Birth Certificates

The Birth and Death Records Division of the County Clerk's office maintains the
birth certificates for cities in Wayne County excluding Detroit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deaths taking place within the City Limits of Detroit are recorded by:
City of Detroit Health Dept. » ::

Births taking place within the City Limits of Detroit are recorded by the City of Detroit Health Department

Birth certificates are not public records and may only be requested by the individual of the record, a parent who is named on the record, or a legal guardian/representative.

Certified copies of birth certificates may be obtained by coming into the office
or by writing to our office only. If you are mailing in a request it must include the following information:

All requests must be written in letter form and must include the signature and return address of the individual requesting the record. Please note that valid identification is required [driver's license or State I.D. card]. If no such identification is available, two pieces of other I.D. that require a signature may be used [i.e. social security card, voters registration card, passport, school id, and work id]. Identification must be presented at the time of a request. If you are sending a request by mail, a photocopy of your identification must be included.

Home births may be recorded in our office within one year of the birth only if it occurred in a city in Wayne County that does not have its own city clerk's office. [i.e. Flat Rock, Redford, Highland Park] Otherwise, if a home birth occurred in a city that does have its own city clerk's office [i.e. Dearborn, Grosse Pointe, Wayne], it must be recorded in that office.

Forms for Acknowledgement of Paternity may be obtained by coming into the office. These forms are used to add the father's name to the birth certificate and/or change the child's name to the father's name.

The fees for obtaining copies of birth certificates are $22.00 for a certified copy and $7.00 for additional certified copies of the same record. They are made payable to Wayne County Clerk by money order, cashier's check, or certified check [by mail] and by cash [in person].

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