Vital Records in Little Rock: Requirements, Fees, and Corrections

For vital records in Little Rock, the Arkansas Department of Health’s Vital Records office at 4815 West Markham Street issues certified copies of birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates for events that occurred anywhere in Arkansas. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and walk-in requests placed by 4:00 p.m. are typically filled the same day.¹ Fees start at $10.00 per copy, and you’ll need government-issued photo ID before staff will process anything.

One point worth settling up front: this is not just a Pulaski County office. If the birth, death, marriage, or divorce happened anywhere in Arkansas, this is the office that holds the record.

Who Can Request a Certificate

Arkansas limits access to recent records. Births stay restricted for 100 years; deaths, marriages, and divorces for 50 years. Within those windows, a certified copy can go only to the person named on the record, a spouse, parent, child, guardian, or an authorized representative such as an attorney.² Anyone else must show a specific legal or property interest in the record. After those age thresholds pass, the records become public.

Death certificates that include cause-of-death information are held tighter still: spouse, child, parent, other next of kin, organizations paying survivor benefits, and government agencies with an approved purpose.²

Identification You Have to Bring

Bring a government-issued photo ID. The office accepts a U.S. driver’s license, state ID card, U.S. or foreign passport, military ID with a signature, tribal ID card, or a resident alien card.³

No primary ID? You can combine two secondary documents that together show your current address and signature. Options include an employment ID paired with a pay stub, a school ID with proof of enrollment, a bank statement or utility bill with your current address, a voter registration card, or a filed federal tax form.³ If you cannot meet either the primary or the secondary threshold, the office will not process your request. Sort this out before you drive to Markham Street.

What to Put on the Application

Staff pull your record from the state database using the details you supply, so fill the form in completely. You need the full name of the person on the record, the date of the event, and the city or county where it took place. Birth certificate requests also require the full names of both parents, including the mother’s maiden name.¹ Application forms are on the Arkansas Department of Health website or at the service windows.

A misspelled name or a wrong date is the most common reason a request gets kicked back. Even small discrepancies between what you write and what the original record shows can slow things down or produce a denial.

How to Submit Your Request

Walk In

The counter at 4815 West Markham Street is the fastest route. Walk-in orders are accepted for same-day issuance from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the office closed on state holidays.⁴ Check in, hand over your ID and completed form, and wait while staff locates the record. Most requests are filled the same day for people who arrive by 4:00 p.m.¹ You can pay with cash, a credit or debit card, or a check or money order made out to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Mail

If Little Rock isn’t practical, mail the completed application, a photocopy of your ID, and a check or money order payable to the Arkansas Department of Health. Don’t send cash or temporary checks. Address it to:

Arkansas Department of Health
Vital Records, Slot 44
4815 West Markham Street
Little Rock, AR 72205¹

Use a trackable shipping method when your envelope contains copies of your identification. Allow 10 to 14 business days for processing, plus delivery time each way.¹

Online or Phone

Arkansas offers online ordering through the state’s Vital Records portal, and phone orders are taken at (866) 209-9482. Both accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.⁵ Each order carries a nonrefundable $5.00 processing fee and a $1.85 identity verification fee on top of the certificate price.¹ Processing takes 7 to 14 business days from approval, plus shipping.⁶ Expedited shipping is available at checkout but does not speed up the internal processing time.

What Each Record Costs

Payment is due when you place the request, no matter which channel you use.

Birth certificate: $12.00 for the first copy, $10.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time.¹
Death certificate: $10.00 for the first copy, $8.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time.⁷
Marriage record: $10.00 per copy.⁵
Divorce record: $10.00 per copy.⁸

Watch the fine print on no-record searches. If staff can’t find the record or can’t produce a copy, the department keeps $10.00 as a search fee for every record type.⁷ Online and phone orders also keep the $5.00 processing fee and $1.85 identity verification fee whether a record is located or not.¹

Correcting a Mistake on a Certificate

The department reviews each amendment request individually to decide what documentation it needs.⁹ Small corrections, like a misspelled name or wrong date, can often be fixed with supporting documents such as hospital records or other government-issued records showing the correct information.

Other changes require a court order before the department will touch the certificate:

Creating a new birth certificate after an adoption
Adding a biological father when the mother was married to someone else at the time of birth
Changing the father listed on a birth certificate
Changing a surname
Surrogacy-related changes⁹

When a court order is involved, you’ll almost certainly need an attorney to file the petition. The amendment fee is $15.00 whether or not a court order is required, in addition to the certificate fee for any replacement copies.⁹ If the department issued an incorrect certificate and you return it within one year, the replacement fee is waived.

If You Need the Record for Use Abroad

A vital record used in another country usually needs an apostille, which authenticates the signature and seal on the certificate. The Arkansas Secretary of State issues apostilles, not the Department of Health, so this is a separate step after you have the certified copy in hand.

The fee is $10.00 per document. Submit the original certified vital record with the completed request form, which asks for the country where the document will be used. Pay by check or money order to the Arkansas Secretary of State, or by credit or debit card with a 4% convenience fee.¹⁰ Requests go by mail or in person to:

Little Rock: 1401 W. Capitol, Suite 250, Little Rock, AR 72201
Fayetteville: 300 N. College, Suite 201F, Fayetteville, AR 72701¹⁰

Build the timeline around two agencies and two processing windows: the certified vital record first, then the apostille on top of it.

1
Arkansas Department of Health. Order Birth Records
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 20-18-305 – Issuance of Certified Copies and Data From System of Vital Statistics
3
Arkansas Department of Health. Government Issued Identification Documents
4
Arkansas Department of Health. Birth Certificate Application
5
Arkansas Department of Health. Order Marriage Records
6
Arkansas Department of Health. Vital Records Support
7
Arkansas Department of Health. Order Death Records
8
Arkansas Department of Health. Order Divorce Records
9
Arkansas Department of Health. Change or Amend a Birth or Death Certificate
10
Arkansas Secretary of State. Apostille/Certificate of Authentication Request Form