North Carolina Vital Records holds birth certificates from 1913 to the present, along with death certificates from 1930, marriage certificates from 1962, divorce certificates from 1958 and fetal death reports from 2001. Its ordering page is unusually candid about the alternative: birth, death and marriage certificates may also be obtained at the Register of Deeds office in the county where the event took place, and in most cases the Register of Deeds can provide a copy the same day. Divorce certificates come from the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed.
The department also states plainly that vital records are not free public records, and that its website search returns public content rather than records or order status. Online and telephone orders go through a single authorised vendor, which the department names as the only authorised vendor for a state issued certified North Carolina birth certificate, and postal applications are addressed to that vendor as well rather than to the department itself. Local offices that issue vital records appear on the North Carolina county pages.
- Twenty four dollars a search: charged for each three year period or part of one, including one copy if the record is found.
- Nonrefundable: the search fee is kept whether or not a record is located, though payments above it come back if the order is cancelled.
- Fifteen dollars for extras: each additional certificate ordered with the first.
- Same day at the county: the Register of Deeds where the birth happened can usually issue a copy immediately.
Written by SearchSystems.net from North Carolina's own systems: the North Carolina Vital Records ordering page, North Carolina Vital Records, the federal where to write for vital records page for North Carolina, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
A search fee rather than a certificate fee
The twenty four dollars North Carolina charges is a search fee covering each three year period, or any portion of one, that the office has to look through, and it includes one copy of the certificate where the record is located. The department says it must process payments before completing an order and that the fee is nonrefundable even where no record is found, which means an uncertain date of birth can become expensive: a search spanning six years is two periods and two fees.
Payments above the search fee can be refunded where no record is found and the order is cancelled, and where a search fails the office writes to the applicant. The practical lesson is to narrow the date as far as possible before ordering, and to supply the exact name as registered.
Ordering by post, in person and through the vendor
Postal applications go to North Carolina Vital Records at its Raleigh Mail Service Center address but marked for the attention of the authorised vendor, with payment made out to that vendor. The department's instructions are specific: include twenty four dollars for the first copy and fifteen dollars for each additional certificate, plus the vendor processing fee noted on the application; pay by personal cheque, credit card or money order; do not send cash; do not send an expedited fee, because expedited service is available only for regular certificate requests at the state office; and do not overpay, because overpayment may delay processing.
In person service at the state office is by appointment only, with customer service appointments from half past eight in the morning until three in the afternoon on weekdays, each lasting thirty minutes and the last bookable at half past two so that daily processing deadlines can be met. In person expedited processing costs fifteen dollars in addition to the standard fees. Online and telephone orders run through the authorised vendor, with the department publishing the combined totals including regular and overnight shipping.
When to use the Register of Deeds instead
North Carolina effectively runs two counters, and the department tells applicants to compare them before committing. Its guidance is to check the published processing dates page for estimated processing and shipping dates before scheduling an appointment or placing an order, and, if those timeframes will not meet the applicant's needs, to consider ordering from the Register of Deeds in the county of the event. For a death that happened away from home the correct office is the county where the death occurred rather than the county of residence, and the same logic applies to a birth: the county of birth holds the record.
Because most Registers of Deeds can issue a certificate the same day, that route beats the state office for anyone with a deadline, and it avoids the three year search fee structure entirely.
Amendments, paternity and adoption
Regular certificate orders and changes to records travel different paths in North Carolina. Amendments and corrections, including changes to birth or death certificates, legitimations and name changes, go through the department's change a record process rather than the ordinary order route, and expedited service is not available for them. Affidavits of parentage, court orders for paternity and disestablishment of paternity have their own process under the department's paternity establishment pages.
Birth certificates issued after an adoption follow a different process again and use different forms from ordinary orders. One category is not the state's at all: changes and replacements for marriage certificates go to the county Register of Deeds where the marriage licence was issued, because North Carolina Vital Records does not handle them.
Using a North Carolina certificate abroad
An apostille is needed where a certificate is to be used in another country, and in North Carolina it is issued by the Secretary of State rather than by the health department. The order of operations is to obtain the certified copy first, from the state office or from the Register of Deeds, and then to send it for authentication, allowing time for both steps. The department's own questions and answers cover the detail, and it is worth checking whether the receiving country needs the certificate issued within a particular period, since an older copy may have to be replaced before the apostille is sought.
Getting the application right first time
Three habits avoid most North Carolina delays. Supply the exact name as it appears on the certificate, with the additional names the application asks for, since the search is run on what the applicant provides and a failed search still costs the fee. Keep the date range tight, because the fee is charged by three year period. And pick the route that matches the deadline: the Register of Deeds for speed, the state office by appointment where an expedited state issued copy is needed, and the postal or vendor route where time allows.
Checking the processing dates page before ordering is the department's own advice, and it is the quickest way to know which of the three is right.
Questions about North Carolina birth certificates
Related North Carolina records
North Carolina's other records guides on this site are the North Carolina public records law guide for chapter 132, the North Carolina death records guide for the same office, the North Carolina court records guide for the clerks of superior court, and the North Carolina county pages for every county office.