Clark County Birth Records Search

Clark County birth records are issued by Clark County Public Health, located in Vancouver at 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. The Public Health office provides certified birth certificates for Washington State births from 1940 to the present. For births before 1940 or for those seeking online ordering, VitalChek and the Washington State DOH are the primary options. Clark County is the most populous county in southwest Washington, and its public health vital records unit handles a large volume of requests from Vancouver, Camas, Orchards, and surrounding communities.

Clark County Public Health Vital Records

Clark County Public Health Vital Records is the local office for certified birth certificates in Clark County. The office is in Vancouver at 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Building 17, 4th Floor, Suite 419. Phone is 564-397-8092. The office issues certified birth certificates for any Washington State birth from 1940 to the present. For births before 1940, requests must go to the Washington State DOH in Olympia. Clark County death certificates from within the last ten years are also available at this office.

A new vital records law went into effect in Washington on January 1, 2021. That law tightened access rules statewide, requiring all requestors to be qualified applicants under RCW 70.58A.530. Clark County Public Health follows these rules for every certificate it issues. Bring valid government-issued photo ID for any in-person request. If you are requesting for another person, bring documentation proving your relationship to the person named on the certificate.

Clark County handles different record types through different offices. Birth and death records go through Public Health. Marriage records are filed with the Clark County Auditor Recording Department at PO Box 5000, Vancouver WA 98666. Divorce records go through the Clark County Clerk's office. It is worth knowing which office to contact depending on the record type you need.

The Clark County court and public records page explains how different record types are divided across county offices, including birth and death records through Public Health, marriage through the Auditor, and dissolution records through the Clerk.

Knowing which office handles which record type saves time and avoids misdirected requests.

Ordering Clark County Birth Certificates

For online ordering, VitalChek handles Clark County birth certificates at vitalchek.com. Phone ordering is also available through VitalChek at 1-866-687-1464, any time of day or night. Online orders include the $25 base fee, an $8.50 VitalChek service charge, and a $7.00 DOH processing fee. An optional $3 identity quiz can help speed up the process. Expect delivery within three to seven business days for most online orders.

In-person requests at the Clark County Public Health office in Vancouver are processed directly by county staff. Bring your government-issued photo ID. If you are requesting a certificate for someone else, bring proof of your relationship to that person. The standard $25 fee applies for in-person requests. For births before 1940, the local Public Health office cannot help. Those older records must be ordered from the Washington State DOH. Call 360-236-4300 or submit a mail request to PO Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507.

Mail orders sent to the state DOH take approximately eight to ten weeks to process and require a check or money order. No credit cards are accepted for mail-in requests. All fees, whether paid to the local office, to VitalChek, or to the state DOH, are nonrefundable. Download the application form from the state DOH ordering page if you plan to submit by mail.

The VitalChek online ordering page for Clark County Health Department processes secure birth certificate orders for Washington State births from 1940 to the present.

Orders placed through VitalChek are processed securely and ship within a few business days to your address.

Clark County Historical Birth Records

Clark County was created on August 20, 1845, and is one of Washington's original counties. The county auditor kept a birth register from July 1891 through June 1907. Those records are preserved at the Washington State Archives as GEN MICRO 979.786. For births before 1891, there are no government-generated records in Clark County. Church and family records may be the only surviving sources from that period.

The Washington State Digital Archives at digitalarchives.wa.gov provides free, searchable access to many of these historical county birth records. You can search by child's name, parent names, gender, and year. No account is required. Many records include a scanned image of the original document. This is a good starting point for anyone researching family history in the Vancouver area before the state began central registration in 1907.

For genealogy research, the Washington State Library at washstatelib.libguides.com maintains a guide covering all available vital records collections, including microform holdings and digital access tools. The State Archives genealogy page at sos.wa.gov is useful for understanding how early Washington birth records are organized across state and county archives.

The Washington State DOH vital records main page explains the full scope of birth records held by the state, including records for Clark County births from 1907 forward.

The state DOH is the source for all Clark County birth certificates from before 1940, and is also the ordering point for any record not available at the local public health office.

Note: The Clark County Public Health office holds records from 1940 onward. For births between 1907 and 1940, the state DOH holds the records and local pickup is not an option.

Who Can Access Clark County Birth Records

Washington has required qualified applicants for certified birth certificates since January 1, 2021. Under RCW 70.58A.530, only certain people qualify for a certified copy. Qualified applicants are: the person named on the certificate, 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. Anyone outside this list can only receive a noncertified informational copy. Informational copies carry a watermark and have no legal value for official uses.

Every request, whether in person at Clark County Public Health or online through VitalChek, requires a government-issued photo ID. Requests for another person's record require documentation of your relationship. The type of documentation varies by relationship. A spouse requesting a partner's certificate needs a marriage certificate. A child requesting a parent's certificate needs their own birth certificate. Legal representatives need documentation of their authority to act. Clark County Public Health staff verify all documents before issuing a certificate.

Under RCW 70.58A.540, birth records are sealed for 100 years. After that point, they become public records available to anyone. Records from 1925 and earlier are now open. The complete vital records law governing all requests is in RCW Chapter 70.58A.

Cities in Clark County

Clark County includes several large communities, three of which have dedicated pages on this site.

Nearby Counties

These counties share borders with Clark County in southwest Washington.