Certified copies of birth certificates for you and your children are essential for many common activities. They can be used to establish identification and are often required for school enrollment, social welfare programs, and other important activities.

[edit] Steps

Find out the county of your birth. If you already know what county you where born in skip to step 3.
Type the name of the city you (or the child) was born in and the word county into your search engine. This should bring up the name of the county that city is in.
Find the county register by typing 'county register/clerk recorder"
Go to the registrar web page
Search the site for Birth Certificate
Print out a copy of the birth certificate request form
Read the form carefully and fill out completely
Take your identification and get the request notarized
Send to the indicated address with a check or money order for the amount of the fee

[edit] Tips

Some countys are so small that they do not have all the necessary information on their web site. If this happens call them for instructions.
Some countys allow you to order your birth certificate on-line. You will need a valid credit card and will need to fax a notarized request form to the registrar.
You most likely want to get an authorized certified copy, as this is the copy that can be used for identification and official purposes.
Because of concerns with identity theft only certain individuals are permitted to get certified copies. The following are individuals permitted to receive an authorized certified copy:
- The registrant or a parent or legal guardian of the registrant.
- A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
- A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business.
- A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner of the registrant.
- An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate.
- Any agent or employee of a funeral establishment that orders certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of any individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100 of the Health and Safety Code.