Copies, Fees, and Filing

To get a birth certificate in Sacramento, you apply to one of two Sacramento County offices depending on when the birth occurred, pay $34 per certified copy at the Clerk/Recorder, and submit your request in person, by mail, or online. Which office handles your request, and whether you can get a legally usable copy or only an informational one, depends on the birth date and your relationship to the person on the record.

Which Office to Use

Sacramento County splits birth certificate requests between two offices. The cutoff is simple but easy to miss.

For a birth that occurred within the most recent two calendar years, go to Sacramento County Vital Records, run by the Department of Health Services:

Sacramento County Vital Records
7001-A East Parkway, Suite 650
Sacramento, CA 95823

The public counter is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.¹ This office also has its own online ordering portal for recent births.²

For any older birth, contact the Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder, which can issue certificates for any Sacramento County birth going back to 1850:

Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder
8239 East Stockton Boulevard, Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95828³

Authorized or Informational Copy

California issues two kinds of certified birth certificates, and the difference decides whether you can actually use the document for anything official.

An authorized certified copy is the full legal document. You need it for a passport, a driver’s license, school enrollment, or anywhere else that requires proof of identity.

An informational certified copy contains the same birth details but is stamped with a notice reading “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.” It cannot be used for identity verification and is intended for genealogy or personal records.⁴ If you need the certificate for any official purpose, confirm you qualify for the authorized version before ordering.

Who Can Request an Authorized Copy

California limits authorized copies to people with a direct legal connection to the person named on the certificate. You qualify if you are:

The registrant (the person whose birth is recorded)
A parent or legal guardian listed on the certificate
A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant
An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant’s estate, a court-appointed representative, a licensed adoption agency, or a law enforcement or government agency conducting official business

Anyone outside those categories can only get an informational copy.⁴ That catches people helping friends or more distant relatives who assumed closeness alone would be enough.

What to Gather Before You Apply

Have these details ready:

Full name of the person on the certificate
Date of birth
City or hospital where the birth occurred
Parents’ full names, including the mother’s maiden name

You will also need a valid government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport.³ For a mail or fax request, an authorized copy also requires a notarized sworn statement declaring your relationship to the registrant under penalty of perjury.¹ The sworn statement is built into the application form, but it has to be notarized before you mail it.

Application forms are posted on both the Sacramento County Vital Records website and the Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder website. There are separate forms for single births, multiple births, and government agency requests.¹

How to Submit Your Request

In Person

Bring your completed application, your photo ID, and payment to the appropriate office. The Clerk/Recorder accepts cash, checks, money orders, debit cards, and major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express). A $2.50 service fee applies to credit and debit card payments in person.⁵

By Mail

Send the completed application, a clear photocopy of your government-issued ID, and payment to the Clerk/Recorder’s East Stockton Boulevard address. Payment must be a check or money order payable to “Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder.”⁶ For an authorized copy, include the notarized sworn statement.

Online

The Clerk/Recorder’s office accepts online orders through VitalChek.com, which adds a processing fee on top of the $34 certificate cost. Payment is by credit or debit card only.³

Through the State as a Fallback

You can also order a California birth certificate from the California Department of Public Health’s Vital Records office. The state fee is $31 per copy, and requests go by mail with a check or money order payable to “CDPH-VR,” sent to: California Department of Public Health, Vital Records – MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410, Sacramento, CA 95899-7410.⁷ State processing tends to be slower than county processing.

Fees and Processing Times

Each certified birth certificate copy from the Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder costs $34.³

How long you wait depends on how you ordered:

In person: about 20 minutes once you’ve handed in a complete application and payment
By mail: 5 to 7 business days after the office receives your request
Online: 5 to 7 business days with regular mail delivery
Expedited delivery: 2 business days, for an added $19³

Newborns

If you’re ordering a certificate for a newborn, expect about a four-week wait after the birth before the record is available. California hospitals have 21 days to submit birth information to the local registrar, and the county needs additional time to register the record after that.¹

Fee Waiver if You Are Homeless

California entitles people experiencing homelessness to a certified birth certificate at no cost. Under Health and Safety Code Section 103577, the local registrar, county recorder, or State Registrar must waive all fees for a person verified as homeless under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. A homeless services provider with knowledge of your housing status must sign an affidavit verifying your situation, and you can receive up to three free copies per year.⁸ Qualifying providers include government or nonprofit agencies funded to serve homeless populations, licensed attorneys, school district homeless liaisons, and law enforcement officers designated as homeless population liaisons.

Adopted Persons

The standard process described here produces the amended certificate showing adoptive parents, not the original pre-adoption record. If you were adopted in California and want the original birth certificate, that requires a petition to the superior court. Under AB 1302, effective January 1, 2025, the court is required to grant these petitions for adult adoptees aged 18 and older.⁹

Apostille for Use Abroad

If you need your Sacramento birth certificate recognized in another Hague Convention country, you need an apostille from the California Secretary of State after you receive the certified copy. The certificate alone is not valid for foreign legal purposes until the apostille is attached.

The fee is $20 per apostille. In person, an additional $6 special handling fee applies for each public official’s signature being authenticated; that handling fee does not apply to mail requests.¹⁰

One catch surprises people: the Secretary of State can only apostille birth certificates signed by a county clerk, county recorder, or the State Registrar. If your certificate was signed by a local registrar or health officer, you’ll have to get it re-certified by the county clerk’s office or obtain a new copy from the county recorder or CDPH before the apostille can be issued.¹¹

For a mail request, send the original certified copy (not a photocopy), a cover sheet naming the destination country, a check or money order for $20 payable to “Secretary of State,” and a self-addressed return envelope to the Sacramento office. In-person requests are available at the Sacramento and Los Angeles offices with same-day service.¹⁰

1
Sacramento County Department of Health Services. Birth Certificates
2
Sacramento County Department of Health Services. Sacramento County Vital Records
3
Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder. Birth Certificates
4
California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 103526 – Certified Copy and Verification of Records
5
Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder. Acceptable Forms of Payment
6
Sacramento County Vital Records. Birth Application – Sacramento County Vital Records
7
CDPH. Vital Records Obtaining Certified Copies of Birth Records
8
CDPH. Assembly Bill (AB) 1733
9
California Legislative Information. Bill Text – AB 1302 Vital Records Adopted Persons
10
California Secretary of State. Request an Apostille
11
California Secretary of State. Apostille Frequently Asked Questions