Notarized copy of a birth certificate vs a certified copy: which one you need

What a certified copy of a birth certificate is

A certified copy of a birth certificate is a copy of your registered birth record issued by the office that keeps it, either the state vital records office or a local registrar such as a city, town or county clerk. It is usually printed on security paper and carries the registrar's signature and the issuing office's seal.

The original record stays with the registrar. What you keep at home, even if you call it your original, is almost always a certified copy of that record. New York's notary law defines a certified copy as a copy of a public record signed and certified as true by the official who has custody of the original.

New Jersey's Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, for example, says its certified copies carry the issuing office's raised seal and are always printed on state safety paper, while its plain-paper certifications are not valid for identity or legal purposes. A hospital keepsake certificate and a photocopy of your certified copy are not certified copies at all.

What a notarized copy of a birth certificate is

A notarized copy of a birth certificate is a photocopy that a notary has certified as true, where state law allows it, or a photocopy attached to your sworn statement that it is accurate, with the notary notarizing your signature. In both versions, the notary's signature is the only original signature on the page.

A notary who certifies a copy is saying it matches the paper you showed, not that the paper matches the record at the vital records office. A notary who notarizes your statement is confirming who signed it. Neither act turns a photocopy into a certified copy, as our apostille vs notary guide explains.

Can a notary certify a copy of a birth certificate? It depends on the state

Often not. Florida's notary statute excludes vital records from copy certification, Texas says notaries may not make certified copies of birth certificates, and California and New York leave certified copies to the officials who keep the records. Where notaries may certify copies, the apostille office can still refuse the result.

Florida

Section 117.05(12) of the 2026 Florida Statutes lets a notary attest that a copy is true, unless the document is a vital record of Florida, another state, a U.S. territory or another country, or a public record its custodian can copy. A Florida notary cannot certify a copy of your birth certificate, wherever you were born. See our Florida apostille guide.

Texas

The Texas Secretary of State's notary public FAQ asks whether a notary may make a certified copy of a birth certificate or a marriage license, and answers no. Birth certificates are recordable documents, and certified copies come from the agency that keeps the record. See our Texas apostille guide.

California

The California Secretary of State's 2026 Notary Public Handbook says a notary cannot notarize or certify a birth, death or marriage certificate. Only the State Registrar, local registrars and county recorders may make certified copies of those records, under Health and Safety Code section 103545. See our California apostille guide.

New York

The New York Department of State's Notary Public License Law, September 2026 edition, says a notary public has no authority to issue certified copies, and that notaries must not certify the authenticity of papers to be filed with foreign consular officers. See our New York apostille guide.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts law does define copy certification as a notarial act (General Laws chapter 222, section 1). But the Commissions Section's request form says it does not authenticate notarized copies of government-issued documents, and it only authenticates original signatures of listed officials, such as city and town clerks and the Registrar of Vital Records. Our Massachusetts birth certificate apostille guide covers the copy it accepts.

New Hampshire, the exception

New Hampshire's Secretary of State apostilles public documents notarized by a New Hampshire notary public or justice of the peace, vital records included. Photocopying a vital record is illegal there, so ask the city or town clerk or the Division of Vital Records Administration for an original, notarized copy. A certified copy without that notarization may be refused. See our New Hampshire apostille guide.

Your state is not listed? Our apostille by state directory covers every office.

Why an apostille needs the certified copy, not a notarized photocopy

An apostille certifies the signature, capacity and seal of the official who signed your document. On a certified birth certificate, that official is the registrar or clerk, so the apostille confirms that a real registrar signed your copy. On a notarized photocopy, the only original signature is the notary's, so an apostille could only confirm the notary.

Every apostille has 10 numbered fields, and fields 1 to 4 describe your document: the country, the official who signed it, that official's title and the office whose seal it carries. The apostille office checks that signature against the ones it keeps on file, and Massachusetts, for one, certifies original signatures only. A photocopied signature cannot be certified, however clear the copy.

What an authenticated copy of a birth certificate means

For a Hague Convention country, an authenticated birth certificate usually means a certified copy with an apostille. For a country outside the Convention, such as the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, the state issues a certificate of authentication, the U.S. Department of State usually authenticates it, and the embassy legalizes it. See our guides to legalization for non-Hague countries and what an apostille is.

How to get a certified copy of your birth certificate

Order a certified copy from the state where you were born, not the state where you live. Depending on the state, that is the state vital records office or the city, town or county office that recorded the birth. Ask for the long form if it is going abroad, unless told otherwise, and have photo ID ready.

1. Pick a copy the apostille office accepts. Massachusetts apostilles copies from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics and from city and town clerks. Rhode Island and New Jersey want the state-issued copy, and a local New York copy goes to the county clerk first.
2. Ask for the certified long form, not an informational copy, a genealogy certification or a short form.
3. Prove who you are. Most offices ask for photo ID, and many limit certified copies to you, close family and legal representatives.
4. Order by mail, online or in person. Many offices sell copies through VitalChek. In September 2026 the Massachusetts Registry charged $20 in person, usually processed on the spot, or $32 by mail.

Long form or short form?

The long form includes details such as your parents' names, and states name the versions differently:

Match the wording on the office's checklist. Our birth certificate apostille guide covers more states, and our citizenship by descent guide lists the records a family file usually needs.

When a notarized copy is the right tool

A notary belongs in a birth certificate file when someone has to sign something: a sworn statement the receiving office asks for, a form to order the certified copy, or a translator's statement. Notarized copies are also the usual route for ID documents, which can be apostilled when properly notarized.

A copy of your passport, driver's license or other ID

A properly notarized copy of an ID, such as a passport, driver's license, green card or Social Security card, can be apostilled by the state where the notary is commissioned. The apostille certifies the notary, not the ID. Our passport copy apostille guide and driver's license apostille guide cover each state's method and its exceptions.

A sworn statement the office asks you to sign

If an office asks you to sign an affidavit under oath, a notary notarizes your signature, and the notary's state can apostille it. That covers your statement only, not the birth certificate.

Order forms and translations

California requires a notarized sworn statement with a mail order for an authorized certified copy. A translator's statement signed before a notary is a notarized document of its own, and New Jersey apostilles a notarized translation attached to a vital record as a separate document, with its own fee. See our apostille and translation guide and our certified translation service.

Born abroad: Consular Reports of Birth Abroad and foreign certificates

If you were born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, your proof of birth may be a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. That is a federal record, handled by the U.S. Department of State, not by any Secretary of State. A birth certificate issued by another country can only be apostilled by that country's own competent authority.

The HCCH's list of U.S. competent authorities names the Department of State's Passport Services Vital Records Section for Consular Reports of Birth. Our Consular Report of Birth Abroad apostille guide explains the federal route. For a certificate from Mexico or Italy, a notarized copy made here does not change who can apostille it.

Mistakes that turn one order into two

Many problems with birth certificate copies start with asking the wrong person to vouch for them. A notary's stamp on a photocopy or a hospital keepsake carries no registrar's original signature, so the apostille office has nothing to certify. These are the mistakes our free review catches before anything is filed.

• Asking a notary to certify a photocopy for use abroad. Florida, Texas, California and New York notaries may not, and Massachusetts will not authenticate the result.
• Skipping the notarization in New Hampshire, where the apostille office wants the original, notarized copy.
• Notarizing a copy of an FBI check or a naturalization certificate. A notarized copy of an FBI background check, a naturalization certificate, a DD-214, an IRS or Social Security letter or a USCIS notice cannot be apostilled. Those records take the federal route only.
• Assuming a fixed shelf life. An apostille does not expire, but the receiving office may want a recently issued copy, so confirm with the consulate, court or lawyer.

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