Birth & Death Records

Information Required to Request a Certified Birth or Death Certificate

If you request the certificate in person, you will be asked to complete and sign an application stating you have tangible interest in the certificate. You will be asked to show identification.

Minnesota Statutes, Section 144.225, Subdivision 7, restricts access to a certified birth or death certificate to a person who has a tangible interest in the requested certificate.

• You have tangible interest in a certificate if:
• You are the subject of the certificate;
• You are the child, grandchild, spouse, parent, grandparent, legal custodian, or guardian of the subject;
• You are a personal representative of the estate of the subject; or
• You are the person who filed or a representative of the organization that filed the birth or death information with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) or a local registrar.

You may also be issued a certificate if a person who has tangible interest authorized you to receive the certificate or if you can demonstrate to the state registrar that the certificate is necessary for the determination or protection of a personal or property right.

A local, state, or federal governmental agency may be issued a certificate if it is necessary for the governmental agency to perform its authorized duties.

Tangible interest is a fraud protection measure. The prevalence of fraud is on the rise and most Minnesota birth and death records are public data. Tangible interest helps protect people who are born in Minnesota and the families of people who die in Minnesota by restricting access to the certificates that are used for most legal purposes, such as school registration, applying for a passport or a social security number, or settling an estate.

Tangible interest does not change the classification of the data. Public data is still public. Access to private or confidential data is still restricted.

If you request the certificate by mail, you will be asked to provide the same information that is requested on the application and to have the application notarized before you mail it. Please attach a copy of your valid driver's license or state-issued identification card.

Requesting a Certified Birth or Death Certificate

Certified copies in Blue Earth County since 1870 are available from the Blue Earth County License Center.  Certified birth or death certificates can be requested in person at the Blue Earth County License Center, 410 S. 5th St., Mankato, or can be requested by mail. To request a certificate by mail:

1. Print out a Birth Certificate Application or Minnesota Death Record Application.
2. Complete the form.
3. Have your signature notarized and mail the completed form with a copy of your driver's license or state-issued identification card to:
   Blue Earth County-Vital Records
   410 S. 5th St.
   PO Box 3524
   Mankato, MN 56002-3524
4. Payment must be received before certificates can be issued. Make your check or money order payable to BEC-Vital Records and send to the address above. United States or American currency only. See information below.

If you are unable to open the Birth Certificate Application or the Minnesota Death Record Application, you may request that an application be mailed to you by emailing Vital Statistics.

Birth & Death Certificate Fees

Birth

$26 for first certified certificate

$19 for each additional certificate of the same record issued at the same time

Death

$13 for first certified certificate

$6 for each additional certificate of the same record issued at the same time

Public Birth Record

Information needed to obtain record:

• Name on record;
• Date of birth;
• Place of birth (city and hospital);
• Mother's name; and
• Father's name.

Confidential Birth Record

The birth record of a child born to unmarried parents is confidential unless at the time of birth the mother designates the demographic data as public.

Confidential birth records are available only to:

• the subject of the birth record if the individual has reached the age of 16;
• a parent named on the birth record;
• a legal guardian presenting a certified copy of guardian papers;
• an individual presenting a certified copy of a court order releasing the record to him/her; or
• the Commissioner of Human Services or authorized representative.