How Birth Certificates Work in Indiana

Indiana's Division of Vital Records sits inside the state Department of Health, but its ordering page opens with a redirection rather than an invitation: for faster service, place your order through the local health department where the event occurred, and walk in service is not available at the Indiana Department of Health. The state office takes orders by post, online through the vendor it has approved for the purpose, and by telephone, but it does not serve people at a counter.

That makes the local health department the default route for anyone who can reach the county where the birth happened, both for speed and because the local office can usually issue over the counter. The state office remains the place for anything the local office cannot do, including delayed registrations for a child older than twelve months, amendments and corrections, and adoption related records. Local offices that issue vital records appear on the Indiana county pages.

  • Ten dollars, then four: the first birth certificate costs ten dollars and each additional copy in the same order costs four.
  • No counter in Indianapolis: walk in service is not available at the state department, which points applicants to local health departments.
  • Two to three weeks, or six to eight: the published waits for a standard form and a long form birth certificate from the state.
  • Eight dollars to correct: an amendment or correction to a birth certificate, with a delayed registration at ten.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Indiana's own systems: the Indiana Department of Health page on ordering certificates, the department's birth information pages, the department's vital records pages, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

The fee schedule

Indiana's published fees are among the lowest in the country. A birth certificate costs ten dollars, and each additional birth certificate in the same order costs four, so a family ordering three copies pays eighteen dollars rather than thirty. A delayed birth registration costs ten dollars. An amendment or correction to a birth certificate costs eight. On the death side, a certificate costs eight dollars with four dollars for additional copies in the same order.

A copy of a signed paternity affidavit costs eight dollars, and the department also lists a putative father registry search. Cheques for postal orders are payable to the Indiana Department of Health.

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How long each document takes

The department publishes processing times rather than promising a date, and the spread is wide. A standard form birth certificate takes two to three weeks. A long form birth certificate takes six to eight weeks, which matters for anyone needing the fuller document for a foreign application or a legal question. A death certificate takes sixty days. Adoption history and a record of adoption each take a hundred and twenty days. The department adds that times may vary case by case.

Those figures are for orders handled by the state office; a local health department issuing a certificate at the counter is working from the same statewide register but does not need to queue the request.

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The four ways to order

In person means a local health department, since the state has no public counter. Online orders are processed through the network the department has partnered with, which it describes as the only authorised and approved vendor for online ordering, an important point in a market full of lookalike sites. Postal orders use State Form 49607, the application for search and certified copy of a birth record, which carries the fees, the identification requirements and the mailing address on the form itself, with the death equivalent being State Form 49606.

Telephone orders go through a toll free number available at any hour, run by a third party company that also provides customer service support, and are paid by credit card.

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Registering a birth that did not happen in a hospital

Most Indiana births are registered at the facility of birth through the state's electronic registration system, so nothing needs to be done by the family. Where the birth did not occur at a facility the process depends on the child's age. For children younger than twelve months, birth registration may take place at the local health department where the birth occurred. For children older than twelve months, a delayed registration of birth must be filed with the state division of vital records, at the ten dollar fee.

Home births follow the same twelve month rule, being filed with the local health department in the jurisdiction of birth until the child reaches that age.

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What a home birth registration requires

Filing a home birth within twelve months at a local health department needs documentation, and the department is explicit that the requirements vary. Evidence is commonly requested for proof of residence within the county or jurisdiction where the birth is being registered, and other documentary evidence may be required depending on the health department involved. The department's advice is to contact the local health department where the child will be filed before gathering anything, to find out what that office needs.

Families who miss the twelve month window are not shut out, but the route becomes a delayed registration through the state, which takes longer and requires more supporting evidence.

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Choosing between the state and the county

The practical rule in Indiana is to use the local health department for an ordinary certified copy, especially where the certificate is needed quickly, and to use the state for everything the local office cannot handle. That includes delayed registrations for older children, amendments and corrections, adoption history and records of adoption, and long form certificates where the published state processing time applies. For anyone out of state, the online or telephone routes reach the state office without a journey, at the same ten dollar base fee plus whatever the vendor charges for its service.

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Questions about Indiana birth certificates

What does an Indiana birth certificate cost?
Ten dollars for the first certificate and four dollars for each additional copy in the same order, with a delayed birth registration at ten dollars and an amendment or correction at eight.
Can I collect one at the state office?
No. Walk in service is not available at the Indiana Department of Health, which directs applicants to the local health department where the event occurred for faster service.
How long does the state take?
Two to three weeks for a standard form birth certificate, six to eight weeks for a long form, sixty days for a death certificate and a hundred and twenty days for adoption records.
How do I order by post?
Use State Form 49607, the application for search and certified copy of a birth record, which sets out the fees, identification requirements and address, with cheques payable to the Indiana Department of Health.
How is a home birth registered?
With the local health department in the jurisdiction of birth until the child is twelve months old, with documentation including proof of residence; after twelve months a delayed registration must be filed with the state.
Is online ordering safe?
The department names a single authorised and approved vendor for online ordering, which is the only online route it has partnered with; other sites are not part of the state system.

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Indiana's other records guides on this site are the Indiana public records law guide for the Access to Public Records Act, the Indiana death records guide for the same division, the Indiana court records guide for the statewide case search, and the Indiana county pages for every county office.