Where to Get a Birth Certificate in San Bernardino County

To get a birth certificate in San Bernardino County, you request a certified copy from one of two offices depending on how old the record is. Births within the last 24 months go through the Department of Public Health’s Vital Statistics Registration Office (VSRO). Older births are handled by the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk at the Hall of Records. Either office will take your request in person, by mail, or online, and as of January 1, 2026, the county charges $36 per certified copy following a fee increase under Assembly Bill 64.¹ You can also skip the county entirely and order from the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento for $31.

Which Office Holds Your Record

The split is strict. The VSRO registers every birth in the county and keeps those records on hand for two years before transferring them to the Recorder.² If the birth happened in the last 24 months, start with the VSRO. If it happened before that, start with the Recorder.

The VSRO is at 340 N. Mountain View Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92415. Walk-ins are accepted Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with no appointment needed.² It also runs an online portal at sanbernardinohdcavitals.permitium.com.

The Recorder-County Clerk is at the Hall of Records, 222 W. Hospitality Lane, 1st Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92415.³ Appointments are highly encouraged for in-person visits.⁴ Online orders go through VitalChek, a third-party vendor that charges additional service fees.¹

The California Department of Public Health in Sacramento can issue a certified copy of any California birth certificate regardless of county, which is useful if you were born here but live elsewhere.⁵

Who Can Get an Authorized Copy

California restricts who can receive an “authorized” certified copy, which is the version you need for a passport, driver’s license, school enrollment, or anything else requiring proof of identity. Authorized requesters are:

The person named on the certificate (the registrant)
A parent or legal guardian listed on the certificate
A spouse, domestic partner, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the registrant
An attorney representing the registrant, or anyone with a court order entitling them to the record
Law enforcement or other government agencies conducting official business

If you don’t fit one of those categories, you can still order an “informational” certified copy. It contains the same data but is stamped “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY,” so it won’t work for passport or Social Security purposes.⁶

What You Need to Apply

Every office asks for the same core information about the birth: the registrant’s full name at birth, date of birth, city and county of birth, and both parents’ full names, including the mother’s maiden name.⁷ Submit whatever you have. Partial information is better than a blank field.

You’ll also need a valid government-issued photo ID. Bring the original for an in-person visit; include a photocopy with a mailed request. Application forms are posted on the VSRO and Recorder-County Clerk websites.

If you’re requesting an authorized copy, you have to sign a sworn statement declaring your eligibility. In person, you sign in front of staff. By mail, the sworn statement has to be notarized before you send it.⁸

Fees and Payment

The county fee is $36 per certified copy as of January 1, 2026, and it’s the same whether you’re ordering an authorized or informational copy.¹ The state’s fee through CDPH is $31 per copy.⁵

Payment depends on how you order:

In person at the VSRO: cash, check, money order, or card. Credit, Apple Pay, and Google Pay carry a 2.25% service fee ($1.95 minimum); PIN debit adds a flat $3.95.⁸
By mail to either county office: personal check or money order payable to “County of San Bernardino.” No cash.
Online through the VSRO portal: credit card, with a $4 nonrefundable service fee plus processing charges.⁹
Online through VitalChek (Recorder): major credit cards, with additional vendor fees.
By mail to CDPH: check or money order payable to “CDPH-VR.”⁵

If the office searches and finds no matching record, your fee pays for the search. You receive a “Certificate of No Record” instead of a certificate.

How Long It Takes

Timing varies sharply by method.

VSRO in person: typically handled during your visit.
VSRO online: allow 7 to 10 business days for shipping after approval. For newborns, the record may take 3 to 4 weeks to appear in the system before an order can be filled.⁹
Recorder in person: can be completed during your visit, though walk-ins may wait longer than scheduled appointments.⁴
Recorder by mail: roughly 3 to 4 weeks of processing, plus transit time each way.⁴
CDPH: processing times vary and are posted on the CDPH website, with mail delivery on top.⁵

If you’re up against a passport deadline or a school enrollment date, an in-person visit to the right office is your fastest route. Any mail-in path takes weeks.

Fixing an Error on the Certificate

Corrections and amendments aren’t handled by either San Bernardino County office. All changes to a California birth record, whether a misspelling, a wrong date, a legal name change, adding or replacing a parent, or changing the sex field, go through the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento by mail.¹⁰ CDPH publishes a Birth Amendment Overview Chart that identifies which form fits your situation and lists current fees and processing times.

1
San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Copies of Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates
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San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Vital Statistics Registration Office
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San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Hall of Records: Recorder-Clerk
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San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk. Recorder-Clerk Processing Times
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California Department of Public Health. Vital Records Obtaining Certified Copies of Birth Records
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California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 103526
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San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Application for Certified Copy of Birth Record
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Department of Public Health. Request a Certificate
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San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. San Bernardino County Department of Public Health’s Office Online Ordering
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California Department of Public Health. Amending a California Birth Record