Health Department

CONTACT INFORMATION: Our administration office at 10777 Main Street in Fairfax is open during regular business hours 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday. Clinic services are not offered at this location.
703-246-2411 TTY 711
10777 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22030
Gloria Addo-Ayensu, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of Health

Vital Records (Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records)

Visit one of our offices to get your vital record. See important details below before visiting.

Image of Vital Records File

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records issues certified copies of vital records (or “certificates”) for these events that occurred in Virginia:

  • Births: June 1912 +
  • Marriages: 1936 +
  • Divorces: 1918 +
  • Deaths: June 1912 +

Birth records become public information after 100 years while death, marriage and divorce records after 25 years.

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records Hours and Locations

Vital Records services are offered Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at:

Annandale District Office
7611 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA, 22003

Herndon-Reston District Office (Note: Location closed noon – 1 p.m.)
1850 Cameron Glen Drive, Suite 100
Reston, VA, 20190-3310

Hyland South County Government Center (Mt. Vernon District Office)
8350 Richmond Highway, Suite 233
Alexandria, VA, 22309

Joseph Willard Health Center
3750 Blenheim Boulevard
Fairfax, VA 22030

All offices can be reached at: 703-246-7100.

Getting a Record

Vital records are provided by walk-in service only. Appointments are not available. 

Know Before You Go

  • Vital records are available for oneself or immediate family members only: mother, father, husband, wife, adult son or daughter, adult sibling, grandparents and adult grandchildren with valid identification. Legal representatives must provide proper documentation. Aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, former spouses, etc. cannot get vital records copies.
  • Please review ID requirements prior to your visit.
  • The fee for a vital record is $12.00 for each certificate and/or search of a vital record. Fairfax County Office of Vital Records accepts cash, check, money orders, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay for payment. Checks and money orders should be made payable to: Fairfax County Health Department
    • Please note: regardless if a record is located, there is a $12 fee for the initial record search. If the search is not able to locate the requested record, the request will be sent to the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Vital Records in Richmond, Va., to process. The Division of Vital Records will then mail the certificate if it is located.

See more important details for each record type:

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records can provide certified copies of birth certificates for births taken place in Virginia from June 1912 to the present. 

The Fairfax County Office of Vital Records does not provide Special Use Birth Certificates (Long Form). To obtain a Special Use Birth Certificate visit the Virginia Department of Health website.

For a certified copy of a birth certificate, please visit one of our locations during business hours.

Legal guardians must provide custody papers in order to get a certificate.

More Options

Correcting a Virginia Birth Certificate

You may request certain corrections to a birth certificate through Virginia’s Division of Vital Records. Changes/amendments can only be made with the main office in Richmond. Fairfax County cannot make changes to a birth certificate. 

If the request is denied, you may file a request through the Fairfax Circuit Court. A copy of the denial letter from the Virginia Division of Vital Records must accompany the petition, order and supporting documentation to correct a birth certificate.

For more information about the process, see correcting a Virginia birth certificate.

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records can:

  • Provide certified copies of death certificates for all deaths that happened in the Commonwealth of Virginia from June 1912 to present date.
  • Certify death certificate applications.
  • Request a Verification of Death Record.
  • Issue out-of-state transit permits.

More Options

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records can provide certified copies of marriages that have taken place in Virginia for 1932 to the present.

The following information is required to complete the application:

  • Full name of the spouse
  • Full maiden name of the spouse
  • Exact date (month, day, and year) of marriage
  • Place of marriage 
  • Name of the circuit court that issued the marriage license.

Requests cannot be processed without this information. 

More Options

Fairfax County Office of Vital Records can provide certified copies of divorces that have taken place in Virginia from 1918 to the present. 

The following information is required to complete the application:

  • Full name of the spouse
  • Full maiden name of the spouse
  • Exact date (month, day, and year) of divorce. Clients that were divorced in the Fairfax Circuit Court can call the Fairfax Circuit Court Records Center at 703-246-6656 (if it has been more than 5 years) or 703-246-4134 (if it has been less than 5 years) since the divorce was granted to get their exact date of divorce.
  • Place of divorce
  • Name of the circuit court where the divorce was granted.

If you need a Divorce Decree please contact the courthouse where your divorce is filed.

Divorce Decree versus Divorce Certificate

  • A Divorce Decree is a court document that is a final judgment from divorce court containing detailed information about your case including spousal support, child support, custody, visitation, property division, and other information. The courthouse where the divorce was granted has the divorce decree.
  • A Divorce Certificate is not prepared by a court. This is a certified divorce record obtained through the VDH Office of Vital Records by Local Health Departments showing you are divorced, listing the names of both former spouses, the date of the divorce and the place of the divorce.

More Options

FAQs

Vital records are available as a walk-in service only. Appointments are not available. 

Please visit one of the four Vital Records locations on Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

You can request a record from the Virginia Department of Health. Virginia and many other states also offer vital records through VitalChek.

The Virginia Department of Health lists ID requirements on its Vital Records website.

To obtain a vital record, one form of ID from the primary list or two forms of ID from the secondary list is required.

Please visit one of the four Vital Records locations on Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

You can also request a record online through through VitalChek. Learn more about express delivery.

For a certified copy of your birth, death, marriage or divorce certificate, contact the vital records office in the state or county where you were born for instructions on how to request a copy and get information on any fees.

A divorce decree can only be obtained at the courthouse where the divorce was filed. The Fairfax County Health Department cannot issue a divorce decree. 

The Fairfax County Office of Vital Records does not offer apostilles or seals. Please learn more about this from the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Visit the Virginia Department of Health’s Vital Records Frequently Asked Questions web page.

You can also call us at 703-246-7100.

Certified copies of Virginia vital records are also available through Virginia Department of Health's Division of Vital Records and at full service Department of Motor Vehicles locations.


Fairfax Virtual Assistant