Get a birth certificate for someone under 3

Birth certificates are available in-person, and by mail.

Cost

Time

30 minutes on average

What to do

Go to the Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records

Apply to get a birth certificate in person. The birth certificate must be for someone:

• Born in San Francisco
• Born less than 3 years ago

The person applying must bring an unexpired government-issued photo ID. We will accept IDs from foreign governments.

You can pay by Visa, MasterCard, or cash. You can also pay by money order, in US dollars.

We charge for every search, so you will pay the fee even if we can not find the record.

To save time, you can also bring your completed application.

Department of Public Health

Mon to Fri, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Closed on public holidays.

Mail

1. Fill out the form

Download the application. Fill out the form.

2. Get the statement notarized

Take your form to a notary public and have it notarized.

You don’t need to have your application notarized for an Informational Copy. But your certificate will have “Informational: Not a valid document to establish identity” printed on the document.

3. Mail the application

You must include:

• Your application
• Notarized sworn statement
• Prepaid and addressed return envelope
• A money order for $29 per copy

San Francisco Department of Public Health
Office of Vital Records
101 Grove Street, Room 105
San Francisco, CA 94102

You should get the birth certificate in 5 to 10 business days.

4. Expedited service

If you need your certificate quickly, you can add a $30 fee to speed up processing of your application.

Fee does not include express delivery. You can include an express envelope (like UPS or FedEx) instead of a self addressed stamped envelope.

Who can get a birth certificate

You can apply for a Certified Authorized Copy of a birth certificate for:

• Yourself
• Your child
• Your spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or state-registered domestic partner

Anyone can request an informational copy of a birth certificate.

Special cases

Get a birth certificate for someone else

You can also apply for a Certified Authorized Copy of a birth certificate if you:

• Have a certified court order
• Have a valid Power of Attorney document
• Are an authorized attorney (with supporting documents)
• Are a licensed adoption agency (with an order of relinquishment)
• Work for another government agency (with work ID and a letter from a supervisor authorizing your request)

Correcting or amending birth certificates

Correcting or amending birth records is done at the state level. Go to the California Department of Public Health page to amend records.