Birth Certificates

[twinklestars]

Does it matter how old the birth certificates are as long as they have a raised seal? Thank you.

[NoobCruise]

I would hope it's as old as you are lol Seriously, a gov document is a gov document. Unless its tattered and falling apart or has been spilled on and you can't read it, then it should be acceptable.

If you're concerned you can always contact the court house in the county you were born. They should have it on record and be able to send you a new one. Allow a few weeks for that though.

[xxoocruiser]

Originally Posted by twinklestars

Does it matter how old the birth certificates are as long as they have a raised seal? Thank you.

The age of the BC generally is not an issue. It's whether or not it was issued from a Government Office ( city, county or state) and also contains all the vital information now required by the US Passport Agency effective as of April 1, 2011. Link to the US Passport Agency website : http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_5401.html which states :

• Beginning April 1, 2011, the U.S. Department of State will require the full names of the applicant’s parent(s) to be listed on all certified birth certificates to be considered as primary evidence of U.S. citizenship for all passport applicants, regardless of age. Certified birth certificates missing this information will not be acceptable as evidence of citizenship. This will not affect applications already in-process that have been submitted or accepted before the effective date.
  

RE: Raised Seals everyone on the CC forum keeps insisting that only BC's with raise seals will be accepted which is totally false. Particularly since most states no longer use raised seals as it is too easy to produce a counterfeit BC. Most states now imbed or impress the seal into the paper fibers of the BC. The requirement as per the US Passport Agency is :

In addition to this requirement, certified copies of birth certificates must also include the following information to be considered acceptable primary evidence of U.S. citizenship:

• Full name of the applicant
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal of issuing authority
• Registrar’s signature
• The date the certificate was filed with the registrar’s office (must be within one year)

[cb at sea]

Nope...as long as it was issued by the State, and not the hospital, you're good.

[Icecreammaker]

My daughter does not have her son's father's name on the birth certificate because of a long story....and we do not know where the father is, so how can we get a passport without that infomation. We are planning using his birth certificate just in case the state dept returns it.

[Ashland]

Originally Posted by Icecreammaker

My daughter does not have her son's father's name on the birth certificate because of a long story....and we do not know where the father is, so how can we get a passport without that infomation. We are planning using his birth certificate just in case the state dept returns it.

I doubt you are going to have a problem since there is "no" father's name on the BC...If there was...that would be if you couldn't locate him...Best of luck and enjoy !

[cherylandtk]

Originally Posted by Icecreammaker

My daughter does not have her son's father's name on the birth certificate because of a long story....and we do not know where the father is, so how can we get a passport without that infomation. We are planning using his birth certificate just in case the state dept returns it.

When only one parent is listed on a birth certificate the child only needs permission from the listed parent.