How to Get a Free Duplicate Birth Certificate
Birth certificates are required identification for many transactions—obtaining a driver’s license, getting a Social Security card, acquiring a passport and proving citizenship. The good news is that certified copies of your birth certificate are easily available, both online and in person at municipalities and hospitals. The bad news is that, if you’ve lost your birth certificate, most resources will charge a replacement fee. There are a couple options, however, if you’re seeking a copy of your birth certificate at no cost.
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Instructions
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If you have your original birth certificate, make your own copy, even several copies. This is sound advice for anyone who has his birth certificate in his possession. Many situations—a job application, for example—call for a copy of your birth certificate, and it’s better to take a duplicate copy with you while keeping your original in a safe place.
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Ask relatives to see if someone in the family has the original certificate. Many people have never seen their birth certificates; they were put away for safe-keeping by a parent and may have been passed on to an aunt or uncle upon the parents’ deaths.
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Call or visit the hospital where you were born if you can’t locate your original birth certificate and don’t have a copy. Hospitals normally maintain birth records going back decades and, while they cannot provide an authorized, certified copy of your birth certificate (which you might need for purposes of, say, obtaining a driver’s license), they usually can provide a copy suitable for other purposes. Be sure to arrive with any identification you own—Social Security card, driver’s license or state ID, utility bills in your name or a picture student ID card.
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Write to or visit your local Social Security Administration office. Births nowadays are accompanied by an automatic issuance of a birth certificate and Social Security number. The Social Security Administration office may have a copy of your birth certificate, and it certainly will have a copy if you’ve replaced your Social Security card over the years—it’s required identification to obtain a new card.
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Go to your local city hall building or other government agency in the city or county of your birth. Many such agencies will provide a free duplicate copy if you can’t afford the fee. Again, remember to bring whatever identification you can provide.
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Visit a court where you have conducted business in the past. A divorce, lawsuit or even a criminal case may have required presentation of your birth certificate, and there may be a copy in the files.
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Tips & Warnings
An original or certified copy of a birth certificate has a registrar's mark—a raised, impressed or embossed seal, along with the registrar’s signature and the date that the certificate was filed. If you end up having to pay for a certified copy, make sure that these characteristics are present on your copy.
Certified copies of your birth certificate are not available online without a fee. (See References 1)
References
Resources
- Photo Credit passport image by isatori from Fotolia.com
