Birth records for individuals born in New Hampshire are available through the city or town clerk's office which the event occurred or from the New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records. If an individual was born after 1935, the birth certificate can be obtained from any town or city clerk in New Hampshire. The only exceptions are people born in 1949 and 1950 in which case an individual would have to go to the town or city he or she was born in to get the record.
An individual born in Manchester and members of the immediate family can obtain certified copies of his/her birth certificate by coming to the Manchester's City Clerk's office located at One City Hall Plaza.
Purchase Birth Certificates Online Credit Card Only
Confidentiality
Birth records are considered private and confidential, with access limited to those individuals who have a "direct and tangible" interest in the record. The only exception is birth records more than 100 years old which are considered public and are opened to the public.
Certified copies of birth records may only be obtained by the registrant, a member of his/her immediate family, guardian, or a representative with a "direct and tangible interest" such as an attorney. In order to determine if the "legal representative" may have access to the record, the direct and tangible interest must be listed in any written correspondence with a copy of such legal document being provided.
Definition of Immediate Family: Mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, great-grandmother, great-grandfather, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece or any spouse of divorced or legally separated person or person whose former marriage has been annulled. It shall not include cousins.
Penalty
Any person shall be guilty of a Class B Felony if he/she willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in an application for a certified copy of a vital record.
Fees
The fees for a certified birth certificate is $15.00 for the first copy and $10.00 for each additional copy requested at the same time for the same record. Please make check or money order payable to the City of Manchester. If you are coming in person, we also accept credit cards. Please note that if you use a credit card, there is an additional fee of $1.95 or 2.75% of the transaction amount (whichever is greater).
Applying for a Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate
In Person - You may come down to the Office of the City Clerk, One City Hall Plaza, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You will need to provide photo identification and complete a request form.
Online - You may click on the “Purchase Birth Certificates Online” button above. You will be required to email a copy of your photo identification.
By Mail - You may complete the application form Request for Birth Certificate and send with proper payment to the Office of the City Clerk, One City Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH 03101. A self-addressed return envelope with the appropriate postage affixed is required to process all mail requests.
If the record is not found, the office will retain the $15.00 for each record requested and notify you that the record was not found.
The State of NH requires a copy of a valid photo identification for the individual applying for the birth certificate before a record will be released.
If you do not have valid photo identification this documentary evidence form needs to be completed and the documents are to be provided.
Amending a Birth Certificate
Sometimes a person may find that the information on the official birth record is not correct or information is missing. If this is the case, it is possible to have the official record corrected or information added. There is a fee of $10.00 for any correction to a birth record if the correction is not done within 14 days of the file date and it must be done in person in the town or city in which the birth occurred.
There are special forms that need to be completed and you may be required to provide additional documentation in order to correct the record. Please contact the Office of the City Clerk at (603) 624-6455 or by Email with any questions you may have regarding amending a birth record.