COMMEMORATIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE

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The State of Maryland offers a specially designed Commemorative Birth Certificate for any person born in Maryland.  This legal document is a unique keepsake that can be used to celebrate a birth or honor a life.  The Certificate is prepared on heirloom-quality paper and features hand calligraphy, an embossed official seal, the signature of Governor Martin O’Malley, a quotation from Maryland poet Sister Maura Eichner and a colorful border that includes two Maryland symbols—the Blacked Eyed Susan and the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly.

State law requires that a birth certificate be issued only to the person named on the record, a parent, legal guardian, or an authorized representative having a notarized letter of authorization from any of the individuals named above.

To apply for a Commemorative Birth Certificate, you must present a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID displaying a date issued and an expiration date.  Applicants unable to supply valid photo ID must present two (2) different items of alternative documentation.  Acceptable alternative documents include a pay stub, current car registration, bank statement, letter from a government agency, lease/rental agreement, utility bill with current address, or copy of an income tax return or W-2 form.  At least one of these documents must contain the applicant’s current mailing address.

The fee for each Commemorative Birth Certificate is $30.00, of which $15.00 is tax deductible.  If the requested birth certificate cannot be found, $18.00 will be refunded along with a Certificate of No Record; a $12.00 search fee must be retained as required by Maryland Law. 

If you wish to order a Commemorative Birth Certificate by mail, please send a completed application, photocopy of required identification, and the required fee (check or money order) payable to the Division of Vital Records to:

Division of Vital Records
Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
6550 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, Maryland  21215

A portion of the funds collected from the sale of each Commemorative Birth Certificate will be paid into the Children’s Trust Fund to provide funding for the Child Abuse and Neglect Centers of Excellence Initiative.  This initiative supports programs and activities for the education, prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.  For more information on the Children’s Trust Fund or the Child Abuse and Neglect Centers of Excellence Initiative, please contact Christine Evans at the Department’s Center for Maternal and Child Health at clevans@dhmh.state.md.us.