How to Get Birth Certificates From the Military

American citizens born abroad on military installations still are United States citizens.

If you were born on a military installation, you might find it confusing when it is time to find your birth certificate. Military installations abroad have to register births of citizens with the nearest American consulate, who transmits that information to the Department of State for citizenship purposes. Finding your military birth certificate can be easy if you know where you were born and have access to basic familial information.

Instructions

1. Draft a document that includes the following information: your name at birth; any adoptive names that you have had; the names of your parents; any passport information you have; the place and date of your birth; where your original Consular Report of Birth Abroad is and whether it has been lost or stolen; and the serial number from the Consular Report, if you know it.

2. Take that written information to a notary and have him notarize the document.

3. Include the notarized document, along with a copy of your current identification and a check made payable to the "Department of State" in an envelope. As of 2010, the fee is $30.

4. Mail everything to:

   Department of State
   Passport Services
   Vital Records Section
   Room 510
   1111 19th Street, NW
   Washington, D.C. 20522-1705

5. Wait to receive your Consular Report of Birth Abroad, which is your military birth certificate, in the mail.

References

• U.S. Department of State: Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• U.S. Consulate of Vietnam: Instructions for Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America