CAgrrl
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posted on October 27, 2001 08:30:43 AM new
OK I went to the post office yesterday to get my passport (yes I'm one of the brave who wants to travel over the holidays  ) and the woman who was going to process my application told me that I had to let her take the ORIGINAL of my birth certificate to send with the application. Is that for real? Why couldn't she just have taken a copy?
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saabsister
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posted on October 27, 2001 08:57:07 AM new
It seems to me that when my husband and I applied for our passports years ago, my husband only had a photocopy of his birth certificate that his mother had given him. He couldn't use it and had to get another one from the state of California.
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CAgrrl
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:12:44 AM new
was it a pain for him to get another one? I would not even be sure how to go about it in the event that they lose mine.
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Zilvy
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:18:37 AM new
To replace your birthcertificate, call the registry of births & deaths in the city where you were born, tell them what you need and find out how much, it usually is one fee if you come in for it or a slightly higher fee if you have it done by mail. $10 to $20 is my recollection here in Boston.
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saabsister
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:23:22 AM new
It's been a long time ago. I think it took a couple weeks for him to get it. We went down to the State Department if I remember right - because we ended up being pressed for time. (But we live in the DC 'burbs.)
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stusi
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:32:33 AM new
Are you sure they asked you to actually give them the original? I have never heard of any such thing. This may have been a new person who made a mistake. Sometimes you are asked to show an original but a copy is made.
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CAgrrl
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:38:01 AM new
No, she insisted that I give her the original. I tried to get her to send a copy instead, but she refused, saying that she had to send the original.
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gravid
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:53:06 AM new
They have to take a notarized or certified copy. A lot of people don't HAVE an original. a lot of people have never had any birth certificate. Just another hard nosed official. I would never let them know I have an original. You are too nice and honest. Give them a little grief back.
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Linda_K
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posted on October 27, 2001 09:59:03 AM new
Morning to everyone ^^
I think the reason for some confusion here may be the term that's being used.
There are the hospital birth certificates that the hospital one is born in issue, and then there is the 'legal' birth certificate. They are different.
In California, and Indiana (I know from experience) one must to as Zilvy shared above. What you will receive is a copy of your original 'legal' certificate, but it will be stamped with a purple circle shaped stamp from the state of CA. If the copy does not have the purple stamp, it is considered to be a copy rather than an original. You can purchase as many 'copies with the purple stamp' as you like. They will all be considered original.
Hope that helps.
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CAgrrl
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posted on October 27, 2001 10:02:28 AM new
how does one get a "notarized or certified copy"?
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Linda_K
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posted on October 27, 2001 10:12:37 AM new
By doing exactly what Zilvy suggested.
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stusi
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posted on October 27, 2001 10:13:02 AM new
The county/city clerks office will issue one usually with a "raised" seal that designates an original.
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Linda_K
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posted on October 27, 2001 10:30:51 AM new
Last post I'll make. I just pulled out the birth certificates we have for both of our sons and my husband, who were all born in L.A. county, CA. We have used these 'legal copies' many times when an 'original' birth certificate was needed. They are accepted as legal *IF* they have the below mentioned stamp.
The header of the B/C says: The Certificate of Live Birth, and has a local registration district & certificate number. It says: (at the bottom, stamped with purple ink) "This is a true certified copy of the record if it bears the seal of the County Recorder imprinted in purple ink." It lists the fee, the date, the registrar-recorders name and says Los Angelea County, California. Then it has the purple stamp (about the size of a 1/2 dollar) that says: Country Recorder Los Angeles County, California.
So....this is not the one with the raised stamp, but it has been accepted every time, without question, when an original B/C was required. Even by the US government when our eldest son joined the Marines.
So maybe you need to call the office of the person you spoke with and ask a supervisior if a *certified copy* is acceptable.
Good luck and have fun in your travels.
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CAgrrl
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posted on October 27, 2001 12:33:08 PM new
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. (since I am not a mind reader, I had no idea that "notarized or certified"= exactly what zilvy suggested.) I thought perhaps there might be some way of making a notarized copy of the birth certificate I have on hand, that is all.
BTW, my birth certificate is not actually FROM CA. But most states probably do things the same way so at least now I have an idea of what to expect. Thanks again for the info.
[ edited by CAgrrl on Oct 27, 2001 12:34 PM ]
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