The DC Department of Health (DOH) announced today, that beginning April 5, 2010, its Vital Records Division will no longer issue Computerized Short Form Birth Certificates. Vital Records will continue to offer Certified Long Form Birth Certificate copies for the same price of $23.00. The Computerized Short Form Birth Certificate cannot be used for most legal purposes, and is no longer considered an acceptable proof of identification to obtain a passport, driver’s license, school enrollment, and for court proceedings. In addition, issues and concerns regarding identity theft, and homeland security have also contributed to the implementation of Vital Record’s new policy.

In order to obtain a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate, patrons born in the District of Columbia can visit the Vital Records Division located at 825 North Capitol Street, NE, 1st Floor from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, Monday-Friday. Residents are welcome to visit during business hours to complete the Long Form Birth Certificate application form, and will be required to provide appropriate supporting documentation to obtain birth certificates.

Obtaining a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate may also be done by mailing in requests to the Vital Records Division.  For further instructions visit www.doh.dc.gov to download and complete the application form for a Certified Long Form Birth Certificate. Applications should be mailed with a stamped, self addressed envelope, along with the appropriate payment and a non-expired government ID.

Online requests can be processed through our VitalChek service and can be reached at 1 (877) 572-6332 or through the VitalChek’s website at www.vitalchek.com.

Persons that are legally entitled to obtain a birth certificate are the registrant, immediate nuclear family member, and a legal guardian or a legal representative. A valid and current government issued picture ID is required, and there may be other support documentation requested to enable receipt of a birth certificate.

For walk-in requests, cash, checks, money orders, Visa and Master Card are accepted for payment. For mail-in requests, acceptable forms of payment are checks and money orders and should be made payable to the DC Treasurer.

For more information or questions, please contact the Vital Records Division at (202) 442-9303.