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Information Needed to Order a Vital Record

To order vital records, the following information is requested.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

For Birth Records:

  • *Full name on birth record - first, middle, and last
  • *Date of birth
  • *Place of birth - city and/or county
  • *Father's full name - first, middle, and last
  • *Mother's full maiden name - first, middle, and last
  • *Your relationship to the person named on the record, unless it is for yourself
  • *Your reason for ordering the record
  • Your *name, *mailing address, and daytime telephone number (or email) as the applicant
  • *Your signature on the application, if ordering by mail
  • *Copies of legal documents, if needed, to prove legal guardianship or authority from power of attorney. If you are not an immediate family member, send a permission note with a notarized signature of an eligible immediate family member.
  • *Photocopy of a valid driver's license or official ID for the applicant ordering the birth record. If you do not have an ID, please see the list of alternative acceptable documents.

For Death Records:

  • *Full name of person listed on the record
  • Spouse or Domestic Partner's name (if applicable)
  • *Date of death or time period to search (a five year search may be requested for the basic record fee)
  • Place of death
  • Date of birth of the decedent may be helpful if the date or place of death is unknown
  • *Your name and relationship to the person on the record, or your reason for needing the record
  • Your *name, *mailing address, and daytime phone number (or email) as the applicant
  • *Your signature on the application, if ordering by mail
  • *Copies of legal documents, if needed, to prove you have authority from power of attorney. If you are not not eligible to order the record, send a permission note with a notarized signature of an eligible immediate family member.
  • *Photocopy of a valid driver's license or official ID for the applicant ordering the death record. If you do not have an ID, please see the list of alternative acceptable documents.
Note: Non certified copies of death records more than 50 years old are available from the Oregon State Archives, 800 Summer Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97310 (503-373-0701) for a small fee. You may review the records at the library.

If the death record you need is for a recent event (two to four weeks), it may not yet be available from our office. You may need to order it from the local county vital records office if you need it urgently. If you place an order with our office, the order will be held until the record is received and the certificate can be issued.

For Marriage, Divorce, Domestic Partnership or Dissolution of Domestic Partnership Records:

  • *Full name of person listed on the record
  • Spouse or Domestic Partner's Name (if applicable)
  • *Date the record was filed, or time period to search (a five year search may be requested for the basic record fee)
  • County that issued marriage license, filed domestic partnership, or granted divorce or dissolution 
  • *Your name and relationship to the person on the record, or your reason for needing the record
  • Your *name, *mailing address, and daytime phone number (or email) as the applicant
  • *Your signature on the application, if ordering by mail
  • *Copies of legal documents, if needed, to prove you have authority from power of attorney. If you are not eligible to order the record, send a permission note with a notarized signature of an eligible immediate family member.
  • *Photocopy of a valid driver's license or official ID for the applicant ordering the birth record. If you do not have an ID, please see the list of alternative acceptable documents.

Note: If the marriage, divorce, certificate of domestic partnership, or dissolution of domestic partnership you need is for a recent event (six to eight weeks), it may not yet be available from our office. You may need to order the marriage or domestic partnership record from the local county clerk's office, or the divorce or dissolution of domestic partnership decree from the county court that granted it. If you place an order with our office, the order will be held until the record is received and the certificate can be issued.

Marriage records, including some records prior to 1906, may be requested from the county marriage office which issued the license. A few county marriage offices have sent their oldest marriage records to the Oregon State Archives.

Divorce decrees, both certified and uncertified, are available from the county court that granted the divorce. The State Vital Records office issues a summary document called a divorce certificate. A divorce certificate does not have all the information contained in the decree but may be used as proof of divorce. In some cases, courts approve divorce orders but the certificates are not completed or filed. If you order a missing divorce certificate, issuance will be delayed until court staff create the certificate and file it.

Acceptable Proofs of Identity

IMPORTANT: Expired documents are not acceptable.

Any ONE of the following documents are acceptable:

  1. Current, valid driver's license, permit, or ID card.
  2. Current, valid passport or passport card with photo.
  3. Tribal Membership or ID card with photo and address (without photo accepted as one of three pieces of ID).
  4. US Armed Services ID Card with photo.
  5. Current student body card with name and photo (high school students only).
  6. Consulate Card (Matrícula Consular) with photo and address.
  7. Citizen ID with photo.
  8. Permanent Resident Card with photo.
  9. State or federal government ID badge with photo.

OR...

Any THREE of the following documents, as long as one shows your current address:

  1. Selective Service Card or military discharge paper (must be original).
  2. US Immigration or naturalization papers.
  3. Concealed weapon permit with photo.
  4. Official papers issued by courts of record which include date of birth.
  5. Official corrections department or parole papers showing date of birth and full name.
  6. Vehicle registration or title.
  7. Personalized check or savings account passbook.
  8. Monthly banking or mortgage account statement (Document must be no more than 30 days old.)\
  9. Pistol or firearms permit.
  10. State hunting or fishing license.
  11. Recent utility or other bill with current address (Document must be no more than 30 days old.)
  12. Recent paycheck stub or paycheck (official company type only). (Document must be no more than 30 days old.)
  13. Company identification card.
  14. Voter registration card issued by a county elections department.
  15. Valid food stamp, welfare, or unemployment identification.
  16. Medical or hospital insurance card.
  17. Tax statements – W-2 forms, etc.
  18. Auto insurance policy.
  19. Union membership card.
  20. Rental Agreement that displays the rental property header/logo, is the current property of residence, is signed by the property manager, and shows that ID verification has taken place.

If there are differences between information provided and information on the record, or questions about the validity of any document, staff are authorized to request additional information or documents.

A printable version of the identifying documents list is available in both English and Spanish.