North Carolina Birth Certificate Application: Filing and Fees

To apply for a North Carolina birth certificate, download the application PDF from the NC Vital Records website, fill it out, and send it in with a photocopy of your government-issued photo ID and the $24 search fee. You can submit the completed form by mail to NC Vital Records in Raleigh, online through VitalChek, or in person at a county Register of Deeds office. The $24 state fee covers one certified copy if the record is found, and additional copies of the same certificate ordered at the same time cost $15 each.¹

Who Can Request a Certified Copy

North Carolina birth records are not public. State law limits certified copies to the person named on the record and a short list of close relatives: spouse, sibling, parent, stepparent, stepchild, child, or grandchild. An attorney or authorized agent can request a copy on behalf of someone in that group, and a person seeking information for a legal determination of personal or property rights also qualifies.²

If you don’t fit any of those categories, you cannot order the certificate. North Carolina also does not open birth records to the general public after a set number of years the way some states do, so there is no genealogical-access workaround.

What the Application Asks For

The application is a downloadable PDF on the NC Vital Records forms page.³ Have the following ready before you start:

The full legal name on the certificate as given at birth, not a married or changed name.
The exact date of birth.
The city or county in North Carolina where the birth occurred.
Both parents’ full names, including the mother’s maiden name. The state uses the maiden name to distinguish between people with similar names.
Your relationship to the person named on the record.

Every request requires a legible photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or U.S. passport. Copy both the front and the back before mailing. If your name has changed since the record was created, include documentation that connects your current name to the name on the certificate, such as a marriage certificate or court order.

Fees

The state search fee is $24 and is nonrefundable, even if no record is found based on the information you provided. Double-check every field on the application before sending it. The $24 includes one certified copy; additional copies of the same certificate ordered at the same time are $15 each.¹

For mail-in orders, NC Vital Records accepts money orders, certified checks, and business checks made payable to “NC Vital Records.” Personal checks and cash are not accepted by mail.⁴

At a Register of Deeds office, a certified copy for a birth that occurred in that same county costs $10.⁵ If the same Register of Deeds pulls a record from another county through the statewide issuance program, the fee is $24. Registered voters who need a birth certificate specifically to obtain photo ID for voting may qualify for a fee waiver.

How to Submit the Application

You have three options, and the right one depends on how fast you need the certificate.

By Mail

Print the PDF, complete and sign it, attach your ID photocopy, and include your payment. Mail everything to:

North Carolina Vital Records
1903 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1900⁶

The finished certificate ships by regular USPS mail to the address you list on the application. This is the cheapest route and the slowest.

Online Through VitalChek

VitalChek is the only authorized online vendor for NC Vital Records. Ordering online adds a $13.95 processing fee to the $24 state search fee, for a total of $37.95 with standard USPS shipping. UPS overnight delivery adds $20, bringing the total to $57.95. Overnight shipping requires a street address (no P.O. boxes), and someone must be available to sign for the package.⁷ VitalChek accepts major credit cards and personal checks. Overnight shipping applies only after the state finishes its search, so faster delivery does not shorten the state’s processing time.

In Person at a Register of Deeds

For the fastest turnaround, go to a Register of Deeds office. If you visit the office in the county where the birth occurred, you can walk out with a certified copy the same day for $10. Many counties also participate in the statewide issuance program and can pull records for births anywhere in North Carolina from 1971 to the present, though the statewide fee is $24 rather than $10. Not every county office offers statewide issuance, so call ahead.⁸

How Long It Takes

Mail-in and online requests currently take about 60 business days from the date the request is entered into the system to the date the certificate ships. That estimate applies to both older records from 1913–1970 and more recent ones from 1971 to the present.⁹ Sixty business days is roughly 12 calendar weeks. If you need the certificate for a passport, a new job, or REAL ID enrollment, plan accordingly. The posted estimates shift with volume, so check the current timeline on the Vital Records website before you order.

An in-person visit to a Register of Deeds that holds the record skips the wait entirely, which is why that route is worth the trip when timing is tight.

Fixing an Error on the Certificate

If your birth certificate has a misspelled name, wrong date, or other mistake, corrections go through the State Registrar. No county office can alter a record on its own.¹⁰ You complete the Birth Certificate Modification Application, have your signature notarized, and submit supporting evidence showing the correct information. The nonrefundable fee is $39, which covers the search, processing, and one copy of the amended certificate if the application is approved.

A few things to know before you start. If the state has already modified a particular field, you need a court order to change it a second time; the standard application won’t work.¹¹ For a court-ordered name change, include a certified copy of the order. Legitimation requests must be submitted by mail so the office can inspect the original certified documents. For a child under 18, a parent listed on the certificate can file the request, but if the change involves the child’s name or sex designation, both parents or the legal guardian must sign.

Modification requests can be submitted by mail, through the NCOVR online self-service portal that launched in July 2025, or at the Register of Deeds office in the county where the birth occurred. Processing takes about 30 calendar days after the office receives a complete, notarized application with all evidence and payment.¹⁰

Adding a Father to the Record

If no father is listed, parents can add one by filing an Affidavit of Parentage, but only if all three conditions apply: both parents sign the affidavit with notarized signatures before the child turns 18, no father is already listed on the certificate, and the mother was not married between conception and birth.¹² If any one of those is not true, a certified court order is required instead, which usually means working with the county Clerk of Court or Child Support Enforcement through the Department of Social Services.

Parents who did not complete the affidavit at the hospital can do it later through the local health department, the county Clerk of Court, the county Department of Social Services, or by sending all four copies of the completed form directly to NC Vital Records. Once the affidavit is on file, submit the Birth Certificate Modification Application with the $39 fee to have the certificate updated.¹⁰

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes 130A-93.1 – Fees for Vital Records Copies or Search; Automation Fund
2
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 130A-93 – Access to Vital Records; Copies
3
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. NC Vital Records: Forms
4
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. NC Vital Records: Fees and Payment
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 161 Register of Deeds – 161-10
6
NC Vital Records. NC Vital Records: Contact Us
7
NC Vital Records. NC Vital Records: Order a Certificate
8
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 130A-99 – Register of Deeds to Preserve Copies of Birth and Death Records
9
NC Vital Records. NC Vital Records: General Issuance Processing Dates
10
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. NC Vital Records: Change a Record
11
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Birth Certificate Modification Application
12
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. NC Vital Records: Paternity Establishment