Virginia Birth Certificate Laws: Requests, Corrections, and Changes

A Virginia birth certificate is issued by the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records, costs $12 per certified copy, and takes about two weeks to arrive by standard mail or online order. State law restricts who can request one, and any change to what appears on the certificate—a misspelling, a name, a gender marker, a parent—goes through a separate amendment process with its own evidence rules and a $10 administrative fee.

Who Can Request a Certified Copy

Virginia treats birth certificates as confidential records. Under Virginia Code § 32.1-271, disclosing information from vital records is unlawful except through the channels the statute authorizes.¹

You can request a certified copy if you are:

The person named on the certificate, if you are at least 18
A parent or legal guardian ordering the certificate of a minor child
A spouse, adult child, grandparent, or adult sibling with proof of the relationship (grandparents must also show a specific need for the record)
An attorney or agent with a notarized authorization letter, power of attorney, or court order
A government agency acting for law enforcement, court, or public-assistance purposes

Employers and private companies cannot pull someone’s birth record. They have to ask the individual for a copy. Virginia birth records eventually become public, but not until 100 years after the date of birth, at which point the originals move to the Library of Virginia.¹

What Identification You Need

Every request must include proof of identity. Vital Records accepts a photocopy of one primary document: an unexpired photo ID issued by a U.S. state, territory, or jurisdiction (including a Global Entry card), an unexpired U.S. military ID, or an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card. A primary ID that expired within the last year still counts.²

Without qualifying photo ID, you submit two secondary documents. A recent utility bill (within six months), a bank statement, or a pay stub showing your current address will each work.² If you are ordering someone else’s record, you also need documentation of the relationship: a marriage certificate for a spouse, the child’s existing birth record showing your name, or guardianship papers.

How to Order and What It Costs

You can order a Virginia birth certificate three ways: online through the Office of Vital Records’ application system, by mail to VDH Office of Vital Records, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218-1000, or in person at the Richmond office, open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every request needs a completed application with the registrant’s full name, date and place of birth, and parental information.³

The fee is $12 per certified copy and is nonrefundable. If no matching record is found, you receive a “No Record” letter instead of your money back. In person, you can pay by check, money order, major credit card, or cash. Mail-in payments take checks or money orders payable to “The State Health Department.” Online orders take credit card.⁴

Standard processing runs about two weeks. If you need it faster, Virginia partners with VitalChek for express delivery. VitalChek charges $20.80 per certified record plus a nonrefundable $12.70 service fee, with UPS shipping options available at extra cost. All VitalChek fees must be paid by credit card and are subject to change.⁵

Correcting an Error on the Certificate

Virginia Code § 32.1-269 governs amendments to birth certificates. Under the statute, every amended certificate is stamped “amended” with a note describing the evidence used to support the change.⁶ There is one exception: certain corrections made within the first year after birth, including sex designation, can be made without that marking.

For minor corrections like a misspelled given name or a parent’s surname, a notarized affidavit from the registrant (if over 18) or a parent is usually enough, backed up by something like a hospital birth record or an early school record. The administrative fee for any amendment is $10. Add another $12 if you want a certified copy of the corrected certificate, for a total of $22.⁴

Larger changes take more. Changing a date of birth by more than one year requires a certified court order. A change of one year or less requires a federal census transcript from the Bureau of the Census.⁷ Corrections to parental information require legal documents proving the correct facts, and can require DNA test results or a court order in a paternity dispute.

If the State Registrar finds your evidence insufficient or has reason to doubt it, the amendment is denied. The registrar has to notify you in writing and tell you that you can petition a court for an order directing the change.⁶

Changing a Name

Changing a name on a Virginia birth certificate starts with a court order. Under Virginia Code § 8.01-217, you file a petition in the circuit court of the county or city where you live. The petition is under oath and has to include your place of residence, both parents’ names (including your mother’s maiden name), your date and place of birth, any felony conviction record, and whether you are required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.⁸

The court will grant the change unless it finds the request is fraudulent or would infringe on someone else’s rights. For a minor, both parents should join the application; if one parent doesn’t, that parent gets notice and the court holds a hearing on whether the change is in the child’s best interest. The circuit court clerk’s fee for the name-change proceeding is $20.⁹

Once you have the certified court order, send it to the Office of Vital Records with the $10 amendment fee. The State Registrar will then update the certificate.⁶

Newborn Name Changes

Virginia regulations give parents a simpler path during the child’s first year. A parent can change a newborn’s given names by affidavit rather than court order. After one year, or for any second name change within that first year, a court order is required.⁷

Updating the Gender Marker

Virginia issues a new birth certificate to reflect a change of sex under § 32.1-261. The statute says outright that the requirements “shall not include any requirement for evidence or documentation of any medical procedure.”¹⁰ The Office of Vital Records asks for:

A request from the individual, or from a parent if the individual is under 18
A copy of valid ID
A completed Changing Sex Designation form (VS42), signed in live ink by a licensed health care provider who has treated the person, stating that the person has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition
A certified copy of a court order changing the person’s name, if a name change is also part of the request
The $10 administrative fee, plus $12 for each certified copy of the new certificate¹¹

Because the state issues a new certificate rather than amending the old one, the updated document does not show a change was made. The statute also preserves the circuit court’s equitable jurisdiction, so a person can petition a court directly for a sex-designation change instead.¹⁰

Adding or Changing a Parent

When both parents of a child born outside of marriage sign a voluntary written Acknowledgment of Paternity under oath, the State Registrar amends the birth certificate to show the father. If the parents ask, the registrar will also change the child’s surname to the father’s.⁶ Before signing, both parents must receive a written and oral description of the rights, responsibilities, and legal consequences of the acknowledgment, including the right to rescind.¹²

Either parent can rescind the acknowledgment within 60 days of signing, unless an administrative or judicial order relating to the child has been entered first. After that 60-day window, the only way to challenge the acknowledgment is to prove in court that it resulted from fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact, and the burden falls on whoever is trying to undo it.¹²

When parents don’t agree on paternity, there are two other routes: file a petition in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, or open a case through the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), which can arrange DNA testing. Once paternity is established by court order, the father’s name can be added.¹³

If a parent’s name was just recorded incorrectly at birth, the fix follows the regular amendment process: affidavit and supporting documents for a small error, court order for a bigger one, especially after the first year.

A New Certificate After Adoption

When an adoption is finalized, the State Registrar issues an entirely new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents. Under Virginia Code § 32.1-261, the registrar acts on an adoption report, a report prepared under another state or country’s laws, or a certified copy of the adoption decree along with enough information to identify the original record.¹⁰

A new certificate will not be issued if the adoption court, the adoptive parents, or the adopted person (if 18 or older) specifically requests that none be created. When a new certificate is issued, the original is sealed and can only be opened by court order. The same statute also authorizes new certificates after legitimation, a court determination of paternity, and surrogacy under Virginia’s assisted-conception statutes.¹⁰

Registering a Birth That Was Never Recorded

If a Virginia birth was never filed, the person (or a parent, guardian, or someone with personal knowledge of the birth facts) can apply for a delayed birth certificate. Virginia Code § 32.1-259 authorizes this, and the certificate will be marked “Delayed” on its face along with the date of the late registration.¹⁴

For a birth being registered seven or more years after it happened, the application goes to the State Registrar and must establish the person’s full name at birth, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. The facts have to be backed up by at least three pieces of documentary evidence, such as census records, hospital records, baptismal records, or early school records, and only one of those can be an affidavit of personal knowledge.¹⁵

A delayed certificate cannot be registered for someone who has died. If the registrar refuses the application, you have the right to petition a court for an order directing registration.¹⁴

Why a Request Might Be Denied

The most common reason is documentation. If your ID doesn’t meet the requirements, or you can’t prove your relationship to the registrant, or an amendment application lacks the minimum supporting evidence, the Office of Vital Records will reject it. For amendments, the State Registrar must notify you in writing and explain both the reason and your right to appeal to a court.⁶

Fraud is the other filter. Trying to obtain a birth certificate under false pretenses, or supplying false information for use in preparing or amending a vital record, is unlawful under § 32.1-276. Applications with inconsistent details, suspicious authorization letters, or requests from people without legal standing get rejected and may bring legal consequences.

Contested facts, especially disputed paternity, don’t get sorted out at the registrar’s desk. The certificate won’t be changed until a court resolves the dispute and issues an order directing the amendment, which means the Virginia court system comes first.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 32.1-271 – Disclosure of Information in Records; When Unlawful; When Permitted
2
Virginia Department of Health. ID Requirements
3
Virginia Department of Health. Office of Vital Records
4
Virginia Department of Health. Frequently Asked Questions – Vital Records
5
Virginia Department of Health. Express Delivery Through the VitalChek Network
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 32.1-269 – Amending Vital Records; Change of Name; Acknowledgment of Paternity
7
Legal Information Institute. 12 Va. Admin. Code 5-550-450 – Evidence Required for Corrections or Amendments
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-217 – How Name of Person May Be Changed
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 17.1, Chapter 2, Article 7 – Fees
10
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 32.1-261 – New Certificate of Birth Established on Proof of Adoption, Legitimation, or Determination of Paternity, or Change of Sex
11
Virginia Department of Health. What Is the Procedure to Update a Virginia Birth Certificate After a Person Has Undergone Gender Transition?
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-49.1 – How Parent and Child Relationship Established
13
Virginia Department of Social Services. Establish Paternity in Virginia
14
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 32.1-259 – Filing and Registration of Delayed Birth Certificates; Refusal of Registration; Notice of Right of Appeal
15
Virginia Code Commission. 12 Va. Admin. Code 5-550-260 – Registration of Births Occurring Seven or More Years Before the Date of Application