licenses & feesstate

Free Vital Records for a VA Claim — and the First Five Discharge Copies Free Too

The state charges nothing for a certified copy, an abstract or a records search where the person applying shows correspondence from the VA or the Kansas Office of Veterans Services indicating they are applying for VA benefits and need the record to get them. Separately, the register of deeds records a discharge without charge and furnishes the first five certified copies free.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: First certified copy or search free for a VA claim; first five discharge copies free at the register of deeds

The vital records fee itself is set by the Secretary of Health and Environment in regulation rather than in the statute, so the sum waived is not a fixed figure in the Code.
The waiver covers the FIRST copy, abstract or search only. The statute says expressly that the usual fee is charged for a second or subsequent one.

Who is entitled to it

The waiver is written around the purpose — applying for VA benefits — so a survivor pursuing a claim is inside it.
You are 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

1Bring the letter. The waiver runs on correspondence from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs OR from the Kansas Office of Veterans Services indicating that you are applying for VA benefits and need the record to obtain them. Without that paper the fee is charged.
2It is not birth certificates only. The section reaches certificates and abstracts of birth, death, fetal death, marriage and divorce records, and searches of the files.
3Order the right record the first time. Only the first copy, abstract or search is free; the usual fee applies to every one after it.
4The discharge route is separate and sits with a different office. The register of deeds records the discharge or other official record of military service of an honorably discharged person WITHOUT CHARGE, and must furnish certified copies with no fee for the first five.
5Five free copies is more than most states give and is worth using: keep certified copies for the claim file, the funeral director, the county, and the family, rather than reordering later.
6A Kansas Office of Veterans Services officer can issue the correspondence the waiver requires, which is often quicker than waiting on a VA letter.

Form: Application for a certified copy, with VA or KOVS correspondence attached
File with: Kansas Office of Vital Statistics, KDHE; and the register of deeds for discharges
Documents you will need: dd214
No renewal: Once granted it does not need renewing.

CorrectionThe waiver is not "free vital records for veterans". It is purpose-tested and evidence-tested: the applicant must EXHIBIT correspondence from the VA or the Kansas Office of Veterans Services showing a benefit application and the need for the record. A veteran ordering a birth certificate for any other reason pays the normal fee.

Worth knowingThe waiver is not limited to veterans by its terms — it reaches whoever is applying for VA benefits and needs the record, which is how a surviving spouse or a dependent parent comes inside it.

Worth knowingThe same section carries a separate free birth certificate for a person aged seventeen or over who lacks the documentation required for voter identification. It is unrelated to service but sits in the same subsection and is easy to miss.

Known gapThe current certified copy fee set by KDHE regulation was not read this session, so the dollar value of the waiver is not stated.

Sources

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