Search Clark County Birth Records
Clark County birth records are managed by the Combined Health District in Springfield, Ohio. The office at 529 East Home Road can issue certified birth certificates for any person born in the state of Ohio from 1908 to now. Older records from 1867 to 1908 sit at the probate court. Springfield also has a heritage center with microfilm copies of historical birth registers. Whether you need a legal copy or are doing genealogy work, Clark County has several places to look. This page walks you through every option.
Clark County Birth Records at a Glance
Clark County Combined Health District Records
The Clark County Combined Health District (CCCHD) handles all vital statistics for the county. The office is at 529 East Home Road, Springfield, OH 45503. Call 937-390-5600 and press option 6 for vital records. You can also email them at vitalstatistics@ccchd.com. The fax number is (937) 342-5503. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Walk-in certified copies of Clark County birth records cost $24.00 each. The office can issue birth abstracts for anyone born in Ohio from December 20, 1908 to now. Mail-in requests need a filled-out form, a cashier's check or money order for $24.00 made out to CCCHD, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. They do not take out-of-state checks. Once the office gets your request, certified copies ship the next business day. If they cannot find your record, you get a refund. But overpayments of $2.00 or less are kept as a donation and not sent back.
Death certificates for deaths in Clark County from 1908 to now are also on file here.
Clark County Birth Certificate Resources
The Clark County Combined Health District website shows their birth and death records page with forms, fees, and instructions for ordering certified copies.
This page has the current fee of $24.00 per copy and tells you what forms of payment the office takes for walk-in and mail orders.
The Springfield-Clark County Heritage Center keeps historical records and helps with genealogy research in the area. Their collections include birth and death records from 1888 to 1908.
The Heritage Center works with the Clark County Public Library. Both hold census microfilm, city directories, and other records useful for tracing Clark County births.
Order Clark County Birth Records Online
Online ordering for Clark County birth certificates is available through VitalChek. The base fee is $24.00 plus a VitalChek processing charge. Shipping costs extra depending on which option you pick. Standard mail, faster delivery, and overnight are all choices. Orders take 3 to 5 business days to process. You can track your order on the VitalChek site. They check your identity and your relationship to the person on the record, as Ohio law requires.
VitalChek takes Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. For records before 1908, they send you to the Clark County Probate Court instead.
Clark County Probate Court Birth Records
The Clark County Probate Court holds birth and death records from 1867 to 1908. The court is at 50 East Columbia Street, Springfield, OH 45502. Call (937) 521-1845 or fax (937) 328-2589. Records from 1867 to 1887 have an index sorted by the first letter of the last name. Records from 1887 to 1908 are not indexed but are sorted by alphabet within each year. The original ledger books have a card file system for looking things up.
Clark County was formed in 1818 from Champaign, Madison, and Greene counties. The probate court has kept records since the beginning. Along with birth records, they hold marriage records from 1818 to now, estate files, wills, and guardianship papers. Microfilm copies of the early birth and death records are also at the Clark County Public Library. The probate court and the Springfield-Clark County Heritage Center work together to keep these old records open to the public.
Clark County Birth Certificate Fees
Each certified copy from the health district costs $24.00. That is the same for walk-in, mail, and phone orders. VitalChek adds a processing fee on top. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.24, the state sets a minimum fee of twelve dollars for certified copies. A five-dollar surcharge on each copy goes to the state's general operations fund. Local offices must send collected fees to the Ohio Department of Health within thirty days after the end of each quarter.
The state office in Columbus charges $21.50 per copy. You can order from the Ohio Department of Health online or by mail. Online orders take about three weeks. Mail orders go to PO Box 15098, Columbus, Ohio 43215-0098.
Note: Hospital-issued birth certificates are not certified copies and cannot be used as legal ID.
Birth Record Research in Clark County
FamilySearch has a Clark County genealogy page with free access to digitized records. You can find microfilm of early probate court birth and death registers. The site also lists census records, military records, and land records for the county. The Ohio History Connection holds death certificates from 1908 to 1963 for Clark County residents. Their searchable online index covers 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1963.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.23, certified copies of vital records are treated the same as originals in all courts. A certified copy must show the date of issue, the name and signature of the officer, and the seal of the issuing office. Anyone can request a birth record in Ohio by filling out an application and paying the fee. Vital records in Ohio are public records.
Nearby Counties
Clark County borders several other Ohio counties. If you are searching for birth records in the region, these neighboring county pages may help:
Cities in Clark County
Clark County includes the city of Springfield, which is the county seat and the largest community in the area. Springfield is a qualifying city with its own dedicated page for birth record information.
Other communities in Clark County include New Carlisle, Enon, and South Vienna. For birth records in those areas, the Clark County Combined Health District in Springfield handles all requests.