How to Obtain a Copy of Your Birth Certificate in Kentucky

This article was written by Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006.

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You can apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate to replace a lost or damaged original, or simply to have another copy on hand. In certain cases, you can also request a certified copy of the birth certificate for close family members. In the state of Kentucky, you can choose to apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate in person, by mail, over the phone, or online.

Applying in Person

• Full birth name
• Full date of birth (month, day, and year)
• County of birth
• Mother’s maiden name
• Father’s name

Go to the Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort. The office is located at 275 E. Main St. 1E-A, Frankfort, KY, 40621, and is open Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Complete the application to request a birth certificate. Follow the directions on the form when you fill it out. You also can print the application from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Vital Statistics website, fill it out, and bring it with you.

• Make the check or money order payable to “Kentucky State Treasurer.”
• The $10 fee includes administrative costs and one certified copy. If you want multiple certified copies of the birth certificate, you must pay an additional $10 per copy.
• Certificates can be issued while you wait.

Applying by Phone

• Full birth name
• Full date of birth (month, day, and year)
• County of birth
• Mother’s maiden name
• Father’s name

• The $10 fee includes the cost of retrieving the certificate and making one certified copy. If you want multiple certified copies of the birth certificate, you must pay $10 more for each additional copy.
• Certificate copies can be mailed by overnight carrier for the cost of shipping.

Applying by Mail

• Full birth name
• Full date of birth (month, day, and year)
• County of birth
• Mother’s maiden name
• Father’s name

• The $10 fee includes the cost of retrieving the certificate and making one certified copy. If you want multiple certified copies of the birth certificate, you must include $10 more for each additional copy.

• It may take up to 30 days to process your request.

Applying Online

• You can find a link to VitalChek’s service via the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Vital Statistics website, or go directly to VitalChek’s website. [1] X Research source

Follow the directions on the VitalChek website. You will be prompted to select the state and document (birth certificate) that you want to order. You can order a copy of your own birth certificate, or another person's. The VitalChek service allows you to complete the application and verify your identity online.

• There is an additional fee for the online service.
• Certificate copies can be mailed by overnight carrier for the cost of shipping.

Expert Q&A

You can order a certificate of stillbirth for $6 per copy by any of the means listed above. You can find the order form for a certificate of stillbirth on the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Vital Statistics website

The fee for requesting a copy of a birth certificate will be retained even if no record can be found (for instance, if the record was lost or destroyed). This is to cover the cost of the search.

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About This Article

This article was written by Jennifer Mueller, JD. Jennifer Mueller is an in-house legal expert at wikiHow. Jennifer reviews, fact-checks, and evaluates wikiHow's legal content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. She received her JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. This article has been viewed 138,181 times.

In the state of Kentucky, you can apply for a certified copy of your birth certificate in person, over the phone, or online. No matter how you plan to apply, make sure you have all of the information they’ll need, including your full birth name, full date of birth, county of birth, mother’s maiden name, and father’s name. You’ll also need to pay a 10 dollar fee for each copy you'd like to receive. To apply online, go to the VitalChek website and follow the directions. If you prefer to apply by phone, call 800-241-8322 and pick option 1 when prompted. You can also go to the Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort to complete your application. To learn how to apply for a copy of your birth certificate by mail, keep reading!

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