BIRTH RECORDS

Birth Certificates for travel, employment, school, sports, social security etc… To obtain a raised seal, certified copy of your birth certificate you can write to us or come into the office. However there are certain records we do not have:

-Were you born in Polk County? (We have Polk County records only.)
-Were your parents married at the time of your birth? (We do not have single parent births, prior to July of 1995.)
-Were you adopted? (We will not have your record if you were adopted.)
-Were you born in 1921 thru 1941? (We do not have these records.)

For the records we do not have, you may contact the Iowa Department of Public Health. You can call them at (515) 281-4944.

You may use the "Request a copy of a county Vital Record" form provided below*, to write to us or come in and see us. A fee of $15.00 is required for each request.  Cash, Credit Card (Mastercard, Visa, Discover), check or money orders are accepted.

Mail your request and photocopy of your ID to:

Polk County Recorder
Attn: Vital Records
111 Court Avenue Suite 245
Des Moines IA 50309-2251

Once we receive your request we’ll mail it out the following day.

*Request For Copy of a County Vital Record (.pdf)

Frequently Asked Birth Questions
State of Iowa Commemorative Birth Certificate