How West Virginia Birth Records Work
West Virginia restricts recent birth records to the person named, close family, and legal representatives — then opens them to everyone 100 years after the birth. Two different searches, depending on which side of that line your record sits.
West Virginia's culture of county courthouse records means older births often exist in county clerk registers too — two places to look, which rescues many searches. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Where to Order
West Virginia Vital Records Office
Official Free
The official custodian. Application forms, current fees, eligibility rules, and processing times — order direct and skip the third-party markup.
CDC — Where to Write for Vital Records
Official Free
The federal directory of every state's vital records office — the authoritative answer to 'where do I order' for any state and any year.
🌐 cdc.gov
Frequently Asked Questions
Certified copy or informational copy — which do I need?
Certified (with the seal) for passports, IDs, benefits, and court. Informational or research copies, where offered, prove content but not identity.
Who can order a recent West Virginia birth certificate?
The person named, parents and close family, and legal representatives with documentation. Expect to show ID and, for some relationships, proof of the family link.
How do I get a certificate for a deceased relative?
Provide the death certificate along with proof of your relationship — estates and genealogy claims do this constantly, and every state has a process for it.
The event predates statewide registration. Now what?
West Virginia's culture of county courthouse records means older births often exist in county clerk registers too — two places to look, which rescues many searches.
Related West Virginia Records
The West Virginia vital records page covers death, marriage, and divorce certificates; West Virginia court records handle name changes and adoptions; and county pages list the local offices that issue copies.