Vital Records and Certificates
- Minnesota Vital Records and Certificates
- Available Records and Services
- Who Can Order Records
- Stillbirth Records
- Verify a Death (1997 – present)
- Directory of County Offices
Change a Vital Record
Adoption and Parentage
- Birth Records and Adoption
- Birth Records and Parentage
- Vital Records for Child Support
- Minnesota Fathers’ Adoption Registry
County Vital Records Offices
Birth and Death Registration
- Birth Registration for Hospitals
- Death Registration for Funeral Directors
- Provide Cause of Death
- Birth and Death Registration for Families
Office of Vital Records
Who Can Order Records
Minnesota law specifies who may obtain birth and death records. If a birth record is public (see details below), anyone may buy a noncertified (informational only) birth record. All Minnesota death records are public, so anyone may buy a noncertified (informational only) death record.
Birth and death certificates
Birth and death certificates are certified, legal documents issued from a birth or death record. A requester is eligible to receive a certificate based on the data classification of the record and the requestor’s relationship to the subject of the record.
All certificate requesters must provide identification and sign the request form in front of a notary public or county vital records staff, attesting to their eligibility to receive the certificate. Some eligible requesters must also provide additional documentation. A person seeking a certificate who doesn’t have acceptable ID may ask a witness to complete the Statement to Identify (PDF) form to swear to the requester’s identity.
It’s illegal to give false information to obtain a vital record; it may subject you to fines, jail time, or both.
| Eligible requester of public birth and death certificates | Additional documentation required |
|---|---|
| Subject of the record (birth certificates) | None |
| Child of the subject | None |
| Current spouse of the subject (birth certificates) | None |
| Spouse on the record (death certificates) | None |
| Parent named on the record (birth certificates) | None |
| Parent of the subject (death certificates) | None |
| Grandparent or grandchild of the subject | None |
| Sibling of the subject (death certificates) | None |
| Great grandparent or great grandchild of the subject (birth certificates) | None |
| Legal custodian, guardian, or conservator of the subject (birth certificates) | Certified copy of court order naming requester as the subject’s legal custodian, guardian, or conservator |
| Health care agent of the subject (birth certificates) | Valid health care power of attorney document |
| Personal representative of the subject’s estate | None |
| Successor of the subject, if the subject is deceased | None |
| Trustee of a trust (death certificates) | None |
| Person/entity demonstrating that the certificate is needed for the determination or protection of a personal or property right | Documentation of the requester’s claim that states a certified vital record is required. |
| Adoption agency – for post-adoption searches required by law | Employee ID |
| Attorney representing an eligible requester | Minnesota attorney license number, or, for non-Minnesota attorneys, a copy of their license |
| Representative of a local, state, tribal or federal governmental agency, if the certified vital record is necessary for the governmental agency to perform its authorized duties | Employee ID |
| Person with a court order directing release of the certificate | Copy of court order (not a subpoena) |
| Authorized representative of any eligible requester | A signed statement from the eligible requester that:
|
| Representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs (death certificates) | None |
Public and confidential birth records
The birth records of children born to married parents are public, but the birth records of children born to unmarried parents are confidential unless the birth parent chooses to make them public at the time of birth. Birth certificates and informational noncertified copies issued from confidential birth records are only available to certain people or under certain conditions under Minnesota law.
| Eligible requesters of confidential birth records | Additional documentation required |
|---|---|
| A parent named on the subject’s record | None |
| The legal custodian, guardian, or conservator of the subject | Copy of court order naming requester as the subject’s legal custodian, guardian, or conservator |
| The subject of the record, when 16 years or older | None |
| Person with a court order directing release of the record | Copy of court order (not a subpoena) |
| Representatives of Minnesota programs that administer child support, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, and services under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.23; Minnesota Statutes, chapter 260E; and, tribal child support programs, Minnesota Statutes, section 144.225, subdivision 2, paragraph (f) | Employee ID |