Find Arkansas Birth Records
Arkansas birth records have been kept by the state since February 1, 1914, when the Arkansas Department of Health first required all births to be reported. You can request a certified copy of a birth certificate in person at a local health unit, online through VitalChek, or by mail. The state also holds birth records for Little Rock and Fort Smith going back to 1881. This guide covers where the records are kept, who can get them, how to order a copy, and how to search for older records that predate the statewide system.
Arkansas Birth Records at a Glance
Where Arkansas Birth Records Are Kept
The Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, is the main office for birth certificates in the state. Their office sits at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. You can reach them by phone at (501) 661-2174 or by email at adh.VitalRecords@arkansas.gov. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Same-day service is available for in-person requests if you arrive before 3:00 PM. The full list of services, forms, and ordering instructions is on the Arkansas Department of Health vital records page.
Since 2018, Arkansas expanded access so that all 75 county health units can issue certified birth certificates. You no longer have to make the trip to Little Rock. If you live in a rural county, your local health office can process the request on the spot. The county units use the same state database and can pull records for births that happened anywhere in Arkansas, not just in their own county. This has made the whole process much more convenient for people outside the capital area.
The CDC publishes a federal guide to requesting vital records from every state. The CDC Where to Write for Vital Records page for Arkansas lists the official mailing address, current fees, and the types of certificates available. It is a good reference to check before you send a mail request, since details sometimes change.
The CDC guide confirms the state office address and spells out what you need to include in a mail request for an Arkansas birth certificate.
Note: County health units can issue birth certificates for any birth registered in Arkansas, regardless of which county the birth occurred in.
How to Get an Arkansas Birth Certificate
There are four ways to request a birth certificate in Arkansas. In person is the fastest. Go to the Division of Vital Records in Little Rock or any county health unit. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID. The clerk will process your request while you wait if you arrive before 3:00 PM at the state office.
Online orders go through VitalChek, the state's authorized online vendor. You fill out a form, pay by card, and VitalChek submits the request to the Department of Health on your behalf. The VitalChek Arkansas vital records page has the full ordering form and shows current processing times and shipping options. Expedited delivery is available if you need the certificate quickly.
VitalChek is the official online channel for ordering Arkansas birth certificates. You can also order by phone through VitalChek at (866) 209-9482 or through Express Vital Records at (877) 899-0273. Both phone services charge a service fee on top of the state copy fee. For mail requests, send a completed application, copies of your ID, and a check or money order to the Division of Vital Records at the Little Rock address. The Department of Health processes mail orders in the order they arrive, so in-person or online is faster when time matters.
What You Need to Apply
Every request for an Arkansas birth certificate requires certain details about the record and proof of who you are. Missing any of this will slow down or reject your request. Have everything ready before you go or before you mail anything in.
For a standard request, you will need to provide:
- Full name on the birth certificate, including middle name if applicable
- Date of birth, including month, day, and year
- Place of birth, meaning the city or county in Arkansas
- Father's full name as listed on the record
- Mother's full name, including maiden name
- Your relationship to the person on the certificate
- A valid, government-issued photo ID for the requester
Acceptable photo ID includes a driver's license, state ID card, U.S. passport, or military identification card. If you don't have a photo ID, two non-photo forms may work, such as a Social Security card paired with a utility bill that shows your name and address. If you are requesting on behalf of someone else, you will also need written authorization from an eligible person along with your own ID. Call the Division of Vital Records at (501) 661-2174 if you have questions about what ID is acceptable for your situation.
Birth Certificate Fees in Arkansas
The Arkansas Department of Health charges $12 for the first copy of a birth certificate. Each additional copy ordered at the same time costs $10. There is a $12 non-refundable search fee that applies to every request. That fee covers the cost of searching for the record. If the record can't be located, you still pay the search fee but receive a certified "not found" letter instead of a certificate.
Payment methods depend on how you order. In-person requests accept cash, check, or money order payable to the Arkansas Department of Health. Mail-in requests require a money order or personal check. Online and phone orders through VitalChek accept credit and debit cards. VitalChek adds a service fee to the state charges. The total cost shows before you confirm, so you can see what you'll pay before submitting.
Three types of certificates are available. The actual copy looks like the original filed document. The certification copy is a formal version suitable for legal use, such as passport applications, name changes, and benefit enrollments. There is also a wallet-size plastic card. All three cost the same. Many agencies specifically ask for the certification copy, so check what format is required before ordering.
Note: The $12 search fee is not refunded even when the record cannot be found, so confirm the birth was registered before submitting your request.
Who Can Request Arkansas Birth Records
Arkansas restricts access to birth records that are less than 100 years old. Under Arkansas Code Annotated Section 20-18-305, only specific people can get a certified copy. The authorized list includes the registrant (the person named on the record), immediate family members, legal guardians, authorized legal representatives, and academic researchers with a documented purpose. You must show your relationship to the person on the record.
Immediate family means parents, siblings, children, and grandparents of the registrant. A spouse can also request. Attorneys requesting records for a client must show proof of that relationship. If you are acting on behalf of an eligible person, you need written authorization from them plus your own ID. The Department of Health reviews each request individually, so having all your documentation in order speeds things up considerably.
Records that are 100 years old or older become fully public. Anyone can request a copy without showing a family connection. Older records are also accessible through resources like FamilySearch's Arkansas vital records index and Ark-Ives, the Arkansas Digital Archives, which holds digitized historical documents from the state archives. These resources are free to search and can help with genealogy work or finding records that predate the statewide system.
Note: Arkansas Code 20-18-105 sets penalties of up to a $10,000 fine or five years in prison for providing false statements to obtain a birth record.
Historical Birth Records in Arkansas
Statewide birth registration in Arkansas began on February 1, 1914. Before that date, there are no official state records for most births. The registration system also took years to become widely used. Rural areas lagged behind, and many births that happened in the 1910s and 1920s were never reported. Full compliance across the state didn't really happen until the mid-1930s. If you're searching for a birth before 1940, especially in a rural county, the record may simply not exist in the state system.
Two Arkansas cities were keeping local birth records long before the state began. Little Rock and Fort Smith both have records going back to 1881. These city records are separate from what the Division of Vital Records holds and predate the statewide registration by more than three decades. Researchers looking for late 1800s and early 1900s births in those cities should look for the local records specifically. Access Genealogy's Arkansas resources page includes indexes for early Fort Smith birth records and links to other pre-statewide sources that are hard to find elsewhere.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society maintains research guides and library resources that can help fill gaps in the pre-1914 record set. Their site at argensoc.org is a solid starting point for family history research in the state.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society offers tools and indexes that cover periods and counties where state vital records are thin or missing entirely.
Delayed birth registrations are also part of the historical picture. Many Arkansans born before or during the early registration era filed for a delayed certificate later in life, often when they needed one for Social Security, military service, or a driver's license. These delayed registrations are on file with the Division of Vital Records and carry the same legal weight as a standard certificate. Call the department to ask whether a delayed registration exists for a specific person.
Adoption and Original Birth Certificates
Adult adoptees in Arkansas have a right to their original birth certificate under state law. An adoptee who is 21 or older can request their original certificate directly from the Division of Vital Records. This right applies to adoptions finalized on or after August 1, 2017. For adoptions finalized before that date, access is more restricted. You may need a court order, or you can use the state's voluntary registry to try to reach a mutual agreement with the birth parent.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services runs the Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry. This registry allows adoptees and birth parents to register their willingness to share identifying information. When both parties register, the state will release the original birth certificate and other identifying records. The registry is open to adult adoptees and birth parents of any age. It is the main path for pre-2017 adoptions where the automatic right to the original certificate does not apply.
Privacy Rules and Birth Record Access
Arkansas birth records fall outside the state's Freedom of Information Act. The Arkansas FOIA covers many government records, but vital records are governed by a separate law, the Vital Statistics Act. That means you cannot use an open records request to get around the 100-year restriction on birth certificates. The access rules under the Vital Statistics Act apply regardless of FOIA.
The Pulaski County Health Department serves residents in the Little Rock area and is one of the busiest local offices for vital records. Their dedicated page at pulaskicountyhealth.com/vitalrecords.html has local walk-in hours, directions, and details on what to bring. For Pulaski County residents, this local office is often faster than the state office even though they are close together geographically.
The Pulaski County Health Department processes more vital records requests than most county units because of its location in Little Rock, close to the state's largest population center.
For a more detailed look at the full process, Arkansas Online published a guide on how to get a birth certificate in Arkansas, including steps for out-of-state requesters. The article is at arkansasonline.com. Court records related to name changes, paternity determinations, and other matters that affect birth certificates are handled separately through the Arkansas court system and are not part of the vital records system.
The Arkansas Online article covers what to do if a record doesn't come up in the initial search and gives practical tips for ordering from out of state.
Browse Arkansas Birth Records by Location
Every Arkansas county has a local health unit where you can request a birth certificate in person. Select a county below to find local contact details, office hours, and resources for birth records in that area. A full directory of county offices is also available through arcounties.org.
Arkansas Birth Records by City
Residents of major Arkansas cities can request birth certificates at a nearby county health unit or through the state office in Little Rock. Select a city below to find out which office serves your area and what resources are available locally.