Who can get a copy of a birth certificate?
Can a grandparent get a copy of their grandchild's birth certificate?
I need a parent's/grandparent's birth or death certificate to apply for foreign citizenship. How do I get a court order to obtain those records?
Answer
- Birth certificates are not public information and can generally only be issued to the person named on the certificate, or one of the parents named on the certificate (see 10 NYCRRR 35.2 and Public Health Law 4173).
- Requests for birth certificates for anyone born in the five boroughs (Bronx, Kings [Brooklyn], New York [Manhattan], Queens, Richmond [Staten Island]) are processed by the New York City Department of Health, as outlined here.
- Requests for birth certificates for anyone born outside the five boroughs are processed by the New York State Department of Health, as outlined here.
- If you need a certified copy of a birth certificate, and your relationship to the person named on the birth certificate means you have to get a court order to access it, you can file an Article 78 proceeding, also known as a special proceeding, in Supreme Court.
- There is more information about how to file a special proceeding, as well as blank forms you can use, here (see the section headed "Special Proceedings."
- You can see examples of these kinds of proceedings in Supreme Court on the state efiling website. See the attached document for instructions on how to search for three examples filed in Broome County:
- EFCA2023000136
- EFCA2023000472
- EFCA2023001718
- The State Department of Health will also provide genealogical (uncertified) copies of birth certificates for people born outside New York City for genealogical purposes. There is information about how to do that here. Note that if you need a birth certificate as part of a foreign citizenship application, it must be certified.
- The NYC Department of Health will also issue birth certificates to a broader range of family requestors if the person named on the birth certificate is dead. You must prove your family relationship to the person and provide either a certified copy of the death certificate (for someone who died outside NYC) or the death certificate number (for someone who died inside NYC).
- You can request pre-1910 NYC birth certificates from the NYC Records and Information Services Municipal Archives.