How long to get Birth Cert?

[MopedMama]

I was planning to book a cruise for mid-March with a friend and her mom tomorrow. My friend can't find her certified copy of her birth certificate, and doesn't have a passport. What's the best plan of action? Have any of you used the expedited birth cert services on the internet? (Of course she was born too far away to drive there and make the request in person.) If she uses one of those services, is it safe for us to go ahead and book the cruise? We have 7 full weeks before the cruise that we wanted. :(

If they can't go, I can't afford to go solo.

[hogwildcruzers]

I don't know about how long it would take, but I do know you can get a passport in that amount of time and I would think a birth certificate would be much faster. maybe it would be best to call vital statisics in the state of birth, they could answer all questions on this matter.

[serene56]

go to http://www.google.com and search for Vital Statistic for your state you were born in. Print out the form to request a birth certificate. 4 weeks you should get one.

[jcanino]

I was planning to book a cruise for mid-March with a friend and her mom tomorrow. My friend can't find her certified copy of her birth certificate, and doesn't have a passport. What's the best plan of action? Have any of you used the expedited birth cert services on the internet?

 

I had a friend cruising with me in August. A week and a half before the cruise she showed me her birth certificate. Unfortunately, what she had, was a hospital issued BC which would not do. She called the city hall where she was born. She sent them, via Express Mail, a copy of her driver's license, names of her father and mother and their dates of birth, a check for $5.00 to cover the BC cost, a check for $20.00 for them to expedite it and another Express Mail envelope. She had her new BC two days later.

[TahoeBob]

I was planning to book a cruise for mid-March with a friend and her mom tomorrow. My friend can't find her certified copy of her birth certificate, and doesn't have a passport. What's the best plan of action? Have any of you used the expedited birth cert services on the internet? (Of course she was born too far away to drive there and make the request in person.) If she uses one of those services, is it safe for us to go ahead and book the cruise? We have 7 full weeks before the cruise that we wanted. :(

If they can't go, I can't afford to go solo.

 

I would not use any expedited birth cert services, this can be done by you for less money. What I did was just look up Alameda county Calif. web page and it gave all the info I needed to get my BC. total time about 2 weeks.

 

Bob

[Seapup]

Use pre paid Fed Ex to get the request letter therer and backto you...

[samdham]

I recently needed a certified copy of my birth certificate. I went online and found the Register of Deeds for the county I was born in, and they had the application online. I printed it, filled it out, and sent my check for $7 on a Monday. I received it on Thursday or Friday. I think the site said to expect it to take 2-4 weeks, but it was MUCH faster. Check online and if they don't have the application, call and see what you have to do to get it.

 

 

Good luck. You have plenty of time, but do it ASAP, just in case.

[davnjnet]

send for the birth certificate. i think you have plenty of time. (get two copies while you are doing it). and if you want to make travel now and in the future easier get a passport also. i wouldn't be surprised if you get it in time without expedited services. you can do the passport at larger post offices, and a phone call with a credit card should get a birth certificate to you in a week or maybe two. good luck and don't worry. book the cruise.

[bonniemari]

To the OP-i see you are in AL-I gave our S & DIL who live in AL a cruise for Xmas that leaves Jan 27-he was born here in TN and they ordered his online and it took about 7 days to get it-so depending on what state she has to send it to you shouldn't have a problem.

 

Back in 1999 we were taking a cruise to Hawaii and discovered we needed a passport because the ship was going to Fanning Island. We used one of the online services and had our passports in 3 days.

[MopedMama]

Thanks for your replies! Turns out we were all worried for naught, the state of FL is extremely good at producing birth certs. :) My friend applied online, selected overnight shipping, and got it the next day. I was impressed! :D Anyway, now she's fighting other problems, her name on her shiny new birth cert doesn't match the one on her drivers license :eek: So she's just having identity crisis all the way round. She's applied to have her drivers license changed, and they said it would be 6-8 wks. Her temporary new one expires the day after we board. :eek: She is also using the new drivers license to apply for a passport, so we don't have to go through all this headache EVER again :p