Birth Certificate and Marriage License ? (Yes another, sorry)

[sparks1093]

Originally Posted by pezhead

My father had that problem a few years ago. His BC did not contain enough information for him to prove citizenship. It was a process to get a certified one from the county.

He had no clue until he went to apply for a passport.

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Ah, yes, the State Department does have more stringent rules for the birth certs they accept for issuing passports, but fortunately it's DHS regs that control.

[tea4ular]

Originally Posted by okiegirl07

Me and my sister are taking my mom on her first cruise! She does not have a passport (she very rarely leaves her home state) but she does have her original birth certificate. She also has a copy of her marriage license but the problem is she has been married before and doesn't have a copy of that marriage license. I know I have cruised before with my bc and marriage license and when I tried to hand them my marriage license they wouldn't even take it! Has anyone else experienced this problem? I know it would be best to get her a passport but we just booked and have less than 3 weeks before we leave! Thanks in advance for your help!

Please just alleviate all worry and anxiety, and splurge on an expedited passport. Your own post recognizes there might be "a problem" with the current ID.

The passport is valid for 10 years and should (god forbid) there be an emergency and mom needs to get home, she's covered.

[kait17]

As the OP is leaving in less than three weeks and the processing time for an expedited passport is two to three weeks, spending the extra money may not work out.
When we went on our first two cruises we did not have passports. I brought my marriage license but was never asked to see it. . If you really want to cover your bases try to get a copy of the first marriage certificate and possibly the divorce , too.

[jacpan]

Originally Posted by sparks1093

Why not?

Homeland Security requires it to be a certified copy. I am assuming this is due to how easy it is to forge documents.

[sparks1093]

Originally Posted by jacpan

Homeland Security requires it to be a certified copy. I am assuming this is due to how easy it is to forge documents.

Do you have a source for that? According to this website www.getyouhome.gov an original or copy of a birth certificate is good as long as it is issued by a government agency. (It's just as easy to forge a "certified copy" as it is anything else and when the regulations were written I am sure they took this into account.)

[thesanders08]

I had to get a copy of my bc cause my dad has mine and I do not talk to him so I cannot get it from him. A few years I went to my Health Department and got a copy and at the bottom of the copy it says "I herby certify this document is an exact copy of the record on file with the Ohio Department of Health." Has the seal and is on a watermark paper. And my husband has his original one from Vital Statistics and has a raised seal. That should be good enough right ???

[ray98]

As long as she has her BC and current marriage certificate to show the name change she will be fine. My wife was in the same situation and they barely looked at the MC, just the BC and that her name on the booking matched her drivers license.

[rigs32]

If your mom knows where she got married the first time, it's as easy as contacting the clerks office in that town/county and ordering a copy of the first marriage certificate. While you may not need it, those few dollars will be worth the peace of mind rather than worrying you'll be turned away at the pier.