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One Free Copy of a Birth, Marriage or Divorce Record for a VA Claim

One copy of a public record — a birth or marriage certificate, a divorce decree — is furnished free of charge when the federal VA requires it to determine eligibility for a benefit.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

One copy of a public record — a birth or marriage certificate, a divorce decree — is furnished free of charge when the federal VA requires it to determine eligibility for a benefit.

What it's worth: One copy of the required record, free of charge

  • The department states one copy of any public record is furnished free when required by the federal VA to determine eligibility.
  • Birth certificates, marriage certificates and divorce decrees are the examples given.
  • The waiver is described as one copy, so a second copy is not claimed to be free.
  • No dollar figure is published, because the ordinary fee differs by record and office.

Who is entitled to it

  • The waiver follows the claim, so it reaches whoever is filing.
  • Your home is in Alabama.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Say at the counter that the copy is required by the federal VA to determine eligibility. That sentence is what triggers the waiver; asking for a certificate without it will be charged.
  2. 2Take the VA letter or the form that names the document, so the clerk can see the requirement rather than take your word for it.
  3. 3Ask a county veterans service officer to make the request with you if a clerk has not met this before. It is a rarely used section.
  4. 4Order only the copy the VA asked for. The waiver as described is one copy of the record.
  5. 5This is a state waiver on a state or county record. It does not touch federal record fees.
Form
Ask the records office for the copy on the VA-requirement basis
File with
The office that holds the record — vital records, or the probate or circuit clerk
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingA dependency claim can need three or four of these documents. The waiver is written as one copy of any public record required, not one copy in total, but nothing read this session settles that reading — ask the clerk to apply it to each document the VA named.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department publishes the rule with its Code citation. The section itself was not opened this session.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.