How to Apply for a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB)

To apply for a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood, you gather certified vital records tracing your biological line back to an ancestor enrolled on a federally recognized tribe’s base roll, complete BIA form 1076-0153, and mail the packet to the Bureau of Indian Affairs office that serves that tribe. There is no application fee, but you will spend money ordering the certified documents that support your lineage. The BIA then verifies each generational link and calculates your degree of Indian or Alaska Native blood.¹

Before You Apply: What a CDIB Is and Isn’t

A CDIB certifies one thing: your degree of Indian blood based on descent from an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. It is not tribal membership, and holding one does not make you a citizen of any tribe. Tribes are sovereign nations that set their own citizenship criteria, and enrollment is a separate process handled by tribal governments.² Some tribes require a CDIB as part of enrollment; others use different criteria entirely.³

A CDIB by itself also does not qualify you for Indian Health Service care. IHS eligibility primarily requires enrollment in a federally recognized tribe.⁴ If your goal is health services, per capita payments, or voting in tribal elections, you need enrollment, not just a blood quantum certificate.

To apply, you must be able to document a direct biological line of descent from someone who was enrolled — meaning their name appears on an official tribal base roll. Living in a tribal community, family oral history, or self-identification is not enough on its own.

Step 1: Identify Your Ancestor and Their Tribal Roll

Before you fill out anything, you need to know which federally recognized tribe your ancestor was enrolled with and, if possible, their roll number. The BIA’s own guidance is to identify the specific tribe first, then work with that tribal government to confirm the enrollment record.⁵

If your ancestry runs through the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, or Seminole), the starting point is usually the Dawes Rolls, which recorded tribal members from 1898 through 1907, with a small number of additions between 1912 and 1914. The National Archives maintains searchable Dawes records.⁶ Other tribes use different base rolls, including the Baker Roll for the Eastern Band of Cherokee, allotment rolls, and rolls created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act for Alaska Native villages. When in doubt, contact the tribal government directly through the BIA’s Tribal Leaders Directory.

Step 2: Gather Certified Vital Records

The application form says plainly that no action will be taken until the request is complete, so document gathering is where most of the real work happens.⁷ You need:

A certified birth certificate for yourself and for every ancestor in the direct line between you and the enrolled tribal member. These must be state-issued certified copies from a Department of Health or Bureau of Vital Statistics, showing the names of both biological parents. Hospital souvenir certificates, photocopies, and short-form abstracts will not work.
A certified death certificate for any ancestor in the line who is deceased, issued by the state where they died.
Marriage certificates, divorce decrees, or court orders that bridge any name changes in the lineage. Without them, the BIA cannot connect a birth certificate under one name to a parent listed under another.
If a parent, grandparent, or other ancestor already holds a CDIB or is enrolled, include their certificate number or enrollment information. The BIA can pull their file instead of re-verifying the full chain.

How many certificates you need depends on the generational distance. If your mother is enrolled, you need her birth certificate and yours. If the enrolled person is your great-grandparent, you need certified vital records for every link between you and them. A single missing document stalls the entire application.

Order early. State vital records offices can take weeks to fulfill requests, and fees typically run around $10 to $30 per certificate depending on the state. If your ancestors lived in several states, you will be dealing with several offices.

One note on adoption. The CDIB traces biological ancestry, not legal parentage. If you or a parent was adopted, you need to establish the identity and blood degree of the birth parent. The application specifically asks whether the applicant or either parent was adopted and requests the birth parents’ names when known.⁸ Sealed adoption records can complicate this, and unsealing a birth certificate may require a court order.

Step 3: Complete the CDIB Application Form

The form is a PDF available on the BIA website under OMB Control Number 1076-0153.¹ Do not confuse it with Form BIA-4432, which is used to verify Indian preference for federal employment. The BIA has flagged that these are separate forms with separate purposes.³

The form asks for your personal identifying information (name, date of birth, address, Social Security number), then walks you through a family history connecting you to the enrolled ancestor. Each generation calls for names, dates of birth, tribal affiliations, and enrollment or roll numbers where you know them. It also asks whether you or your parents were adopted, so the agency knows whether it needs to verify birth parentage separately.⁸

Fill in every field you can. Blank fields that the BIA needs to verify your lineage will generate a pending letter asking for more information, and each round of correspondence adds weeks. If a parent or grandparent already has a CDIB, include that certificate number.

The final section is a declaration that everything you have provided is truthful. Sign and date it. Knowingly providing false information on a federal form is punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

Step 4: Send the Packet to the Right BIA Office

Your application goes to the BIA agency or regional office that serves the tribe from which you claim descent, not the office closest to your home. The BIA organizes its offices by tribal jurisdiction, and you can find the correct office through the Regional Offices directory at bia.gov/regional-offices.⁹ Some tribes will process CDIB paperwork through their own tribal government services offices before forwarding it to the BIA for final approval.

Send the packet by certified mail with return receipt requested. You are mailing original certified vital records that are expensive and slow to replace. Keep photocopies of everything before it leaves your hands.

What Happens After You Submit

A BIA enrollment specialist reviews your application, compares your lineage against the tribe’s base roll, verifies each generational link, and calculates your degree of Indian blood. If a document is missing or a link is unclear, you receive a pending letter describing what additional records are needed, and the file sits until you respond.⁷

The BIA does not publish a standard processing time. A straightforward file — say, your parent already holds a CDIB and you only need one new birth certificate verified — can move relatively quickly. A file that requires the agency to verify multiple generations, locate historical roll records, or resolve name discrepancies takes longer. Plan for several months at minimum, and do not count on the certificate arriving by a specific date.

Once approved, the BIA mails you a CDIB card showing your name, date of birth, the tribe or tribes from which your Indian blood is derived, and your calculated degree of Indian blood.

If You’re Denied or the Card Has Errors

A denial comes with a written determination explaining the reason and a copy of the appeal procedures.⁷ The usual reasons are incomplete documentation, an inability to verify an ancestor on a tribal base roll, or a break in the biological chain that available records cannot bridge.

If the card is issued but contains errors, such as a misspelled name, wrong blood quantum, or incorrect tribal affiliation, you must submit a written correction request with supporting documents to the issuing officer within 45 days of the date on the transmittal letter. Alaska Native applicants have 60 days. Missing that window means losing your right to challenge the card as issued.

For outright denials, the administrative appeal process falls under 25 CFR Part 2. You have 30 days after receiving the denial to file a Notice of Appeal. The BIA presumes you received the denial letter 10 days after it was mailed, so the practical clock starts running soon after the decision is made.¹⁰

1
Indian Affairs. Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood (CDIB)
2
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Tribal Sovereignty
3
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Understanding Form BIA-4432 Verification of Indian Preference for Employment
4
Indian Health Service. Frequently Asked Questions for Patients
5
Indian Affairs. Tracing American Indian and Alaska Native Ancestry
6
National Archives. Dawes Records of the Five Civilized Tribes
7
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Request for Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood
8
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Request for Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood
9
Indian Affairs. Regional Offices
10
eCFR. 25 CFR 2.203 – How Long Do I Have to File an Appeal