Ohio unveils new look for birth certificates

The state of Ohio has unveiled a new design for birth certificates.

The new look, according to a news release from the Ohio Department of Health, is part of a broader effort to modernize and implement a fully electronic system for recording Ohio's births, deaths and other events.

A fictitious sample of the old and new designs for Ohio birth certificates is pictured above.

The new certificate allows more space to accommodate longer baby names and other important information.

Additionally, the certificate is mostly red instead of blue and the state seal in the lower left corner is raised.

"Since we're transitioning our system, we felt it was a good time to update the look of the certificate, address some formatting concerns and improve security features," said Vital Statistics Chief Judy Nagy.

The new format is acceptable for all state and federal purposes, including:

• Passport applications
• Driver's license Real ID documentation
• Job verification
• School enrollment

The new look for Ohio birth certificates went into effect beginning August 6, 2025.

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