How to Get a Puerto Rico Birth Certificate: Fees and Apostille

To get a Puerto Rico birth certificate, submit an application to the island’s Demographic Registry, part of the Department of Health, by mail, online, or in person. The first certified copy costs $5, and only certificates issued on or after July 1, 2010, are accepted for passports, benefits, or other official uses. Orders are capped at three copies per person in any 12-month window, and requests are limited to the person named on the record and a short list of close relatives and legal representatives.

Who Can Request the Certificate

Access is limited to “interested parties” under Puerto Rico’s Registry Act. That means:

The person named on the certificate, if 18 or older.
Either parent listed on the record.
Adult children requesting a parent’s certificate. If you were born outside Puerto Rico, include a copy of your own birth certificate to prove the relationship.
Legal guardians, with a certified copy of the court order bearing the court’s seal. The Registry may verify the order with the issuing court.
Legal representatives, including attorneys, acting for an eligible party under the instructions in Circular Letter 1-2020.
Heirs, with a certified copy of the testament or declaration of heirs, which may go through a validation process before the certificate is released.

If you don’t fall into one of these categories, you cannot obtain the record, even with a notarized letter from the person named on it.¹

What to Gather Before You Apply

Have these details ready for the person whose certificate you’re ordering: full name at birth (including both last names, as is standard in Puerto Rico), date of birth, the municipality where the birth occurred, and both parents’ full names.¹

Every application must include a legible photocopy of both sides of a valid, unexpired government-issued ID. The Registry accepts only three forms:

A driver’s license from any U.S. state or territory.
A U.S. passport.
A state or territory ID card issued by a DMV or DTOP.

No other ID is accepted. A blurry or cut-off photocopy will get the application rejected without processing.¹

If you’re requesting someone else’s record, you may also need proof of the relationship. A parent using a married name that differs from the one on the birth record should include a marriage certificate to bridge the gap. Adult children born outside Puerto Rico need their own birth certificate to establish the parent-child link.

The Three Ways to Submit Your Request

By Mail

Download Form RD-225 from the Puerto Rico Department of Health website. Complete and sign it, then mail it with your ID photocopy, payment by money order, and a pre-addressed stamped envelope for the return delivery. Without that return envelope, the Registry won’t send the certificate back.²

For regular USPS mail:

Department of Health
Demographic Registry
P.O. Box 11854
Fernandez Juncos Station
San Juan, PR 00910

For FedEx, UPS, DHL, or USPS Priority/Express Mail, use the physical address:

Department of Health
Demographic Registry
Metro Center Building
5 Mayaguez Street, 9th Floor
Hato Rey, PR 00918²

Mail-in applications take roughly 15 to 30 working days to process, or about four to eight weeks once you include mail transit time.¹

Online

The Puerto Rico government’s digital portal at gobiernodigital.pr.gov lists birth certificate requests as an available service, with a separate option for veterans.³ You can also order through VitalChek, an authorized third-party vendor. VitalChek accepts credit cards but charges more than the government’s base fee, generally in the range of $13 to $18 per copy depending on shipping speed, compared with $5 for a first copy ordered directly.

In Person

If you’re in Puerto Rico, bring your completed application, ID, and payment to the Demographic Registry offices. This avoids mailing delays, though you should still plan for some wait at the office.

Fees and the Three-Copy Limit

The first certified copy costs $5 within a 12-month period. The second and third copies within that same window cost $10 each.²

Puerto Rico caps each person at three certified copies within any 12-month period, counted from the date of the first request. You can’t stockpile copies, so if you need the certificate for multiple purposes, plan how you’ll use the three you’re allowed.²

Two groups pay less. Puerto Rican veterans are exempt from the fee when the certificate is needed for official use; include a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of veteran status, plus documentation showing the certificate’s official purpose. Residents of Puerto Rico who are 60 or older get their first copy free within the 12-month period, though the second and third still cost $10 each.²

For mail-in applications, payment must be by money order payable to the Secretary of Treasury. The Registry does not accept cash, personal checks, or bank checks.²

Why Older Certificates Won’t Work

Any Puerto Rico birth certificate issued before July 1, 2010, has no legal force. Law 191 of 2009 invalidated every previously issued Puerto Rican birth certificate on that date, and the law also prohibited private entities such as schools, employers, and banks from retaining or storing old certified copies.⁴

If you’re applying for a passport, enrolling in federal benefits, or doing anything that requires proof of U.S. citizenship, only a post-July 2010 certificate will be accepted.⁴ You don’t need to replace a pre-2010 certificate unless you actually need one for an official purpose, but ordering ahead of time avoids scrambling when a passport renewal or employment verification is on a deadline.

What Happens If the Record Isn’t Found

When the Registry searches its records and finds no matching entry, it issues a certified “Not Found Statement” instead of a birth certificate. The application fee is not refunded, because the fee covers the search itself, not a guaranteed result.¹

Before resubmitting, double-check name spellings (including alternate spellings common in Puerto Rican records), the exact municipality, and both parents’ names. Small discrepancies in how names were recorded decades ago can cause a search to miss an otherwise valid record.

Apostille for Use Abroad

If you need the certificate recognized in another country, the Puerto Rico Department of State issues an apostille for countries that are members of the Hague Convention, and a separate certification for non-member countries.⁵

The certificate you submit must be an original issued on or after July 1, 2010. The fee is $3 per document, paid through an internal revenue stamp (Code R5120) purchased via the Colecturía Digital mobile app. Print the stamp and include it with your documents.⁵

To request by mail, send the original certificate, the printed revenue stamp, a letter stating which country the document will be used in, and a pre-addressed return envelope to:

Department of State
Oficina de Certificaciones y Reglamentos
Apartado 9023271
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00902⁵

If you’re on the island, you can file in person at the Certifications and Regulations Division on the first floor of the Real Intendency Building.

1
Departamento de Salud. Puerto Rico Mail in Birth Certification Application
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Where to Write for Vital Records – Puerto Rico
3
Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Registro Demográfico de Puerto Rico Portal
4
U.S. Department of State. New Requirements for Passport Applicants with Puerto Rican Birth Certificates
5
Department of State – Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Apostilles