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Birth Certificate Request

IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, CLICK ON THIS LINK. Vital Chek

Process to Obtain a Birth Record From Grand Traverse County

Under Michigan law, birth records are confidential documents.  A current valid, photo identification is required in order to establish eligibility to request and/or receive a birth record (except for a birth record that is at least 100 years old).  A copy of the applicant's photo identification must be presented along with the application.  Please see the application form for identification requirements.

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to access this form; click here to download the Acrobat Reader.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE APPLICATION FORM

The form must be signed.  You can mail, fax, or scan and email the form to our office for processing with the appropriate fee and identification.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at (231) 922-4760 for more information on how to write and request a copy of your birth certificate.

Availability of Records

Birth records have been filed with this office since 1856. BIRTH RECORDS ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND ARE NOT PUBLIC RECORD, but certified copies of birth certificates are available to eligible persons upon request. We try to send out birth requests received by mail the same day or by the next business day. Birth records for newborn children are usually available within two weeks from the birth date.

Relationship to Person on the Birth Certificate

To obtain a certified copy of a birth record, the applicant must indicate his or her relationship to the person named on the certificate. Michigan law states that certified copies of birth records can be issued only to the individual, the parent(s) named on the record, an heir or legal guardian.

Heirs must provide date and place of death and how they are related. Legal guardians must provide a copy of their legal guardianship court order.

Fees

The minimum fee for a certified copy of a birth record is $10.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record at the same time.  Fees may be paid by cash, check, money order, or credit/debit card (see link on the left of the page for credit card payments).

Special Fees (Senior Citizens)

Citizens who are 65 years or older applying for a certified copy of their own record are charged a $7.00 fee for the record, and $4.00 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.