How Do You Order a Birth Certificate in Georgia?

The office and the records it holds

The Georgia Department of Public Health's State Office maintains Georgia's birth and death certificates. The Department's online ordering page states it issues certificates for births and deaths that occurred in Georgia from January 1919 to the present. For a birth before 1919, the Department directs applicants to contact the county where the birth occurred or the Georgia Archives, according to reference summaries of the Department's guidance; confirm that route with the Department, because the pre-1919 route was not stated on the pages opened for this guide.

Only individuals with specific qualifying relationships to the person named on the record can receive a birth certificate. The Department lists as eligible: the person whose name appears on the birth certificate; a legal spouse; parents named on the certificate; grandparents; adult children; adult siblings; and legal guardians or legal representatives. A valid physical government-issued photo ID is required for verification; the Department states it does not accept electronic or digital forms of identification.

Online through ROVER

ROVER (Request Official Vital Events Records) is the State of Georgia's online service, operated by the Georgia Technology Authority and the Georgia Department of Public Health. To order through ROVER, visit the ROVER page, follow the prompts, and provide the requested information: proof of identity and qualifying relationship documentation; the full name of the individual on the certificate; the date of birth; the city or county where the birth took place; the full name of the father if one is listed; the full maiden name of the mother if one is listed; the requester's current state-issued driver's license or ID card, Social Security number, date of birth, and address; and an accepted form of payment, a major debit or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express).

Pay the nonrefundable fee of $25 per certified copy plus $8 for processing. Processing may take up to 10 weeks. Once processed, the order is sent directly from the Georgia Department of Public Health by USPS or FedEx for expedited shipping. Records ordered online are handled by the state records office in Atlanta and mailed to the requester; they are not available at the local office, according to the Northeast Health District's ordering pages.

The Department also lists third-party vendors GO Certificates and VitalChek on its request-vital-records page as other online ordering options. This guide names them only because the state's own page lists them; no vendor is recommended here, and no fee for those vendors is stated on the pages opened for this guide. ROVER is the state's own service.

Expedited shipping is available through FedEx for $16 per order, for birth and death certificate requests only. The Department states twice that expedited shipping applies only to delivery time and does not reduce the standard processing time, which is up to 10 weeks. Do not pay for expedited shipping expecting faster processing.

By mail

Mail a completed copy of the appropriate request form and payment to the State Office, 1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349. The request form for a birth search is Form 3918, Request for Search of Birth, according to the Department's form listings summarized in reference sources; confirm the current form number on the Department's ordering pages before mailing, because the form number was not stated on the pages opened for this guide. The fee for birth and death certificates is $25 and includes one certified copy, and each additional copy costs $5, as stated on the Georgia request-vital-records page. Accepted payment includes a certified check, money order, Visa or MasterCard (walk-in and online only), cash, or debit card (walk-in only). Response time for mail requests is 8 to 10 weeks, as stated on the same page. A signature of the requester and the proper fee are required on all requests, under Department of Public Health regulations.

If no record is located, the requester receives an official letter stating there is no record on file, and the search fee and processing fee are not refunded, as stated on the Department's online ordering page for ROVER orders.

In person: state office and county registrars

For same-day service, visit the State Office or any county office in person. The State Office is at 1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays. The response time for in-person requests is stated as same day.

The county route needs care. All records offices can now obtain birth and death certificates from any county within Georgia, so a visit to the county where the birth occurred is not required, according to the Northeast Health District. But the registrar is not the same office in every county. In the Northeast Health District, only Clarke, Morgan, and Walton counties have the health department as registrar of birth and death records; for other counties in that district, the registrar is usually located in the probate judge's office. In other districts, county records offices are run by county health departments and probate courts, and the Department lists them in its office directory. Confirm which office is the registrar for the county, and that office's hours and fee, before traveling. County offices may charge the state fee or their own fee; no single county fee is stated on the pages opened for this guide, and none is claimed here.

What to bring

Bring a valid physical government-issued photo ID, the full name on the record, the date of birth, the city or county of birth, the parents' names as listed on the record, and payment in a form the office accepts. For online orders, have the requester's Social Security number, date of birth, and address ready, as the Department's online page requires them. Every request requires the requester's signature. Allow up to 10 weeks for an online or mail order, and do not treat expedited shipping as faster processing.

Source

• Georgia Department of Public Health, Order Georgia Birth and Death Records Online
• Georgia.gov, Request Vital Records
• Georgia.gov, Order Georgia Birth and Death Records
• Northeast Health District, Birth and Death Certificates

Facts verified 2026-11-03. The Form 3918 number and the pre-1919 route are omitted from the verified facts above because they were not stated on the Department pages opened for this guide; confirm both on the Department's ordering pages before relying on them. The additional-copy fee of $5 is stated on the Georgia request-vital-records page for mail and in-person orders; whether it also applies to ROVER orders was not stated and is not claimed here.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office.