How to Obtain Birth Records

The Cooley Dickinson Birth Registrar applies for birth certificates and social security cards for all babies born at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Parents will receive a Parent Worksheet for Certificate of Live Birth in a packet given to them by their prenatal provider (or at the hospital). The Birth Registrar will use this information to create the documentation required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a legal birth certificate. New parents will proofread and sign the documents–usually while still at the hospital.

Once completed, the birth registrar will release the records to the State and the Northampton City Clerk. Social security cards will be mailed to your home address. Birth Certificates, however, must be ordered and picked up at either the Northampton City Clerk’s Office (in two weeks) or the clerk in your city/town of residence (in three weeks). Prices for birth certificates will vary by town.

If you are looking for a replacement birth certificate for someone born at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, please contact the Northampton City Clerk or the clerk in the city/town of residence at the time of birth. Please note that birth certificates are not available at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. Also, all legal documentation signed in preparation of the birth certificate is mailed to the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and will not be on file in the hospital.

For Further Information:

Cooley Dickinson Birth Registrar
Phone: 413-582-2096

Northampton City Clerk’s Office
210 Main Street, Room 4
Northampton MA 01060
Phone: 413-587-1223

Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (for questions about infant social security cards, and legal birth documents)
Maria Vu
150 Mt Vernon Street
Dorchester, MA 02125
Phone: 617-740-2681