traveling with kids and id.

[ali38]

what other docs do i need for my kids who are under 10. will birth certs. be enough?

[sradogna]

Ali38,

As long as both parents are travelling birth certificates will be fine. If one or both parents are not accompanying the child then you will need notarized permission letters authorizing the travel from the absent parent(s).

[mohavemommy]

agree with above post ........ took both of my kids with bc's only and that was fine.... no problems

[imlulu]

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]My kids have passports. They are the easiest[/FONT][/COLOR].

[Travelitis]

Birth Certificates (original copies, not photocopies) are what you need. Don't confuse the decorative certificate the hospital gave you with the state-issued birth certificate. I used to work check-in for international flights, and every flight someone (usually multiple passengers) would show up with that scrapbook fodder given out by hospitals. If you don't have the right BC's, you can get additional copies from the courthouse of the county where the kids were born. If all you have is a photocopy of the birth cert, you can get it notarized. Just be aware that the notary's commission needs to be valid at time of travel. (That's part of the notary's info that goes along with their stamp.)

Traveling by air you need notarized letters to go out of the country with just 1 parent, but by cruise ship that's different. Carnival told me not to bother, and other posts I've read confirm that.

[mikeymars]

Passports rule. In the post 9/11 world, the days when people can get away with travelling over borders with birth certificates are beginning to end, people. The smart money already understands that and has their passports.

And as for the "why spend the extra money and effort to get a passport," response, answer this: why do people spend THOUSANDS of dollars to go on a cruise, and then try save $60 or so on I.D.? Especially when having 100% inarguable versions on the latter is absolutely priceless?

Again, PASSPORTS RULE.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

I know that passports are the gold standard for traveling, but for our family they just weren't practical, as we rarley go anywhere. So of course we are bringing birth certificates, but just to make me feel better, I wanted to have something else. I called my local DOT and they will issue my children (1 and 4 at time of travel) state issued/certified picture ID's. In other words, they look just like our drivers licence, but are just for ID purposes. Only cost $5 each.