Birth Certificates
REQUEST A CERTIFIED (LEGAL) COPY
OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Access to birth, death and marriage records is limited to the person on the record, the person’s spouse, registered domestic partner, mother, father, guardian, descendant (child, grandchild) attorney or agent. Individuals requesting records will need to provide proof of their eligibility to obtain the record (proof of lineage, certificate of domestic partnership, marriage license, guardianship papers, notarized statement from the family, etc.).
Example: Child needing a parent's birth certificate will need to provide a photocopy of his birth certificate (parent's name on it - lineage), a photocopy of photo ID, completed application and check made out to "City of Bath" to cover cost.
Family members not allowed access to records include: grandparents, siblings, step-parents, step-children, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law. Others who will not have access include boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, friends, neighbors, ex-spouses.
Persons requesting to purchase copies of vital records must complete a Vital Records Request Form and show proof of identification: driver’s license, passport or other government-issued, picture identification card. If one of these is not available, the requestor will need to show two items from the following: utility bills, bank statements car registration, copy of income tax return, personal check with address, a previously issued vital record, letter from a government agency requesting vital record, Department of Correction ID card, Social Security card, DD214, hospital birth worksheet, license/rental agreement, pay stub or W-2, voter registration card, disability card for SSA.
BIRTH CERTIFICATES
Each municipality records and maintains its own birth records. Birth records are available at the municipal clerk’s office where the child was born or where the mother lived at the time of the birth and at the Augusta Bureau of Vital Statistics. If you are not certain of the Place of Birth, you may call the Office of Vital Statistics at (207) 287-3184. We have Bath birth records from 1892 to present available.
Methods for requesting birth records:
In Person:
Certified copies of birth certificates are available during normal business hours (8:30AM-4:30PM) Monday-Friday at our office on the first floor of Bath City Hall, 55 Front Street. The requestor must fill out the Vital Records Request Form, provide proof of identity (and proof of lineage, if necessary). (Photocopies are not legal documents but may be purchased for $5.00 per record.)
By Mail:
Birth records can be requested in writing through the mail by filling out and sending a Vital Records Request Form, a photocopy of proof of identification (and proof of lineage, if necessary) and a check to cover the fee. (Photocopies are not legal documents but may be purchased for $5.00 per record.)
Send your request and a self-addressed, stamped envelope, to:
Bath City Clerk’s Office
55 Front Street
Bath, Maine 04530
A check payable to the “City of Bath” MUST accompany your request.
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Telephone: 1-207-443-8332 Fax machine: 1-207-443-8333