Certified Vital Records

As long as the vital event occurred within the State of NH, you may request a vital record from any town or city clerk in the State of NH. However, please contact the town or city clerk for their vital record request procedures. Every town/city fulfills vital record requests differently due to current staffing and availability issues. Please refer to the following links on this page to request a vital records search via mail, drop box or online. Legal counsel and funeral directors, please see specific requirements for your vital records requests in the Legal Counsel and/or Funeral Director Requests section.

Please allow 2 to 5 business days to process all vital record requests. The town clerk or deputy town clerk will contact you when your vital records are ready for pick-up, if that option is chosen when ordering. The Vital Records Request Printable Form (PDF) is available for printing and submission by mail or drop box, or, you may request a vital record search through the online payment portal: Vital Records Request Online.

Vital Records Requirements & Limitations

You must be a member of the immediate family (no cousins or in-laws) or have a direct and tangible interest in the record (i.e. probate lawyer, funeral director). Legal counsel and funeral directors, please see specific requirements for your vital records requests in the Legal Counsel and/or Funeral Director Requests section.

The cost of the certified copy is $15 for the first copy and $10 for any subsequent copies ordered at the same time for the same person and vital event. All vital records are originals with a raised seal and signature printed on State of New Hampshire archival paper.

You will need to give the name(s) of the registrant(s) and approximate date of the event. You must state your relationship or your interest in the record at the time of request. NH State Law requires identification when requesting a certified record or search. You will need to send a copy of your picture identification (ID) when requesting a record by mail, drop box, online request or show picture ID when you come in person.

Legal Counsel & / or Funeral Directors Requests

Do not use the form cited previously. Please submit your request on company letterhead denoting your legal standing, relationship to the registrant/decedent, and reason for the request. Further, please provide a copy of your license to practice law (for legal counsel, only), your driver's license, payment and self-addressed stamped envelope.

Searching & Records on File

The only vital records on file in a NH-based city or town are the records of those events that occurred within the State of New Hampshire. Due to our close proximity to the State of Massachusetts, someone residing in Salem, NH, may not necessarily have any vital records recorded within the State of NH. If you are not sure exactly where the event took place, you may contact the State of NH Bureau of Vital Records at:
6 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301

They have the records for the entire State of NH. Their phone number is 603-271-4650 and they can accommodate your request using any major credit card. All vital records searches are fee-based.

In Salem, NH, we are able to search for birth records for the entire state from 1935 until present (except 1949 and 1950), death records from 1965 until present, marriage records from 1960 until present and divorce records 1979, to within 6 months from the present search date, through our VRV2000 program. Any vital record searches prior to these years must be done in the exact NH-based city or town in which the vital event occurred. Please note that marriage records are physically retained where the couple applied for and obtained their license. Again, all vital records searches are fee-based; we cannot arbitrarily "just look up" the vital event.

Corrections

Any errors discovered on a Vital Record must be corrected at the original NH-based city or town in which the vital event occurred and was recorded. Supporting documentation is required to make any corrections on a vital record such as a:

  • Birth certificate
  • Baptismal certificate
  • Passport
  • Driver's license
  • Social Security card
  • Other vital records
  • Notarized personal account(s)
  • Other certified documents

Most times, two separate types of supporting documentation are required for each item on the vital record for a requested change. Vital record corrections cost $10 at the time of correction filing.