We know there are many needs calling for a “certified copy of birth certificate,” but what we think would be typically only one place or maybe two places we can get exactly that…a CERTIFIED copy of birth certificate information. The operative word here is “certified.”  and not just taken from any spiritual basis or hearsay but on a licensed documents.

For many of us getting a driver’s license for the first time, we need to show certified copy of birth certificate data, for instance, as the driver’s license will be the first identification we get after that birth certificate, except maybe if we have already gotten a social security number card.

For traveling abroad—outside of one’s country—a person needs to get a passport, and that means getting a certified copy of birth certificate first.  A photocopy will not be sufficient.  It has to be the real thing.

For those of us who marry an immigrant who does not have a visa already—here in the United States, anyway—we must provide a certified copy of birth certificate.  A photocopy will not do. 

Immigration procedures require birth data, wherever possible and in many places a requirement, the certified copy of birth certificate or other official birth records.  And even adult adoptees in many states and on many occasions would like to have copies of their birth records.

The principle behind the certified copy of birth certificate is that it is an official document: the official, or certified, copy of the document is stamped by the registrar, making a raised or embossed impression on the certificate that is not captured by an ordinary photocopy machine.  The certification also means there is a registrar’s signature, the date of issue/date certificate was filed with the registrar or registry office, and, of course, your birth information (which differs by location or period of time, but usually includes parents’ names, your given birth name, and your vital statistics at birth—including your height, weight, and hair color, for example).

For starters, then, if you do not have or lost your original, you can apply for a copy—a certified copy, that is—depending on where you live and were born.  For example, according to adviceguide.org.uk, if you are in England or Wales/were born there, you can get a certified copy of birth certificate from the Family Records Centre, the General Register Office, or by post or going in person to the local register office where the birth was originally recorded.  In the United States, you can contact a Bureau of Vital Statistics in the state in which you were born; you must write a letter stating your purposes and requesting an application, then you will send the completed application, along with a small check (mine was $13.00 in 2002, for example), and identifying information that only you have the right to…in most cases.

There are also services that claim to help you get a copy of your certificate, but make sure they are legitimate and have a good professional reputation and standing.  Check, for example, with the Better Business Bureau before paying anything to someone else who claims they can get information usually only you and government officials have access to.