Are Birth Records Public in Vermont?
In Vermont, birth records are treated as public information only after 100 years have passed since the date of birth. For more recent records, access is restricted to individuals with a direct and tangible interest in the record. The Vermont Vital Records Act, Public Records Act, and Privacy Act, govern the dissemination of birth records in the state to protect individual privacy while allowing access for legitimate purposes.
What are Birth Records in Vermont?
Birth records in Vermont are vital records created to provide details of births that occurred in the state. A Vermont birth record starts with a report of birth filed by the midwife or physician attending the birth. This report must be filed with the State Registrar located in the Office of Vital Records of the Vermont Department of Health within five business days of the birth.
The information contained in a Vermont birth certificate includes the following details about the child/registrant:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Type of birth
- Gender
The birth certificate also contains a birth registration number and the date the birth was registered in addition to the following information about the parents of the registrant:
- Father’s full name
- Mother’s full name including maiden name
- Mother’s marital status
For home births and other types of births conducted without the help of medical professionals, new parents should contact the Vermont Vital Records Office by calling (802) 863-7275 or the Vermont toll-free number (800) 439-5008. This step is important in order to register the births and qualify to receive birth certificates.
Birth certificates are important for a number of personal, legal, and administrative reasons. In addition to providing proof that an individual was born in Vermont, a state-issued birth certificate can also be used to establish nationality. This is necessary to enjoy citizenship benefits. Many state and federal agencies require birth certificates to issue passports, driver’s licenses, and social security numbers. Insurance companies may also require them to claim certain benefits just as courts may require them when resolving guardianship and estate issues.
Vermont needs to record every birth that occurs within its borders in order to keep track of the age distribution of its residents and other population trends. These are needed when allocating state resources and when formulating health policies. Social and medical scientists also use data collected from birth records for epidemiological and socioeconomic studies.
How to Find and Request Birth Records Online in Vermont
Vermont provides two means of looking up birth records online. The first is via third-party vital record search partners. These partners have dedicated portals accessible from the Vital Records section of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration website. Vermont birth records available from these third-party services are those prepared between 1760 and 2008. The two partners used to deliver these records do not charge users to look up birth records and make copies. Note that these copies are not certified and, therefore, cannot be used for legal or identification purposes. They also would not have corrections made to birth records after 2008.
It is also possible to find birth records online through the Vermont Records Request Service, a searchable index of Birth and Death Records provided by the state’s Department of Health. Available records include birth certificates prepared from 1909 to present. Use the Birth Search tool to access the index of birth records. The index is updated weekly. The last name of the registrant as well as their gender and the year of birth must be provided when searching for a birth record.
It is also possible to order certified copies of birth certificates from the Vermont Records Request Service. To do so, complete the Vital Records ordering webform provided on the website and submit it after providing a shipping address and paying the required fees.
Considered open to citizens of the United States, public records are available through both traditional, government sources, and through third-party websites and organizations. In many cases, third-party websites make the search easier as they are not limited geographically or by technological limitations. They are considered a good place to start when looking for a specific record or multiple records. In order to gain access to these records, interested parties must typically provide:
- The name of the person listed in the record. Juveniles are typically exempt from this search method.
- The last known or assumed location of the person listed in the record. This includes cities, counties, and states.
While third-party sites offer such services, they are not government-sponsored entities, and record availability may vary on these sites when compared to government sources.
How to Get Birth Records in Vermont
In addition to ordering a birth certificate online, Vermont also provides the options to order it in person and by mail. Both options require the requestor to complete and submit an Application for Certified Copy of Vermont Birth or Death Certificate. Note that, besides the registrant or person named on the certificate, only the following individuals can request a certified birth record in Vermont:
- Spouse
- Siblings
- Children
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Legal guardians
- Legal representative
- Court-appointed executor
These parties must include proofs of their relationship to the registrant when requesting certified birth certificates in Vermont. Certified birth records are also available to anyone with a court order, the Social Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
After completing the form, the requester must also provide proof of identity as listed on the form. This must be a valid government-issued photo ID. Requesters who are homeless must also complete and submit the Affidavit of Homeless Status form along with the other requested documents.
To request certified copies of a Vermont birth certificate in person, visit any Vermont Town Clerk Office or the Vital Records Office located at:
108 Cherry Street
Burlington, VT
The Cherry Street office opens to the public from Monday to Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. except on public holidays.
Note that in-person requests for birth records have been suspended indefinitely in Vermont. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic and done to safeguard public health. Requesters can still request these vital records by mail.
To submit a mail request for certified copies of a Vermont birth certificate, send a completed Application for Certified Copy of Vermont Birth or Death Certificate and an Affidavit of Homeless Status form, if needed. Enclose a check or money order for the copies ordered as well as a photocopy of acceptable ID and a self-addressed envelope. Mail this request to:
Vermont Department of Health
Vital Records
P.O. Box 70
Burlington, VT 05402
Where Can I Find Birth Records in Vermont?
Vermont birth records are available from the Office of Vital Records of the Vermont Department of Health. This office can provide certified copies of Vermont birth certificates dated January 1, 1909 to the present. Certified birth records are also available from the various town clerks in the counties of Vermont. Requesters that choose this source can find the contact information of the clerk’s offices in the towns where the births recorded occurred.
How to Get Birth Records From Hospitals in Vermont
Hospitals in the State of Vermont do not provide birth records to the general public. Parents of newborns cannot request birth records from these health facilities. Similarly, those looking for their birth records cannot find them at these places. The birth records generated at Vermont hospitals are reports of births. These are filed with the state’s Vital Records Office.
How Long Do Hospitals Keep Birth Records in Vermont?
Vermont statutes require hospitals to maintain medical records, including birth records, for at least 6 years. However, while the 6-year minimum retention period is mandated by state law, some hospitals may choose to keep records for longer.
Can Anyone Get a Copy of a Birth Certificate in Vermont?
Yes. Vermont is an open records state and anyone can get copies of its vital records including the certificate of any birth recorded in the state. To obtain a copy of a birth certificate in the state, check the index of Birth and Death Records provided by the Vermont Records Request Service. Interested parties can print copies of birth records found in this index.
For Vermont birth certificates prepared prior to 1909, visit the website of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration and check its Vital Records section. This service partners with third-party vital records providers to provide printable copies of Vermont birth records dating back to 1760.
Note that birth certificates obtained via both sources are not certified copies. Only the Vermont Vital Records Office and Town Clerks’ Offices provide certified copies of birth certificates. These certified copies are not available to the general public. Only the registrants named on those records and certain eligible individuals can obtain copies of certified Vermont birth certificates.
How Much Does a Birth Certificate Cost in Vermont?
The Vermont Department of Health charges $10 for each certified copy of a birth certificate. This fee is the same whether ordering the certificate in person or by mail. The state’s Vital Records Office accepts checks and money orders for this fee.
Online orders for Vermont birth certificates placed through the Vermont Records Request Service cost more. The Vermont Department of Health charges $12 for each certified copy of a birth certificate ordered via this online platform. This fee includes charges for searching for the requested record and the online service. The Vital Records Office also offers faster expedited shipping for online requests and charges additional fees for it. A requester opting for this service must pay an additional $14.50 fee. Only credit/debit cards are accepted for payment for birth certificates ordered online.
Plain copies of birth certificates found and printed from the websites of the Vermont Records Request Service and third-party partners of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration are free.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Birth Certificate in Vermont?
Walk-in requests for Vermont birth certificates are processed fastest. When requesting these vital records in person, interested parties can expect to receive certified copies of birth certificates on the same day. How long it takes to receive a birth certificate ordered online or by mail depends on the shipping speed selected. Typically, it takes 5 to 7 business days to process a mail or online request for a birth certificate. It may take another week to deliver certified copies from a successfully processed order when shipped by standard US mail. Out-of-state requesters should expect longer delivery times. Expedited orders ship much faster. A requester selecting expedited delivery can expect overnight shipping of certified copies of a birth certificate after their order has been successfully processed.
How to Expunge Your Birth Records in Vermont
In law, expungement describes the process of deleting or permanently removing all or parts of a record. This usually applies to criminal records and is most often used to sanitize the criminal records of juveniles. Expungement does not apply to birth records. Vermont also does not make provisions for expunging these vital records. While it is possible to amend a Vermont birth certificate, this is mostly done to correct misspelled names or wrong dates and addresses.
Vermont allows parents to correct wrong information on their children’s birth certificates by submitting the Application to Correct or Amend a Vermont Birth Certificate. This must be done no later than six months after a birth. Vermont readies a birth certificate and notifies the parent within 3 months of a birth. Therefore, they have another 3 months to find and report errors in this document.
To amend a birth certificate after six months, the parents or registrant must obtain a court decree to effect the needed changes.
How to Seal Your Birth Records in Vermont
Sealing records removes it from public access and makes it confidential. Vermont is an open records state that makes no provisions for sealing birth records. The only confidential/sealed birth records in Vermont are the original certificates of adoptees. These are sealed along with their adoption records while the state issues them new birth certificates that does not mention that they are adopted. Adoptees and adoptive parents do not need to take additional steps to seal these original certificates.
How to Unseal Your Birth Records in Vermont
In Vermont, sealed birth records are usually adoptees’ original birth certificates. These are only available to birth parents and adoptees born in Vermont and legally entitled to receive identifying information in their adoption records. Adoptees must be 18 years or older before they can request for their original birth certificates. To unseal their birth records, Vermont requires adoptees to obtain court orders authorizing such or approval letters from the Vermont Adoption Registry.
For the correct procedures needed to petition a court for an order to unseal their original birth certificate, the adoptee can contact the Adoption Registry by visiting, calling, or sending an email to its office.
Vermont Adoption Registry
280 State Drive
Waterbury, VT 05671-1030
Phone: (802) 241-0906
Note that the original birth certificates of adoptees born in Vermont become automatically unsealed after 99 years following their dates of birth. At this point, they become public records like regular birth certificates issued in Vermont and are accessible to anyone requesting them.
