Get a Birth Certificate in Alameda County, CA
Fees for this service are set by state statute. Here's what to expect in Alameda County.
This county’s own published figure: the page it is printed on ↗
Note on this county's own page. Alameda County adds a domestic-violence surcharge under H&S § 103627, which is why its figure is higher than the statewide one.
This price is not the county's to choose. H&S § 103625(b)(1) sets the fee at $18, § 103625(f) adds $5 to every certified copy, and Gov. Code § 27365 makes the recorder charge exactly what the registrar charges. § 54985(c)(6) takes both out of the board of supervisors' general power to set county fees. The counter price is higher than the code because H&S § 100430 adjusts it every year and CDPH publishes the result — $31.00 from 1 January 2026. Alameda County publishes $36.00; the difference is the statutory add-on described below, not a county price rise.
What may legitimately differ. A board with a county children's trust fund may add up to $3 to a birth certificate (§ 103625(b)(2)) — which is why about a third of California counties publish $34 rather than $31. Contra Costa (§ 103626), Alameda and the City of Berkeley (§ 103627) and Solano (§ 103628) each have their own domestic-violence surcharge, with an annual CPI escalator. That is the whole list.
Ordering online usually costs more than this. Counties take card orders through a payment vendor, and the vendor's processing charge sits on top of the statutory fee — Santa Clara's online birth certificate is $41 against a $34 counter price. The extra is not a county fee and is not part of what H&S § 103625 sets.
An authorizedcopy — the one that establishes identity — needs a statement sworn under penalty of perjury that you are an authorized person, notarized if you are not there in person (H&S § 103526(a)). Authorized persons are the registrant, a parent or guardian, a child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner, an attorney or estate representative, someone with a court order, and law enforcement. Everyone else may still buy an informational copy, which carries the same record under a legend reading “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY” (§ 103526(b)).
Which office holds the record. H&S § 103525 lets the State Registrar, the local registrar or the county recorder issue a certified copy of a record registered with that official. So this office covers births registered in Alameda County. For an event in another county, or a very recent one your county has not yet forwarded, the county health department's local registrar or CDPH Vital Records is the office to ask.
Mail-in application — complete at home and mail with the fee.
Contact info sourced from official county records. Always call ahead to confirm hours and payment methods before visiting.