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Free Certified Copies for a Service Claim — A 1949 Statute Almost Nobody Cites

The health department must supply certified copies of birth, marriage, divorce and death records free of charge to a veteran, the veteran’s wife, immediate family or the next of kin of a deceased veteran, when the copy is needed for a claim based on armed forces service.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The health department must supply certified copies of birth, marriage, divorce and death records free of charge to a veteran, the veteran’s wife, immediate family or the next of kin of a deceased veteran, when the copy is needed for a claim based on armed forces service.

What it's worth: The $10 first-copy fee and the $4 charged for each further copy, waived

  • The ordinary fee is set by §338-14.5 at $10 for the first certified copy issued and $4 for each copy issued thereafter, collected on each single request.
  • The waiver in §338-14(a) is a duty, not a discretion: the department "shall furnish, free of charge, a certified copy of any of the records, or a certification of birth".
  • It covers birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates — the same set §338-14.5 charges for.
  • The eligible askers are the veteran, the veteran’s wife, any member of the immediate family of a veteran, and the next of kin of a deceased veteran.

This record exists to correct a myth. This is not a general free-records benefit. The copy has to be "required for use in connection with a claim based on service in the armed forces". A birth certificate for a passport, a school or a driving licence is charged at the ordinary rate.

Who is entitled to it

  • The statute names the veteran, the veteran’s wife, any member of the immediate family and the next of kin of a deceased veteran.
  • Your home is in this state.

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 on the request what the copy is for. The waiver is conditional — it applies "when required for use in connection with a claim based on service in the armed forces". A request that does not say so is an ordinary paid request.
  2. 2Name your relationship to the veteran. The statute lists the veteran, the veteran’s wife, a member of the immediate family, and the next of kin of a deceased veteran, and the counter has to place you in one of those.
  3. 3Ask for the copies you actually need in one request — the paid schedule prices a request as a first copy plus extras, and the waiver is written against the same request.
  4. 4If the counter quotes you $10, cite the section by number. This provision dates from 1949 and is not printed on the fee page, so it is often the applicant who has to raise it.
File with
The state department of health, vital records
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThis is not a general free-records benefit. The copy has to be "required for use in connection with a claim based on service in the armed forces". A birth certificate for a passport, a school or a driving licence is charged at the ordinary rate.
Worth knowingThe statute says "the veteran’s wife". That wording is from 1949 and has survived every amendment since, most recently in 2018. It sits alongside a broader class — "any member of the immediate family of a veteran" — which a husband, and anyone else in the immediate family, falls within. The archaic phrase narrows nothing in practice, but it is what the counter is reading.
Known gapThe statute caps nothing: it does not limit the number of free copies, define "immediate family", or say what evidence of the claim the department may ask for. The department’s administrative practice on all three was not read here.

Sources

Why only one source type: Both sources are the statute itself — one for the waiver, one for the fee it removes. The health department’s own vital records pages were not read: that host refuses automated fetching, and the statute states the duty, the record types, the eligible askers and the condition without needing an agency gloss.

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