Birth Certificate

Typically, a birth certificate will list the person’s name and date of birth. It will also have important information about the mother and father, like their names and addresses. It is usually a very official-looking document, with the state’s embossed seal and signature. It can be used for identity purposes and is the best form of proof that you are who you say you are. Most states require that people register their births, whether they live in a hospital or at home. This is done through a Birth Registration Statement that is signed by a doctor or midwife or, in some cases, 2 witnesses.

This standard form is similar to a passport application, with boxed entries asking for specific bits of data. For example, it asks about the birth place, whether it was a home or hospital birth, and demographic info for Mom and Dad, including their parents’ racial and ethnic origins. Some states will then issue a certified copy of this data, and the authorized version is what is often used for identity purposes, such as when applying for a US passport, getting married, or registering for school. This kind of certified copy will have the registrar’s raised, impressed, multi-colored, or micro-printed seal as well as their signature and the date it was filed with the registrar’s office.

How to Replace Birth Certificate?

You may need an authorized copy of your birth certificate if you apply for a passport, get married, or register a child for school. You can also use it to prove your identity. You can obtain a birth certificate online or in person at a vital records office. The office is located in the city, county, or state where you were born.

The office of vital statistics has an extensive collection of birth, death, marriage, and divorce records. It keeps the original documents on file for a few weeks or longer. You can visit the website of the office to find out if they have any recent copies. The office can also tell you where to order a copy of your birth or death record.

A certified copy of your birth certificate is a legal document with important information, such as your date and place of birth, sex at birth, mother and father’s first and last names, and other details. The document will be verified by the registrar and signed by the registrar’s official seal. You can request either a short-form or long-form birth certificate. A fee is required for each certificate. You can apply for a fee waiver if you are in the military or have been widowed or divorced.

Although it is rare for a birth certificate to require a change, each issuing state, county, or municipality has protocols in place to handle requests. Conducting a simple Internet search for the state name + “request birth certificate” should be enough to direct you to the department of health, office of vital statistics, or secretary of state’s website.

Oftentimes, birth certificates contain errors, such as misspellings of the mother or child’s names or omitting the father’s name if the mother was married to someone else at the time of the birth. Most of these errors can be corrected by submitting the correct information to the hospital that recorded the birth. Other corrections might include acknowledging a parent’s name change or adding the child’s gender. Correcting information not provided at the time of birth, such as a medical condition or ethnicity is also possible.