Parma Birth Records Search
Parma birth records are available through the city's own Vital Statistics Department on the second floor of City Hall. Unlike most Cuyahoga County suburbs that rely on the Cleveland Department of Public Health, Parma runs its own office for issuing birth and death certificates. The fee is $25.00 per copy. Same-day service is there for walk-in visitors who arrive by 3:45 PM. You can also order by phone, mail, or through the Cleveland office if that is more convenient. This page covers every option for getting a Parma birth certificate.
Parma Birth Records at a Glance
Cuyahoga County and Parma Filings
Parma sits in Cuyahoga County, but it is one of the few suburbs that keeps its own vital statistics office. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is actually located in Parma at 5550 Venture Drive, but that office does not issue vital records. It sends people to the Parma Vital Statistics Department for Parma death certificates, or to the Cleveland Department of Public Health for birth certificates and deaths elsewhere in the county.
The Parma office can issue certified birth certificates for anyone born anywhere in Ohio. So even if you were born in Toledo or Cincinnati, you can get your birth certificate right here in Parma. Death certificates from this office are limited to deaths that happened within Parma city limits.
Parma Vital Statistics Department
The Parma Vital Statistics Department is on the second floor of Parma City Hall at 6611 Ridge Road. Walk-in customers who arrive by 3:45 PM can get same-day service. The office takes cash, Visa, MasterCard, and personal checks with an Ohio driver's license that has a matching address. Each certified copy costs $25.00.
Phone orders go to (440) 885-8816. Certificates ordered by phone are mailed through USPS and you pay by credit card only. For mail requests, write a letter with the full name at birth, date of birth, hospital name and county, mother's full maiden name and birthplace, father's full name and birthplace, and the number of copies you want. Include payment by money order or bank check made out to the City of Parma. Personal checks are not accepted for mail orders. Put in a self-addressed stamped envelope too. The office processes and mails same-day for letters they receive.
Parma Birth Certificate Resources
The Parma city website shows the Vital Statistics Department page with fees, required documents, and ordering instructions.
The page lists the $25.00 fee and explains what information you need to include with mail requests.
The Cuyahoga County Public Library Parma-Snow Branch at 2121 Snow Road provides free access to genealogy databases for Parma residents.
The library offers Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and links to the Cuyahoga County Archives and Probate Court records.
Pre-1909 Parma Birth Records
For birth records before 1909, Parma residents need to go to the Cuyahoga County Probate Court at 1 Lakeside Avenue, Room 146 in Cleveland. The court has birth and death records for Cuyahoga County from 1867 to 1908. Certified copies of marriage records cost about $1.00. The court is open weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Records have been microfilmed and are at the Cuyahoga County Archives and the Western Reserve Historical Society.
The Western Reserve Historical Society at 10825 East Boulevard in Cleveland has microfilm of Cuyahoga County birth and death records from 1867 to 1908 and marriage records from 1810 to 1914. The library is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Non-members pay an admission fee. They offer mail research for $40.00 per hour.
Parma Birth Certificate Fees
Parma charges $25.00 per certified copy. The state office charges $21.50. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.24, the base fee is twelve dollars with a five-dollar surcharge. Local offices set rates above the floor. If you do not need same-day service, ordering from the Ohio Department of Health online at $21.50 saves a few dollars, though you will wait 5 business days for online orders or 4 to 6 weeks for mail.
Note: Personal checks are accepted for walk-in orders at Parma but not for mail orders.
Birth Record Research in Parma
The Parma-Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at 2121 Snow Road gives Parma residents free access to Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and other genealogy tools. The branch can pull materials from other locations in the system, including the Fairview Park Regional Library's genealogy collection. Interlibrary loan is also an option for books not held locally.
For deeper research, the Cuyahoga County Archives at 2905 Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland holds birth records from 1849 to 1908, death records from 1840 to 1908, marriage records from 1810 to 1941, and naturalization records from 1818 to 1972. The research room is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Research is free and staff will help you find records.
Nearby Cities
These qualifying cities near Parma have their own birth record pages: