Can you produce your Birth Certificate?

[Pharaoh]

[onehandle]

1. Yes. It has my little inky footprints, a seal, several signatures and everything on it.

Good thing.

I have a very foreign name and would be severely questioned if I tried to run for President.

[trumad]

3. Where did you get your certificate

They normally do not include footprints... the hospital gives you a certificate with footprints but it's not an official State Birth Certificate.

[onehandle]

10. It is hospital and state issued. Has a state seal and state register signature.

My guess is that it was sent by the hospital to the state to make it official. Dunno if they do it like that anymore.

I have used it for legal purposes exactly twice.

[obxhead]

14. Yes, I had the same.

When I was 16 getting my license for the first time they informed me that it was only a decorative piece of paper for display at home. I had to send away to get a copy of the original.

[Pharaoh]

16. yes, they used to do footprints

don't know if they still do.

[onehandle]

17. Some here seem to think it's done the same way everywhere.

And has always been the same.

I doubt they still do the footprints here for the official copies anymore, but they did it for me and also my mother much, much earlier.

[pnwmom]

41. The one I have with footprints was actually issued by my hospital.

So it's a souvenir now. The official certificate had to be ordered from my state of birth's department of vital statistics.

[golddigger]

4. The one with footprints is not a official birth certificate.

[Tresalisa]

38. It isn't?

Mine's still with the original envelope from the hospital where I was born, with the postage stamp and the date postmarked as the month snd year of my birth. Mine has both a footprint and a hand print.
:shrug:

[pnwmom]

42. It depends. The OP said s/he had a state seal and signature,

so that sounds official.

But in many states, the ones with footprints are issued by a hospital , and they're signed by a hospital administrator, not a state official. To be official, you need one signed by a state official, with a state seal.

[Tresalisa]

44. OK, thanks for clarifying! n/t

[TransitJohn]

49. That's not a legal birth certificate. That's for a scrapbook.

A birth certificate is a certified document from your State Department of Vital Statistics or whatever they call it where you were born.

[Dokkie]

57. same with mine

It has my foot print, hospital name, time of birth (3:33 am), doctor and such minor detail.

[Tx4obama]

2. Yes, I can and President Obama already has released his. n/t

Obama 2012 - Obama 2012 - Obama 2012 - Obama 2012 - Obama 2012 - Obama 2012 - Obama 2012

[pnwmom]

5. All anyone can produce is a copy.

The state has the original.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Not Onehandle! He has the original!

[onehandle]

15. I don't know if it's the 'original,' but it's official.

Never said it was the original. I assume they have a duplicate somewhere.

As I said above, I've used it twice. Once many decades ago to open the bank account I still have. And once much later to get a passport.

Nobody questioned my Pepe Le Pew like name. I feel for the President having to put up with the hillbillies that basically scorn him for his name. And skin color, of course.

[pnwmom]

43. Have you tried using it post 9/11? The one you're describing

is probably a hospital form (with the inky footprints); but nowadays they want a government issued form -- like Obama's, though each state has their own form.

If you ever need one, you apply to your state of birth's department of vital statistics.

[Pharaoh]

18. Yup, mine is just a copy

I have thought for years it was the original.

I wonder where that is and how to find it? Off to the city/county building in Madison to find out next week!

[pnwmom]

40. In Hawaii the originals are kept in big bound books in

a vault somewhere. And they don't hand them out to anyone. Good luck in Madison!

[Yupster]

7. I needed mine for my passport

Called a number, gave a credit card number, nmever even talked to a person but got it in about a week.

[Drunken Irishman]

8. No...

Not an official birth certificate, anyway. I only have the hospital copy.

[bhikkhu]

25. From what I understand, a hospital birth record isn't worth much

for most things you need a "certified" birth certificate, which is issued by the county recorder of the county you were born in.

[SheilaT]

9. I have a photostatic copy

of my original. The state (NY, in this case) always keeps the original. All anyone ever gets is a copy.

[napi21]

11. I have my original cert, BUT it was not acceptable to Ga!

We moved to Ga. in 2000 and when I went to get my DL changed to a Ga. one, they demanded my birth cert, and two other forms of ID...my out of state DL was ok for one of the three. I teek all my paperwork to the (what they foolishly call) the TAG office. The clerk looked at my BS and said this is not acceptable! I asked WHY since I'd been using that same cert. all my life and I was now 57 yo and noone has ever had a problem with it. Well, it didn't have the State Raised Seal on it so the State of Ga. demanded that I get another one from my home State. I did, and after the additional expense and a 12 day wait for the new one to appear in my mailbox, all was AOK.

Every time I hear some idiot bitch about Obama's cert, I think of what I experienced. There's a lot of stupid people in the world today!

[provis99]

21. were you a Yankee?

them thar Yankee certificates ain't accepted in Jawhja!

[napi21]

33. YEP! Pa. Birth cert. You're probably right. They looked at me

as another "Damn Yankee"! You know, the ones that don't just come to visit, but they STAY!

[pnwmom]

45. Did you have a hospital form? Signed by a hospital person

instead of by a state official? That would explain why Georgia wouldn't accept it.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. If I was Obama I'd be screwn. My certificate copy stinks and

the issuing authority says that is as good a copy they can get, wrote a letter saying 'if this is questioned have them call us, sorry'. So I have a copy, a crappy copy, and that would look pretty bad if I was being questioned about it by lunatics. Add to that the fact that neither of my parents ever had any sort of birth certificate and I'd be a birther scandal deluxe. Of course, they'd never think to question my citizenship, because me and both parents are white. So it wouldn't come up. Their interest is racist. If it was an issue, my paper would not be accepted by birther types, at all.

[obxhead]

13. I have 2 certified copies.

It was such a hassle getting a new one that I asked how much for a second copy. Only $5 more for a total cost of $30 five years ago.

1 copy I have on hand, the other sits in a safe deposit box.

[demosincebirth]

19. Mine wore out.

[shraby]

20. If you don't have it, you will have to produce it to go on

Social Security, so get a copy and put it in a place where you can remember you put it.

[CreekDog]

32. NOT TRUE. The original in my case is no longer valid --the copy I have from the County is

and i didn't have the original when i signed up for Social Security and my copy was perfectly fine to get my passport and into/out of Canada and Mexico.

[shraby]

53. I meant you'd have to have a birth certificate, period. If you

thought I meant the original, I apologize. I used a copy also that I'd ordered from the state I was born it.

[CreekDog]

55. sorry wrong OP

there was one yesterday that asked about an Original Birth Certificate.

:hi:

[MadMaddie]

22. I was born on a military base

I got certified copies from the government.

[Pharaoh]

23. Well then

Our Government is so trustworthy these days :party:

[MadMaddie]

71. All I know is I ordered it and it was delivered!

Works for me.

[bhikkhu]

24. I've never seen an "original"

...not of my own or of my parents or my brothers and sisters. I have a certified copy from the county recorder, and I always figured that was what everyone else had too. I've needed it about four times in my life.

I have the hospital "birth record" of one of my daughters, but its non-certified so not much use for anything.

[golfguru]

26. Yes, but it is not in English!

And it was not needed when I applied for my Green Card (permanent US visa).

[happyslug]

27. My Father never had a copy of his birth Certificate till he was 65

He enlisted in the Maryland National Guard in 1940 (Three months before the Draft), was activated into Federal Service shortly thereafter. Served in Europe, participated in the Invasion of Normandy, was wounded and then Honorably discharged (And received a disability pension from the Army for the rest of his life), and then worked for the US Post Office from the late 1940s till the mid 1980s. He retired on his postal pension and then turned 65, and was told to sign up for Medicare he needed a copy of his birth certificate (this was in 1984). He never obtained one, for he believe none existed (He was born with assistance of a mid-wife at his mother's home).

By then I had gone to collage and one of my professors had discussed this is class, the procedure was and is simple, you request a birth certificate from the state you were born in, and the state then sends to you a letter saying they have no record of your birth. That letter, and other evidence that you were born in the US, was all Social Security needed. Yes, a letter from your state Bureau of Vital Statistics that they had no record of your birth was treated like a Valid Birth Certificate from that state.

Anyway, I told that to my father and we sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics (He had been born in Jeanette PA). The Bureau of Vital Statistics sent him a Birth Certificate with the name "Wilbert" on it. For 65 years he had been using "Henry", but the state record said it was "Wilbert". We looked over the Certificate and determined it was NOT a misprint, it was the record of his birth, just in a name he never used. We corrected it, as then permitted by state law (And still is, see 28 Pa Code Section 1.32 http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/028/chapter1/s1.32.html), by turning the Certificate over and filling out the correction form on the back, signing it in front of a notary and sending it back to the Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Thus my father could NOT produce his birth Certificate for 65 years because he believe he did not have one. When he had to produce one, it was in a name he never used. He worked for the Government for over 35 years, received a pension for over 47 years, and doing almost all of that time his name was NOT the name on his birth certificate.

The name on Birth Certificate have long been ruled NOT to be your name UNLESS it is the name you have been using. i.e. my father's name was Henry not Wilbert, even during those 65 years when the Birth Certificate had the name "Wilbert" on it.

Side note: I believe why the name confusion was that my Paternal Grandfather was employed in the 1910s and 1920s roofing steel mills all through the United States. Thus he was away from his wife when she gave birth to my Father. The Doctor or Midwife wanted a name, and my Paternal Grandmother wanted to wait till her husband came home to name the child. Thus the Doctor or Midwife put a name on the Birth Certificate, while my Father was only named when my Grandfather arrived home days or weeks later. My Father never knew of the name on the birth Certificate for he never needed it, and by the time he joined the National Guard had been on his own for about eight years (His family broke up when he was 12, do to the Great Depression, by age 14 he was working on various farms in the Western part of Maryland where his family was from). Thus he never needed his birth certificate till he turned 65.

Thus I really find this demand for a birth certificate so much of a joke.

By the way, when Social Security was adopted in the mid 1930s, my Paternal Grandfather had the family bible. This was important for you had to be a certain age to get Social Security, wrong birth year you were entitled to none. The Bible was the best place to get the date of birth for people who did NOT have a Birth Certificate (It was still common in the days of my Father's birth for people NOT to have a birth Certificate thus why Social Security had the rule I mentioned above AND why my professor from the mid 1970s mentioned it to my class). I was told my Grandfather changed several of the dates in the Family bible to make them eligible for Social Security. In fact, under Pennsylvania Regulations a birth date can be changed if evidence more then five years old can be obtained. A family bible meets that requirement (Through the actual Regulation only mention "baptismal record of the subject, early school record or other acceptable documents" the phase "other acceptable documents" can include the family bible).

The use of a Baptismal Certificate to correct a birth record:
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/028/chapter1/s1.33.html

My point is a birth Certificate is just a record of birth, and then not that hard to obtain or change so why make a big thing about it? I never know.

[LiberalFighter]

28. Which one?

I only had a certified copy from the state until cleaning out my parents house. I have my hospital record and a photostatic copy. The photostatic copy is a reverse copy meaning it is white on black background.

[madamesilverspurs]

29. Have a photostat of the original.

The photostat, about the size of an index card, was given to my parents at the time of my birth 63 years ago. It served as legal proof of birth until a few years ago when I was required to replace it with the big green square one. Ironically, there's more info on the older one. But the new one looks just like the one that has Barack Obama's name on it.

-

[housewolf]

30. Yes, but it probably wouldn't meet the standard of a "long form" birth certificate

which is something I'd never heard of before recent times

I have a certified "Certificate of Live Birth". Had it for years.

[CreekDog]

31. I don't have the original and the County of San Francisco told me it's no good anyway

the certified copy is the only legal document verifying my citizenship.

if you believe otherwise or ask for more --you are a birther questioning all of us on our citizenship.

[onpatrol98]

34. Yep...

Yeah, I can produce it. Now, my cousin only has a certificate of live birth for his adopted son. The birth certificate has his son's birth parents and real birth place. The certificate of live birth has my cousin and his wife as mother and father and their hometown as the birth place, which is really nice. I'm sure it works as well as a birth certificate for them, though.

[HipChick]

35. Nope..I was born at home

Not in a hospital...no hospital issue birth certificate for me..just an entry in a registrar..

[madmom]

58. Same here..I was delivered by my dad and grandmother, by the time the doc got there I was

already bathed, dressed and sleeping in a cradle. I have a court registration which certifies live birth.

[Historic NY]

36. I have the souvenir copy from the hospital & certified which is..

need to prove states residency if your a student, used for passport & for social security. You actually have to mail them your original or certified copy.

[Tresalisa]

37. I have my original

with my tiny little footprint and handprint on it. I can't believe I was ever that small.

All of the times I've moved in my life, I've lost count, that's the one thing I have always been able to keep.

[quiller4]

39. I have a certificate of live birth with seal and signature. n/t

[Iris]

46. For a fee and a lot of headache. I applied for a passport last year. What I THOUGHT was my birth

certificate turned out to be a "certificate of live birth." I had to put in a rush order for a copy of my birth certificate in order to get the passport processed on time.

[onpatrol98]

47. dumb

What a hassle...I think the two documents should have the same value all the time.

[Iris]

48. I know, right? They contained the same info.

[CreekDog]

51. Certificate of Live Birth is not invalid simply because of the title

most legitimate documents are called that now anyway.

i think you are confused about why your first document was rejected and it's possible the confusion will lead you to wrongly question those who have Certificates of Live Birth rather than Birth Certificates.

[Iris]

67. you know, now that I think of it, I think it was a matter of timing.

I needed the passport to travel for work (to Canada!) and waited a little to long to apply. The lady at the post office was afraid they might reject the certificate of live birth and suggested I get an official copy of my bc express mailed to me. So, it was kind of a preventative measure that probably was not necessary but I had to make sure the application wasn't sent back for something silly.

[onpatrol98]

68. lol...bad hair day

Maybe she didn't know what she was talking about...or had a bad hair day.

[Iris]

70. well, she was pretty hoenst. She said it probably would go through, but if it didn't

it would take a while for them to reject it and send my application back so I could resubmit. It was just one of those things I had to suck up and do even though I probably didn't! :P

[CreekDog]

50. Certificate of Live Birth is fine --it's what I have and what I got my passport with

there was some other problem with your first document, not "Certificate of Live Birth".

and honestly --what you said is a discredited birther argument: that a "Birth Certificate" is legit and a "Certificate of Live Birth" is not.

:hi:

[slackmaster]

61. My official BC says "Certificate of Live Birth", and that's all I have

Except for a sort of tacky flowery thing the hospital gave my mom.

[Beaverhausen]

66. My "certificate of live birth" got me a passport in 2007

My CBL is from Pennsylvania in 1959.

[SkyDaddy7]

52. Best I remeber I got in the military with a...

Certificate of live birth.

[JTFrog]

54. Why do you ask? n/t

[Dokkie]

56. am only 27

So yes. I still have everything

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

59. Whether I have one or not is unimportant

there are many other things in my past that would disqualify me for that job.

Despicable things, illegal things, immoral things.

Well, maybe I could run as a Republican.

:hi:

[CreekDog]

63. Probably you couldn't

it sounds like those things haven't continued. :rofl:

[slackmaster]

60. Original is on file in Wyandotte County, KS. I have a certified copy.

Sufficient for getting a US Passport and other official purposes.

[Avant Guardian]

62. Wow, DU now has birthers?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

64. Check this out.

But do it quickly: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6069620#6070010

Unrelated but not really so: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6093535#6093570

And I'll stop here because I don't want this post to crash your browser due to sheer size.

[Travelman]

65. NO ONE has the original

Everyone who answered that the did is incorrect. The original is on file with the state in which you were born. You may have a photostat of the original, and it may have a state seal on it, but it is not the original.

[bigwillq]

69. Yes (nt)