If you love to travel, sooner or later, you will need to show a government official your birth certificate to prove who you are.
Birth certificates can unlock the ability to travel freely. They're accepted as a fundamental proof of citizenship for a variety of crucial documents that can validate you for worldwide travel, including first-time passports (but not renewals), Real ID driver's licenses that will be required of U.S. citizens in their airports and cruise ports starting in 2025, and even some types of visas. Birth certificates can be useful for all kinds of other paperwork, too, such as when you're applying for loans and buying property.
But many of us have lost track of our birth certificates, or they've become dog-eared with age, or we were never given them to begin with.
Not a problem. You can ask for a certified copy of your birth certificate, which for most purposes is just as legally valid as having the original.
If you were born inside the USA
The U.S. State Department, which issues passports for U.S. citizens, says that if you were born in the United States, then a U.S. birth certificate qualifies as a form of proof of citizenship.
A copy of your birth certificate (or a certificate of live birth, which is technically different but still accepted) will do for passport applications as long as it fulfills the following requirements:
— Issued by the city, county, or state of birth
— Lists your full name, date of birth, and place of birth
— Lists your parent(s)’ full names
— Bears the signature of the city, county, or state registrar
— Includes the date it was filed with the registrar's office (must be within 1 year of birth)
— Comes with the raised seal or stamp of the city, county, or state that issued the document
Don't let that list stress you out—if you go through the correct channels to obtain a copy of your birth certificate, the certified copy you request should check those boxes.
The federal government doesn't issue birth certificates—local authorities do. So the State Department tells Americans who are looking for a copy of their birth certificate to request a copy from the state or territory in which they were born.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a list of addresses for all the correct departments of vital records for the 50 U.S. states and territories. Don't rely on the CDC's synopsis of each state's requirements and pricing; we've found the CDC's info can be out-of-date. Click through to the state's relevant webpage to obtain the updated requirements.
Most states (or their authorized vendors) can handle the request online and charge around $25–$50 to reissue and mail you a certified certificate of live birth, which fulfills the function of a birth certificate. A typical turnaround time is 2 months, so if you need the document for an upcoming trip, make sure you plan ahead. Some states may offer expedited service for a higher cost. Many states accept credit card payments, but a few may still require you to mail a money order or cashier's check.
For Canadians, birth certificates are handled by the provinces; contact the Vital Statistics office in the province or territory in which you were born.
Every agency will need to know the basics, such as your biological parents' names and the date and place of your birth. Archivists will then look up documentation that matches your details and mail you a new certificate of live birth to use in place of your original birth certificate.
The U.S. State Department's birth certificate requirements
If your home state can't find your birth certificate
If no birth certificate was issued at your birth or if the state has misplaced it, there are still workarounds.
For passports, the State Department lists the types of documents you can request or file instead, including a link to a Birth Affidavit that can serve to fill in the gaps in your application. This may take more time to put together and validate, so file as early as possible.
If you were born outside the USA
If you were born outside the United States and its territories to a parent or parents who were U.S. citizens at the time, look for your Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). If you don't have it, the State Department can conduct a file search for you for a separate fee.
If your parents weren't U.S. citizens at the time of your birth, you'll have to request your birth certificate from the country in which you were born. Each country has its own rules and response speed, but most nations are used to receiving requests like this. Depending on how online your birth country's bureaucracy is, you might have to use postal mail, money orders, or cashier's checks to facilitate the request.
If the resulting document is in a language other than English, the State Department says it should be translated with a "notarized letter about the accuracy of the translation and their ability to translate the document."
Once you have a copy of your birth certificate, hold onto it—you never know when you're going to need it again.
