Birth and Death Certificates and Voluntary Acknowledgments of Paternity (VAoP)

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Office of Vital Records registers original certificates of death events which occur in Hamilton County. This office maintains copies of death records filed with the Tennessee Office of Vital Records and can access birth records by computer, which are available to the person named on the record and to certain family members or legal representatives. Copies of birth and death certificates are certified and include a raised, embossed seal. Parents can also add the father's name to a child's birth certificate with a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAoP).

Hamilton County Vital Records Office 
Hours:  8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday
For information call (423) 209-8025  

1. If the application is signed and notarized, no additional identification documents are required.
2. If the actual mother’s copy of a birth certificate is for the prior or current year and is submitted as the application and the response is being mailed or presented to a parent, no additional identification documents are required.
3. Otherwise, looking at the lists below, you will need one item from the list on the left or two items from the list on the right. 

     One item from the following list:                     OR  »

• Current drivers license, including the issue and expiration date.
• Current passport, Military I.D. card, alien, temporary or permanent resident card
• Employment authorization card
• U.S. Certificate of Naturalization Certificate of Citizenship or Citizenship I.D. card

    
    Two items from the following list:

• Current pay stub or W2
• Vehicle registration with name and current address
• Voter Registration card
• Military Discharge (DD214)
• Utility Bill, Bank Statement or deposit slip with name and current address
• Health care coverage card
• Medical record Application page of an insurance policy
• Signed Social Security Card

For those persons who have had their I.D. stolen, a copy of a police report or other official documents which support the theft.

                                                                                              Birth Records                                            

A computer generated short form certified birth certificate is available for persons born in Tennessee from 1949 to the present. Computer generated birth certificates will be processed while you wait. Certified copies of the original records are available to the person named on the record and to certain family members or legal representatives. If you request a birth certificate through the mail, it is usually returned to the customer within one to five days of the date received.

There is a fee of $8.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time.  

You will need to provide Vital Records with the following information:       

• full name on certificate
• date of birth
• place of birth
• mother's maiden name and father's name
• a check or money order made payable to Hamilton County
• your signature and relationship to the person named on the birth record
• a photocopy of a government form of ID, which includes the signature of the requestor
• the address to which the original should be mailed
• a daytime telephone number

Mail your request to:

Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department
Vital Records Department
921 East Third Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403

This information can be faxed to us at 423-209-8024 if you prefer to pay with Visa or Mastercard. You may call us at 423-209-8025 with your credit card information.

For your convenience, applications for certificates can be obtained from the Office of Vital Records on the Internet at http://health.state.tn.us/vr. You may complete form and mail to the address above.

Death records are issued for events occurring in Hamilton County for a period of the last six (6) years. Certified copies of the original records are available to the person named on the record and to certain family members or legal representatives. The cause of death is not normally included on a certified copy unless specifically requested, and then it is only available to certain family members or legal representatives.

The fee is $7.00 per certified copy.

You will need to provide Vital Records with the following information:

• full name on certificate
• date of death
• sex and age at death
• county of death
• name and location of funeral home
• the purpose for the copy of the certificate
• a check or money order made payable to Hamilton County
• your signature and relationship to the person named on the birth record
• a photocopy of a government form of ID, which includes the signature of the requestor
• the address to which the original should be mailed
• a daytime telephone number

You may also request certificate by mailing required information to our address listed under birth records information.

Our fax number is 423-209-8024 if you prefer to pay with Visa or Mastercard. You may call us at 423-209-8025 with your credit card information.

For your convenience, applications for certificates can be obtained from the TN Office of Vital Records on the Internet at http://health.state.tn.us/vr. You may complete form and mail to our office.

Death Verification Information

Most information from Hamilton County deaths for the past six (6) years can be provided to any requestor as a hand written transcript. This is called a verification.

Requests for verification should be made in writing. You must provide enough information so that our staff can locate the record you would like verified. The fee is $15.00 per record per year searched. This fee is charged for the search for the record and is not refunded even if no record is found. If you wish verification for a death earlier than the last six (6) years,the TN Vital Records Office keeps birth records for 100 years and can be can be contacted at 615-741-1763 or online at http://health.state.tn.us/vr; after 100 years, the records are sent to the Tennessee State Libray and Archives which you can access at http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla for public access and family research. Cause of death is not verifiable and is not released except to immediate family members or their legal representatives for certain reasons as specified by state law.

 Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity

After a child’s birth certificate has been recorded at the TN Office of Vital Records, parents who did not acknowledge paternity in the hospital may go to the local health department for assistance in acknowledging paternity. Unmarried parents can make an appointment at the Hamilton County Vital Records Office to add the father to the certificate through the paternity acknowledgment process. You may call 423-209-8027 to schedule an appointment.