How to get an Arizona birth certificate

Ways to order

Not offered: online directly with the vital records office.³

What an Arizona birth certificate costs

First certified copy

$20²

Each additional copy, same order

$20³

Types of copies

No-fee copies

• Youth in DCS care via out-of-home placement provider⁹
• Arizona state government agencies⁹

Who can order an Arizona birth certificate

The state names these people and bodies as able to order a certified copy. Each line gives the official wording.

• The person named on the record: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
• The registrant is 16 or 17 and is homeless.⁹
  Proof: Minor registrant exception: 16 or 17 and homeless, or under DCS care; other minors need proof of emancipation or marriage.⁹
• A parent named on the record: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Named on the certificate, or certified adoption or court order naming the applicant as parent.⁹
• Spouse: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Notarized letter of permission from the registrant (or letter with copy of registrant ID) plus marriage certificate.⁹
• Grandparent: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Birth certificate of the grandparent's child who is the named parent, or that child's name and date of birth if born in Arizona.⁹
• Child: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Applicant's own birth certificate naming the registrant as parent.⁹
• Grandchild: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Own birth certificate plus parent's birth or death certificate linking to the registrant.⁹
• Brother or sister: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Own birth certificate showing a common parent.⁹
• Legal guardian: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Certified Order for Permanent or Temporary Guardianship.⁹
• A person designated in a power of attorney, established by the individual’s parent or guardian according to A.R.S. §§ 14-5104 or 14-5107, if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Copy of the power of attorney (valid 6 months; military 12 months).⁹
• The person appointed as the registrant's conservator, if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Certified court order establishing conservatorship.⁹
• Person named in a court order: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Certified copy of the court order.⁹
• Attorney or legal representative: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Documentation that the attorney has been retained.⁹
• Adoption agencies representing the adoptive or biological parents of a registrant, if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
• An out-of-home placement provider (i.e., foster parent, etc.) may request a certified copy of a birth record for a child who is in the custody of the DCS and who is at least sixteen (16) years of age.⁹
• Government agency: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
• Attorney or legal representative: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Documentation that the attorney is retained by the adoptive parents, plus the filed petition to adopt.⁹

Other kinds of copies

• Genealogy copy Genealogist or family researcher: if the conditions in the state’s rule are met⁹
  Proof: Birth, death or marriage certificates showing the relationship; pedigrees, lineage charts and family trees are not accepted.⁹

Records open to the public after

75 years⁹

ID you need

Photo ID

Required⁴

Accepted ID

• Valid government-issued picture identification which bears your signature⁴

Without that ID

Notarized signature on the application⁵

Notarization

Only if no ID is supplied⁴

ID copy with a mail order

Include a copy of your ID⁴

What the application asks for

Have these details ready before you fill in the form or start an online order.⁵

• Date of birth
• Sex
• Name on birth certificate
• Place of birth (town/city, county, state, hospital)
• Mother's/parent's full name prior to first marriage
• Father's/parent's full name
• Applicant's name, signature, date, mailing address, daytime phone, email
• Relationship to person on certificate
• Number of copies

Forms

• Bureau of Vital Records Request for Copy of Birth Certificate (VS-11) Revised 08/24/2026⁵
• Government Agency Request for Copies of Birth and/or Death Records¹¹

Years held and older records

Years held

1909 to today (delayed birth sampling from 1855)¹

Older records

Sampling of delayed birth records from 1855 at the Bureau¹

Special situations

People without housing

A child at least 16 with no residence address or in DCS custody may get their own birth certificate without a parent, guardian or foster parent signature.¹²

Delayed registration

Available if the birth was not registered within one year.¹³

Adoption

Adult adoptees in the stated birth date ranges can get a non-certified original.¹⁰

Births at home

Contact the county vital records office where the birth occurred.¹⁴

Adoptees born abroad

Foreign-birth record available for children adopted by Arizona citizens.¹⁵

Warnings from the office

• ADHS endorses no internet ordering service other than VitalChek.³
• Mohave County says it cannot track third-party orders; complaints go to the ADHS Director’s Office.⁶

The state office

Office

Bureau of Vital Records⁷

Phone

(602) 364-1300⁷

Email

[email protected]⁷

Mailing address

PO Box 6018, Phoenix, AZ 85005

⁷

Walk-in address

150 North 18th Ave., Ste. 120, Phoenix, AZ 85007

⁷

Website

Official website⁵

Questions people ask