New York Birth Certificate Apostille
New York splits in two, and the split is invisible on the certificate itself: a birth certificate issued for one of the five boroughs comes from NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and must be a Long Form ordered together with a Letter of Exemplification, then certified by a County Clerk before the state will apostille it. A certificate issued by the New York State Department of Health in Albany, for anywhere else in the state, skips the County Clerk step entirely. Every New York record says "New York State" somewhere on it, so that wording proves nothing about which office issued it.
Which New York birth certificate copies qualify for an apostille
| Issuing office | Apostille | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| NYS Department of Health (Albany) | Accepted | Covers every part of the state outside New York City. Goes directly to the Department of State — no County Clerk step. |
| NYC DOHMH — Long Form with Letter of Exemplification | Conditional | The correct NYC document, but it must then be certified by the County Clerk before the apostille request is filed. |
| NYC DOHMH — short form | Not accepted | Cannot carry a Letter of Exemplification, so there is nothing for the County Clerk to certify. Reorder as a Long Form. |
| Local town or city clerk copy | Conditional | Accepted for records outside NYC, but the County Clerk of that county must certify the clerk's signature first. |
Before the request is filed
- Establish where the birth was registered, not where the certificate says New York State. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island are NYC DOHMH; everywhere else is NYS DOH in Albany.
- For a NYC record, order the Long Form and the Letter of Exemplification together in one request. Ordering the Long Form alone means ordering again.
- For a NYC record, take the exemplified copy to the New York County Clerk at 60 Centre Street, Room 141B, for certification before anything is filed with the state.
What New York sends back
- A NYC short-form certificate, which cannot be exemplified.
- A NYC Long Form with no Letter of Exemplification attached — the County Clerk has nothing to certify.
- An out-of-county clerk certification: the certifying County Clerk must be the clerk of the county where the signing official sits.
Where it is filed
| Authority | New York Department of State |
|---|---|
| Filed in | Albany |
| State fee | $10 per certificate. |
| Turnaround | about 24–48 hours once we file in person for most state documents |
The Department of State's New York City office is at 123 William Street on the 19th floor; Albany handles the rest. Since 2019 NYC birth certificates no longer carry a raised seal, which is normal and is not a reason for rejection.
New York birth certificate apostille FAQ
What is a Letter of Exemplification and why does New York City need one?+
It is a separate signed letter from NYC's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene attesting that the attached Long Form certificate is a true record of its files. The County Clerk certifies the signature on that letter, and the Department of State then apostilles the County Clerk's certification. Without the letter there is no signature in the chain for the clerk to act on.
My certificate says New York State across the top. Doesn't that mean Albany issued it?+
No, and this is the single most common mistake in New York. Every vital record in the state carries state-level wording, including the ones NYC DOHMH issues. What identifies the issuer is the department named in the signature block and the borough the birth was registered in.
My NYC certificate has no raised seal. Is it still valid?+
Yes. NYC stopped embossing birth certificates in 2019 and the flat printed security features replaced the seal. Receiving offices abroad occasionally query it; the Letter of Exemplification and the County Clerk certification are what carry the authentication, not an embossment.
Can I skip the County Clerk by ordering my NYC record from Albany instead?+
No. NYS DOH does not hold records for births registered in the five boroughs, so there is no Albany copy to order. The County Clerk step is unavoidable for a New York City birth.
Keep reading
Other states
Federal Apostille™ is a private, independent courier and document-processing service. We are not affiliated with any state vital records office, the U.S. Department of State, or any government agency.