Virginia Birth Certificate

[ritak]

I had misplaced my son's bc a couple of years back and got a duplicate from our Office of Vital Statistics. It is a certified copyand has a watermark, however, it does NOT have a raised seal. I called about it, and the office said they have stopped embossing the bcs. I am nervous about this. Has anyone else faced this situation?

 

Thanks.

[cb at sea]

It's fine. I've gotten nearly a zillion replacements for my kids--in Va! You will have NO problem.

[ritak]

Great! I was concerned that the passport application would get hung up over it. Thank you for you quick reply. :)

[Tiger Lilly]

South Carolina doesn't have a raised seal either and we've had no problems whatsoever with this birth certificate. We've been on several cruises with it and got a passport with it also.

[banderboo]

Both of my DD were born in norfolk and have the same type of birth certificates you are talking about. they both cruised several times before getting passports without any problems.

[nrh322]

FWIW... The Texas ones don't have a traditional raised seal, but if you run your finger across the state seal you can feel that it has a significantly different texture than the rest of the paper.

[Travelitis]

States are different. In some you can get a plastic card for a birth certificate. I've seen those back when I did check-in. The important thing is that it's a certified copy, not just a photocopy of a certified copy. Instead of thinking "raised seal" (not a good descriptive term as the footsie hospital certificates often have a raised seal) think, "issued by a govt. agency". That's what really matters.

[cayenneblue]

I had misplaced my son's bc a couple of years back and got a duplicate from our Office of Vital Statistics. It is a certified copyand has a watermark, however, it does NOT have a raised seal. I called about it, and the office said they have stopped embossing the bcs. I am nervous about this. Has anyone else faced this situation?

 

Thanks.

 

You should be fine. I live in Virginia as well, and worried about the same thing, since my daughters passport's seal wasn't raised either (though my son's was).

 

It was never even questioned! :)

 

Have a great trip!!

[ritak]

You all are great. Thanks for taking the time to answer. No worries now. :)

[Sea Island Lady]

South Carolina doesn't have a raised seal either and we've had no problems whatsoever with this birth certificate. We've been on several cruises with it and got a passport with it also.

My daughters SC BC does have a raised seal. It is a wallet size, but official. We have had no problem using it.

I also had to send off for a new one for myself, when I was ready to get a passport. It came with a seal, too!