Getting a copy of your birth certificate does not have to be difficult. The first thing you have to ask yourself is: What do I need to get a copy of my birth certificate?
Knowing the requirements and documents you will need to order your birth certificate is really easy because that identification document is a part of the vital records you have through your life.
The Vital Records are:
- Birth certificate
- Passport
- Passport
- Wedding certificate
- Divorce certificate (in case of)
- Death certificate
You can check the Vital’s Records Web page in this link: https://www.usa.gov
The objective is that you obtain a copy of your birth certificate without getting in a long tedious process, but instead, make it easy and smooth as possible.
General information
It won’t take that you go through your old childhood memories, but there are a few elements that you have to know, if don’t, you should get your information of the date and location of birth because this will be key to make the requirements and get a hold on your documents as fast as possible.
To summarize all the people that may have your exact name; the place and date of nativity will narrow down the search. It is important to have as many details of the place of birth as possible, these are:
- Country
- State
- City
- Municipality
- And even the name of the hospital you were born in
Other details that the government office is going to require from you are:
- full name: first name, middle name and both last names (In case of having two last names)
- The accurate date of your birth: Day, month and year
- And also your gender
The Social Security number will be optional to make this request in person at the Vital’s Records office, it is not mandatory to provide it.
Copy of your birth certificate when born in the United States
When you were born in the United States and need your birth certificate copy, you should check Online where is the Vital’s Records office located and follow the steps to make the requirements and find out how much is going to be the fee to get your birth certificate duplicate.
Copy of your birth certificate when born abroad
When soliciting a birth certificate having born abroad, but with American citizens parents, at the time you were born they should have registered your birth at the U.S embassy or consulate of the country where the birth occurred.
If they did the standard procedures, they should have received from the embassy a Consular Report of the Birth Abroad.
Birth certificate when born abroad and adopted by U.S citizens
If you were born abroad the U.S and adopted by U.S citizens your birth certificate was not issued by the U.S government.
The country where you were born was the one to issue it. To get a copy of your birth certificate, you will have to contact the local foreign embassy of that country and ask to solicit a duplicate.
In case that the copy of your certificate is in another language and not English, ask the embassy for a certified translation of the duplicate.
Also, you should have copies of your naturalization as a U.S citizens papers, but if you don’t have them, you must submit an application for replacement, to guidance on how to get the application and fill it out, go to this link: https://www.usembassy.gov/
To get a copy from this report, you have to contact the U.S Department of State. Depending on the country, they should have a copy of the listed birth in their Vitals’ Records office.
If the birth took place in a military base abroad, your parents, most likely, did not register your birth to the U.S embassy.
In that case, you may have to get in touch with the hospital you were born and also contact the base or the public affairs office from the appropriate military branch.
Parent’s information
Another piece of information that they might demand from you is your parents’ information. Most typically they will require the full name of your mother and in some cases the full name of your father, they will also ask you if they were married by the time in you were born.
In case you do not know the name of your father, you should provide the maiden name of your mother if she is married at the present time.
Justification for soliciting
When you order a certified copy of your birth certificate you have to have a reason for the order; that is one of the questions that the State government’s office is going to ask you.
The answer to this question will help to determinate the type of birth certificate you will receive because it’s going to correspond to the necessities of the requirements (the long version or the shorter version).
The most common reasons for asking a certified copy of your birth certificate:
- Applying for a passport
- A driver’s license
- Registering a school or university
- Join the military
- Claim pension
- Insurance benefits
There are some security measures for obtaining the Vital Records, there for you have to provide an actual reason to solicit your birth certificate. Not anyone can solicit it for you.
There has to be a relationship (marriage or blood related) between the person that is soliciting the certificate and the person from whom the certificate is from.
When another person is making the application to solicit your certificate, they must specify how they are related to you.
Credit card information
To order your birth certificate Online you have to own a credit card to make the fee payment. Because the credit card name should match the name on the application request for the certificate.
When you make the payment they page will solicit the three-digit code on the reverse of the credit card.
To verify your identity
When making it the process Online they will also look for to verify your identity, so there will be some identification related questions.
Have in hand some other identification documents. The Web page might request your Social Security number; provide a copy of your passport, driver’s license or other documents that have a photo and name.
The documents will be submitted by uploading it to the Web, via scan or fax.
In case someone else is making the online process to get a copy of your birth certificate, the document to submit will be a sworn statement proving the relationship to you.