Access Duval County Birth Records

Duval County birth records are managed by the Florida Department of Health office in Jacksonville. As the most populous city in Florida, Jacksonville and Duval County share a consolidated government, which means the county health department serves all residents in the area. The office provides certified birth certificates for any birth that happened in Florida. You can order in person at the University Boulevard location, by mail, by email, or online through VitalChek. Birth certificates are often needed for identification, proof of citizenship, and other legal purposes.

Duval County Birth Certificate Office

The DOH-Duval Vital Statistics office is at 3225 University Blvd. S., Suite 100, Jacksonville, FL 32216. This is where you go for in-person birth certificate requests. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it closes from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch. Plan your visit around that half-hour break so you don't show up to a closed window. Call 904-253-1620 if you have questions before you go.

Duval County offers something many other Florida counties don't. You can submit birth certificate requests by email. Send your completed form, a copy of your ID, and payment info to DuvalVitalStatisticsInfo@FLhealth.gov. This is a real convenience for Duval County residents who don't want to drive across Jacksonville but also don't want to wait for mail. The office processes email requests in the order they come in, so turnaround times vary based on volume.

The Duval County Health Department birth certificates page spells out all the details for each ordering method.

All requests must include a copy of valid identification and a completed request form, as this page explains for Duval County birth records.

How to Order Duval County Birth Records

The Duval County Health Department offers three ways to get a copy of a birth certificate: in-person, email, and mail. Each method works. The difference is speed. In-person is fastest. Email is in the middle. Mail takes the longest. All three give you the same certified copy that is good for legal and official use.

For in-person requests at the Duval County office, bring your valid photo ID and head to the University Boulevard location. Fill out the form, pay the $15 fee for the first copy and $10 for each additional copy of the same record. The staff will search the system and print your certificate. Most walk-in requests are done within an hour or two, depending on how many people are ahead of you. Duval County is a big place, so the office can get busy, especially around lunch and in the mid-afternoon.

The Duval County certificates portal has the application forms you need for all vital records requests.

Download the birth certificate application from this page before your visit to save time at the Duval County office.

Mail requests go to 921 N. Davis St. Building A., Suite 251, MC-21, Jacksonville, FL 32209. This is a different address from the walk-in office, so make sure you use the right one. Include the completed form, a copy of your ID, and a check or money order for $15 payable to DOH-Duval. Mail orders for Duval County birth records typically take two to four weeks to come back.

Online orders go through VitalChek. This is the only online vendor the state approves. There is a service fee on top of the state fee. Standard delivery takes about a week. Rush options are available. Under Florida Statute 382.013, all Florida births are registered statewide, so VitalChek can access any record regardless of which county the birth occurred in.

Duval County Birth Record Fees

Duval County charges $15 for the first certified copy of a birth certificate. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time costs $10. This is a better deal than some Florida counties where the additional copy fee is higher. Fees are established under Florida Statute 382.0255. If you plan to need more than one copy, it makes sense to order them all at once from the Duval County office.

Accepted payment methods at the walk-in office include cash, checks, and money orders. Mail requests need a check or money order only. VitalChek takes credit and debit cards but adds a service charge. The total through VitalChek is higher, but the convenience of ordering from home makes it worth it for many Duval County residents.

Note: Fees can change, so call 904-253-1620 to confirm current pricing before sending a mail request to Duval County.

Eligibility for Duval County Birth Certificates

Not everyone can get a certified copy of a birth certificate from Duval County. Florida law is clear on this. Under Florida Statute 382.025, birth records are confidential. You must prove both your identity and your right to the record. The Duval County Health Department checks every request before issuing a certified copy.

People who can get a certified copy of a Duval County birth record include the registrant (the person on the certificate) if they are 18 or older, either parent listed on the record, a legal guardian, a spouse, an adult child, or an attorney for any of these people. You need to show valid photo ID and, in some cases, documentation that proves your relationship to the person on the record. If you don't qualify, an informational copy may be available. It has the same data but is not valid for legal use.

If you need to correct something on a Duval County birth certificate, the Florida DOH amendments page explains the process. Some changes are simple. Others require a court order under Florida Statute 382.016. Fraud involving birth certificates is punished under Florida Statute 382.026.

Cities in Duval County

Duval County and Jacksonville operate under a consolidated city-county government. This means most of the county is part of the City of Jacksonville. All Duval County residents use the same health department office for birth certificate requests, regardless of which neighborhood or community they live in.

The beaches communities of Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach are separate municipalities within Duval County but still use the same DOH-Duval office for birth records.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Duval County. Since any Florida county health department can issue a birth certificate for a birth anywhere in the state, residents near county lines have flexibility in which office they use.