The Office of Vital Statistics, part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, maintains and issues Kentucky birth, death, stillbirth, marriage and divorce records along with single status letters. Its birth certificate pages set the boundary of what it holds: birth records of people born in Kentucky from 1911 to the present, and nothing before 1911 except delayed records of birth established by affidavits and documentary evidence, with separate contacts published for historic research.
Fees are simple and inclusive. A birth certificate costs ten dollars, and the office states that the fee includes the required search fee and is non refundable once a search has been conducted. A death certificate, a stillbirth certificate, a marriage certificate, a divorce certificate and a single status letter each cost six dollars. Five ordering routes exist, and only the Frankfort counter produces a certificate the same day. Local offices that issue vital records appear on the Kentucky county pages.
- Ten dollars, search included: the birth certificate fee covers the required search and is not refunded once the search is run.
- Six dollars for the rest: death, stillbirth, marriage and divorce certificates and single status letters.
- Same day in Frankfort: most eligible counter requests are completed the same business day, with no guarantee after a quarter to four.
- Will call is not same day: an online will call order reaches the office only on the next business day, so it cannot be collected immediately.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Kentucky's own systems: the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics birth certificates page, the office's guide to walk in, mail and web orders, the birth certificate application form VS-37, the office's map and parking information, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
The counter, and the quarter to four cut off
The Office of Vital Statistics at East Main Street in Frankfort is open Monday to Friday from eight in the morning until half past four Eastern time, closed on official state holidays, and it is the only route that produces a certificate the same day. The office says most eligible requests are completed the same business day, but adds two qualifications: same day service is not guaranteed for requests received after a quarter to four in the afternoon, and orders containing more than ten requests may require additional processing time, with the office making reasonable efforts to handle large volume requests within five business days.
Payment at the counter may be in cash, by cheque, by money order, by debit card or by credit card, with cheques and money orders payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer.
Ordering online, and the fees the vendor adds
Online and telephone ordering runs through the Commonwealth's only authorised third party vendor, which charges twelve dollars fifty for an online order and thirteen dollars fifty for a telephone order on top of the certificate fee, with regular post included and courier shipping available for more. Most vendor orders are processed within three to five business days, excluding shipping and delivery, and orders submitted that way generally reach the state office on the next business day after submission.
The office lists the conditions every request remains subject to: record availability, eligibility requirements, application review, identity verification, and completion of the required record search. In other words, paying the vendor speeds the paperwork rather than guaranteeing the record.
Why will call is not the same as walking in
Kentucky offers a will call option through the same vendor, letting a customer order online and collect in Frankfort, and it warns clearly that will call orders are not available for same day pickup, because an order submitted online generally reaches the office only on the next business day. Customers are notified when the order is ready, and on collection must present proof of the order and a valid government issued photo identification, and must be eligible to receive the record, with the office able to require additional documentation to establish identity or eligibility before releasing it.
Anyone who needs a certificate today is told plainly to come to the office in person rather than ordering online for collection.
Ordering by telephone and by post
The office does not accept credit card payments directly by telephone, so a card order placed by telephone or fax goes through the vendor at its higher telephone rate. Postal orders use the office's published application forms, which it lists by number: the birth certificate application VS-37, the death certificate application VS-31, the combined marriage and divorce certificate application VS-230, and the single status letter application VS-R21.
Each form sets out the identification and eligibility requirements, and because the certificate fee already includes the search, the amount posted is simply the number of copies multiplied by the fee.
Before 1911, and delayed records
Kentucky's statewide birth registration began in 1911, and the office holds nothing earlier except delayed records of birth, which were established later by affidavits and documentary evidence. For a birth before 1911 the office publishes separate historic research contacts, pointing researchers to the archives and library collections that hold church, census and county material instead. For a person born after 1911 whose birth was never registered, the delayed record route is the one that creates an official certificate, and it requires the affidavits and documents that the office specifies rather than a simple application.
The single status letter, and other documents
Alongside certificates the office issues a single status letter, which costs six dollars and states that no marriage record exists for the person in Kentucky. It is the document foreign authorities usually want before a marriage abroad, and it has its own application form. The office also issues stillbirth certificates at six dollars, which are distinct from both birth and death certificates, and marriage and divorce certificates on a shared application. For anyone assembling paperwork for an overseas process, ordering the certificate and the single status letter together saves a second search fee and a second wait.
Questions about Kentucky birth certificates
Related Kentucky records
Kentucky's other records guides on this site are the Kentucky public records law guide for the Open Records Act, the Kentucky death records guide for the same office, the Kentucky court records guide for the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Kentucky county pages for every county office.