New Ohio Birth Certificates Debut. Old Ohio birth certificate (bottom) compared to new Ohio birth certificate (top). Fictional names are used.

Birth certificates certified by the Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics now show off a new look. Design changes emerged from an effort within the Ohio Health Department to utilize a fully electronic system to modernize recordings of births, deaths, and other vital events.

“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 some security features,” said Vital Statistics Chief Judy Nagy.

A common issue with the old certificates is that some of its blank fields weren’t long enough for all names and other pertinent information, creating layout issues.

New features include a reworked format, different colors, and an updated state seal. Nagy said the new certificate is mostly red, instead of blue, and the state seal in the lower left corner has been raised to signify the document is a certified copy of the event.

The Ohio Department of Health confirmed the new format is acceptable for all state and federal purposes, including passport applications, driver’s license Real ID documentation, job verification, and school enrollment.