Kentucky Birth Certificate Application PDF: Form VS-37 Steps

To get a certified copy of a Kentucky birth certificate, complete the Kentucky birth certificate application, Form VS-37, and submit it with a photo ID copy and a $10 payment per copy to the Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort. The form is a free PDF from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and mail-in requests take roughly 30 working days.¹

Check Whether You Are Eligible to Request the Record

Kentucky treats birth records as confidential. Under KRS 213.131, no one may inspect or copy a vital record unless a statute, regulation, or court order authorizes it, and the state registrar verifies authorization before releasing anything.²

For a living person’s birth certificate, the following applicants qualify:

The person named on the record
A spouse, child, or parent of the person named
Anyone the person named has authorized in writing to obtain the record
An elected official acting on behalf of a constituent named on the record
Anyone with legal authority over the person named, including a guardian, conservator, or someone holding power of attorney

Siblings are not on the statutory list. A sibling needs either written authorization from the person named or a court order to obtain a copy.³ Guardians and conservators should include court documentation proving their legal authority when they apply.

Gather the Birth Information Before You Open the Form

The Office of Vital Statistics finds a record by matching what you enter against the original filing. Missing or inaccurate information is the most common reason applications stall, so pull these details together first.

Form VS-37 asks for:¹

Full name at birth: first, middle, and last name as recorded when the birth was registered
Date of birth: month, day, and year
Place of birth: city or town, Kentucky county, and hospital name
Mother’s maiden name: first, middle, and last name before marriage
Father’s full name
Adoption information, including the original name if known, when applicable
Your relationship to the person on the certificate
Your printed name, phone number, and mailing address

The mother’s maiden name is the single most important matching field for older records. If you’re unsure, check family documents or ask a relative before you submit. You will also need a photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, military ID, or passport) to send with the application.

Download and Fill Out Form VS-37

The correct form is VS-37. Do not confuse it with VS-31, which is the death certificate application; the wrong form guarantees rejection.⁴ Download the PDF directly from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services website.¹

Type into the PDF fields or print the form and use clear block letters. One field to think about carefully is the number of certified copies. Passport applications, real estate closings, and school enrollments often keep the copy you send them, so ordering two or three at once costs less than reapplying later. Each copy is $10, so three copies come to $30.

Sign the designated line at the bottom. Your signature confirms you are an eligible applicant and that the information you provided is truthful. An unsigned form is returned unprocessed.

Submit the Application

You can mail Form VS-37, deliver it in person, or place an order online through the state’s authorized vendor.

By Mail

Send the completed Form VS-37, a photocopy of your photo ID, and payment to:

Office of Vital Statistics
Department for Public Health
Cabinet for Health and Family Services
275 East Main Street, 1E-A
Frankfort, KY 40621⁵

Each certified copy is $10. Pay by personal check or money order to the Kentucky State Treasurer. Do not send cash. Allow up to 30 working days for processing; turnaround varies with the office’s current volume.⁶ To verify the current fee before mailing, call (502) 564-4212.⁵

In Person

Walk-in applicants can visit the Frankfort office Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. Bring the same materials you would mail: completed VS-37, a photo ID, and payment. In-person requests are generally faster than mail-in orders, though same-day pickup is not guaranteed.

Online Through VitalChek

The state authorizes VitalChek Network Inc. to accept online orders. VitalChek charges the $10 state fee plus its own processing and shipping fees, which vary by delivery speed. If you are not in a rush, mail is the cheaper option.

If the Person Was Adopted

Form VS-37 is not the route to a pre-adoption birth record. An adult adoptee who wants the original, pre-adoption certificate needs a court order from the circuit court that finalized the adoption; no identifying information from the original record can be released without one.⁷ Once the order is issued, submit a copy to the Office of Vital Statistics along with a standard application.

Correcting an Error on a Certificate You Already Have

If your reason for ordering the certificate is to fix something wrong on it, VS-37 is not the form for that. Kentucky uses Form VS-2J for amendments, and the rules depend on age and the type of error.

Within one year of the birth date, the State Registrar can fix obvious errors such as transposed letters or clear omissions without a formal amendment.⁸ After that window, you file Form VS-2J with a supporting document that predates the request:

Child age 3 to 6: a supporting document created at least 1 year before the request
Child age 7 to 17: a supporting document created at least 3 years before
Adult 18 or older: a supporting document created at least 5 years before

Parents or legal guardians file for anyone under 18; the person named on the certificate files for themselves once they turn 18.⁸

Two categories always require a court order: the date of birth (unless the error happened during original filing) and any name change. Once an item on the record has been amended once, it cannot be amended again without a court order. The amendment form must be notarized, and the office rejects any form with whiteout or strikethroughs.

1
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Form VS-37 Birth Certificate Application
2
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 213.131 – Inspection of Records — Public Records
3
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 213.131 – Vital Records Protection and Disclosure
4
Barren River District Health Department. Birth Certificate and Death Records
5
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Where to Write for Vital Records – Kentucky
6
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Certificate Purchase Options
7
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Request for Inspection of Adoption Records for Identifying Information
8
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Form VS-2J Amendment Application