Well, that will save a step, maybe.
As a corollary to this, I think in some states a Notary is not supposed to photocopy a birth certificate and certify that it’s a genuine copy, as can be done with other documents when you need to mail them to someone. You’re supposed to go through the official process. (I discovered this when I tried to get a Notary to do that with my British birth certificate, although I eventually convinced him to do it.)
I issue certified copies of different documents at my job all the time . They are notarized- but all the notary is doing is stating that I am the person who signed the statement. When I sign that statement, I am certifying that the copy is an accurate and true copy of the information contained in our official records. The notary can’t truthfully sign that statement- and neither can Vital Chek or anyone else who cannot compare the copy with the original. Sure, a notary can sign that the photocopy is a true copy of another copy - but that’s never what’s needed.
When I needed a copy of my birth certificate I wrote to something like the PA bureau of vital statistics in Harrisburg and they were perfectly willing to mail it to Canada. I think that in 1999, they charged only $6.