HB450 • 2026

Vital Records, Office of; fees for certified copies, annual report.

An Act to amend and reenact § 32.1-273 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Office of Vital Records; fees for certified copies; report.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Willett
Last action: 2026-04-13
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details on how the increased fees will be used.

Changing Fees for Certified Copies of Vital Records

This act changes the fees that people pay for certified copies of vital records like birth certificates and death certificates from $12 to $15.

What This Bill Does

Increases the fee limit for a certified copy of a vital record from $12 to $15.
Requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to collect a $15 fee for each certified copy of a vital record it issues, up from $12.
Directs the State Registrar to report annually on September 15 about revenues and expenditures related to vital records fees.

Who It Names or Affects

People who need certified copies of vital records like birth certificates or death certificates.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) which issues these copies.
Local registrars, health departments, and social services agencies that handle vital record requests.

Terms To Know

vital records: Official documents like birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees.
certified copy: An official duplicate of a document that is signed and stamped to show it's an exact copy of the original record.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how the increased fees will be used.
It remains unclear if there are any exemptions or discounts for low-income individuals beyond those already in place.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB450AHC1

2026-01-29 • Committee

Health and Human Services Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the number of copies that can be obtained for a certain fee from ten to fifteen.

Changes the number of certified copies of vital records that can be obtained for a specific fee from ten to fifteen.

The exact details about which fee and what type of copies are affected by this change are not provided in the amendment text, making it unclear without additional context.

HB450AH1

2026-01-29 • Committee

Health and Human Services Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes the number of copies that can be obtained for a certain fee from ten to fifteen.

Changes the number of certified copies of vital records that can be obtained for a specific fee from ten to fifteen.

The exact details about which fee and what type of copies are affected by this change are not provided in the amendment text, making it unclear without additional context.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 616 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 616 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0616)
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB450)
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 House
Enrolled
2026-03-30 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB450ER)
2026-03-13 Finance and Appropriations
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB450)
2026-03-12 House
Senate substitute agreed to by House (63-Y 34-N 0-A)
2026-03-11 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-11 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-11 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute
2026-03-11 Finance and Appropriations
Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to
2026-03-11 Senate
Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
2026-03-10 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-10 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-10 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-10 Finance and Appropriations
Committee substitute printed 26109438D-S1
2026-03-10 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-10 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-03-09 Finance and Appropriations
Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 4-N)
2026-02-26 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 5-N)
2026-02-24 Health
Assigned Education sub: Health
2026-02-09 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB450)
2026-02-05 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-05 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health
2026-02-04 House
Read third time and passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A)
2026-02-03 House
Read second time
2026-02-03 House
committee amendment agreed to
2026-02-03 House
Engrossed by House as amended
2026-02-02 Health and Human Services
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB450)
2026-02-02 House
Read first time
2026-01-29 Health and Human Services
Reported from Health and Human Services with amendment(s) (13-Y 9-N)
2026-01-29 House
House committee offered
2026-01-12 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102646D
2026-01-12 Health and Human Services
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

Official Summary Text

Office of Vital Records; fees for certified copies.
Permits the Board of Health to prescribe a fee of up to $15 for a certified copy of vital records and directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to collect a fee of $15 for each certified copy of a vital record that it issues. Under current law, both fees are limited to $12.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
32.1-273
of the Code of Virginia, relating to Office of Vital Records; fees for certified copies; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
32.1-273
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
32.1-273
. Fees for certified copies, searches of files, etc.; disposition; annual report.
A. The Board shall prescribe the fee, not to exceed
$12
$15
, for a certified copy of a vital record or for a search of the files or records when no copy is made and may establish a reasonable fee schedule related to its cost for information or other data provided for research, statistical or administrative purposes. Whenever any veteran or his survivor requires a certified copy of a vital record to obtain service-connected benefits, one copy of such record shall be provided directly to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs upon their request, one copy shall be provided to the Department of Veterans Services upon their request, and one copy shall be provided to the veteran or his surviving spouse upon request. Upon request of the surviving spouse of a veteran, the funeral director or funeral service licensee providing funeral services for the veteran may obtain one certified copy of the death certificate for service-connected benefits. No charge shall be imposed upon a veteran or his survivor for a copy related to obtaining service-connected benefits.
B. Fees collected under this section by the State Registrar shall be transmitted to the Comptroller for deposit. Two dollars of each fee collected by the State Registrar shall be deposited by the Comptroller into the Vital Statistics Automation Fund established pursuant to §
32.1-273.1
for so long as shall be authorized.
Ten
Thirteen
dollars of each fee shall be credited to a special fund to be appropriated by the General Assembly, as it deems necessary, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter. When the Vital Statistics Automation System is completed, no further deposits into the fund shall be made and all fees collected under this section not credited to the special fund created by this subsection shall be deposited into the general fund of the state treasury.
C. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall collect a fee of
$12
$15
for each certified copy of a vital record that it issues and shall transmit all such fees to the State Registrar on a monthly basis to ensure that the State Registrar recovers all costs associated with the issuance of certified copies of vital records at Department of Motor Vehicles facilities. In addition, for each certified copy of a vital record that it issues, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall collect a processing fee of $2 as provided in §
46.2-205.2
.
D. Fees collected under this section by county and city registrars shall be deposited in the general fund of the county or city except that counties or cities operating health departments pursuant to the provisions of §
32.1-31
shall forward all such fees to the Department for deposit in the cooperative local health services fund.
E. Fees assessed against local departments of social services for furnished copies of vital records as needed to administer public assistance and social services programs, as defined in §
63.2-100
, shall be payable on a quarterly basis.
F. No fees shall be assessed against homeless youth, as described in subdivision A 7 of §
22.1-3
, for a furnished copy of a vital record.
G. The State Registrar shall report annually on September 15 to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations regarding (i) revenues collected from vital records fees collected pursuant to this section, (ii) the annual expenditures of the Office of Vital Records, (iii) the beginning and ending cash balance of funding for the Office of Vital Records for the prior fiscal year, and (iv) estimates for the current fiscal year, including any projected surplus or deficit of funding.