Clallam County Vital Records

Clallam County birth records are available through Clallam County Health and Human Services, which maintains offices in both Port Angeles and Forks. Residents across this large Olympic Peninsula county can request certified birth certificates in person at either location. Birth certificates ordered before Friday are typically issued that week on Fridays, and same-day expedited service is available for an additional fee. For births before July 1, 1907, historical records from the County Auditor era are available through the Washington State Archives and Digital Archives online.

Clallam County Health and Human Services

Clallam County Health and Human Services handles birth certificate requests at its Port Angeles office at 111 E 3rd Street on the first floor. A second location in Forks also accepts applications. Both offices are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and are closed on federal holidays. The county issues certified copies of birth certificates for Washington State births, not just those registered in Clallam County.

Payment options at the Port Angeles office include exact cash, personal check, money order, or debit/credit card. Card payments carry a fee of $2.50 or 2.5%, whichever is more. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Clallam County Health and Human Services, or use the abbreviation CCHHS. Mailing a certificate to a different address costs an extra $5 per address on top of the standard fee. Birth certificates ordered during the week are issued each Friday. If you cannot pick up in person, same-day expedited service is available as a walk-in option for an additional $10, making the total $35.

The Clallam County Health and Human Services vital records page provides information on how to apply for birth and death certificates, what ID to bring, and current office locations.

Applications for birth certificates are available at both the Port Angeles and Forks office locations.

Note: Same-day expedited service at $35 total is only available as a walk-in option and cannot be requested in advance by phone or email.

Ordering Clallam County Birth Certificates by Mail or Online

If you cannot visit the Clallam County offices in person, you have two other main options. The first is to order online through VitalChek, which is the only authorized third-party vendor for Washington State vital records. VitalChek's phone line at 1-866-687-1464 is available around the clock. Online orders carry a base fee of $25, plus an $8.50 VitalChek service charge and a $7.00 DOH processing fee. Paying $3 more for the optional identity quiz can speed up the verification step. Most VitalChek orders ship within three to seven business days.

The second option is mail. Send a completed application to the Washington State DOH at PO Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507. Enclose a $25 check or money order payable to the Washington State Department of Health. Mail orders take approximately eight to ten weeks to process. The state DOH physical office at 111 Israel Road SE in Tumwater is appointment-only and does not accept walk-ins. Call 360-236-4300 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) to schedule an appointment there if you prefer to go in person at the state level.

All fees are nonrefundable. This applies regardless of whether a record is found or whether the request is ultimately approved. Make sure you are eligible before submitting. The Washington State DOH ordering page has the current application form and full details on what each method requires.

Clallam County Birth Records Before 1907

Clallam County was established on April 26, 1854, making it one of the oldest counties in Washington. The county auditor began registering births on May 18, 1891, and those records run through May 26, 1905. Those historical registers are held at the Washington State Archives as GEN MICRO 979.799 BIRTH 1891-1905. The archives also hold specific year volumes for 1908, 1924, 1939, 1944, and 1947, which cover additional periods when local registration occurred in the county.

The Washington State Digital Archives at digitalarchives.wa.gov provides free online access to many of these records. You can search by name, parent name, year, or gender without creating an account and without paying a fee. Many records have digitized images available alongside the index entries. For births recorded before 1891, no government records exist for Clallam County. Church records, family Bibles, and newspaper announcements may be the only surviving documentation for those very early births.

The Washington State Digital Archives holds Clallam County historical birth records from the County Auditor era and makes them searchable online for free.

The Digital Archives also covers specific year volumes for Clallam County and is the easiest first stop for genealogists researching early Olympic Peninsula births.

The Washington State Library guide at washstatelib.libguides.com lists microform collections, digital resources, and research tips for Washington birth records. The State Archives genealogy page at sos.wa.gov is another useful starting point for understanding what records exist and where they are held. For births before July 1, 1907, the county auditor held the records. After that date, records moved to the state Department of Health under RCW Chapter 70.58A.

The Washington State Archives genealogy page explains how to navigate historical vital records collections, including county-level records from the pre-state registration era.

Use the genealogy page to understand how records are organized across counties and which State Archives branches hold Clallam County materials.

Access Rules for Clallam County Birth Records

Washington became a closed record state for birth certificates on January 1, 2021. Under RCW 70.58A.530, certified copies are only available to qualified applicants. These include the person named on the certificate, their spouse or domestic partner, children, parents, stepparents, stepchildren, siblings, grandparents, great grandparents, grandchildren, great grandchildren, legal guardians, legal representatives, authorized representatives, and government agencies or courts. All others may receive a noncertified informational copy, which is printed on plain paper and marked "informational only." It cannot serve as official documentation for passports, ID applications, or similar legal purposes.

Every request at the Clallam County Health and Human Services office requires a valid government-issued photo ID. Requests for another person's record also require proof of your relationship to that person. Examples include a birth certificate listing your parent-child relationship, a marriage certificate for a spouse's record, or court orders for legal guardians. The staff review documents before issuing any certified copy. The same rules apply whether you request in person in Port Angeles, in Forks, or through VitalChek online.

Birth records are confidential for 100 years from the date of birth under RCW 70.58A.540. After 100 years, the record moves into the public domain and any person can request access. This means births from 1925 and earlier are now open to all requestors. The full legal framework is in RCW Chapter 70.58A.

Cities in Clallam County

Clallam County includes Port Angeles, Sequim, and Forks. None of these communities meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Residents throughout Clallam County can use the Port Angeles or Forks health offices, order online through VitalChek, or contact the Washington State DOH for birth certificate requests.

Nearby Counties

Jefferson County borders Clallam County on the Olympic Peninsula.