Skip To Main Content

North Carolina Vital Records

Expedited mail service has been temporarily suspended as of 1/10/2022. If your expedited order was postmarked prior to the suspension, it will be processed as an expedited order.

Walk-in (in-person) certificate service is available by appointment only. To make an appointment with the state office for expedited regular certificate purchase walk-in (in-person) services, please use the NC Vital Records Appointments calendar or call 919-733-3000, Option 3. Expedited processing fees ($15) apply in addition to the fees assessed for the service you are requesting.

  • Important: At this time, the NCOVR is not accepting appointments for: adoptions, paternities (including affidavits of parentage / AOPs), legitimations, court-ordered name changes, or delayed registration of birth.
  • The appointments calendar provides scheduling for a rolling 30-day period. Appointments become available beginning at midnight, if/when the following day of the next month is a business day. If no appointments are currently available, please check back, as more appointments should become available later in the month.

Before scheduling an appointment or placing your certificate order, we strongly recommend you check the processing dates page for estimated processing and shipping dates to determine if estimated timeframes would meet your needs. If not, you may want to consider ordering a birth, death or marriage certificate from the Register of Deeds in the county where the event occurred. Divorce certificates may also be obtained from theĀ clerk of court in the county where the divorce is filed.

NC Vital Records is part of the NCDHHS, Division of Public Health, and is located in Raleigh. In partnership with county registers of deeds offices, local health departments, and birthing facilities throughout the state, we are responsible for recording North Carolina vital events. This includes responsibility for:

  • legally registering all births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and divorces which occur in North Carolina
  • coding vital events for statistical purposes
  • maintaining vital records
  • and providing certified or uncertified copies to individuals, researchers, and public health programs.

Learn More

Walk-in (in-person) service is available by appointment only. Scheduling details are available on the full Contacts page.

Mailing Address

North Carolina Vital Records
1903 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1900

Physical Address

Cooper Memorial Health Building
225 N. McDowell St.
Raleigh, NC 27603-1382

Hours, Phone and Fax

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m., except for state holidays
Phone: (919) 733-3000
Fax: (919) 733-1511

Last Modified: March 17, 2023