Birth Certificate doesnt show alot

[kellbellscruise]

Hi all. Trying to get things together for our 1st cruise on the Sensation on Sept 20, 09. Situation....my hubby has a very old and torn copy of his b-cert from Penn. It is a small copy... maybe 4x5.. ya know, a short one. So, i downloaded the form for a certified copy and sent them a copy of what we had. We got it in the mail today, and it is just another copy of what he already has. Not even sure if I can actually feel a raised seal or not. It does not list his parents on it either. Problem is that his mother died in 88, and they were not remotley close!! Also, he never knew who is father was. Name only. So no info there either. Since this copy is what the office of vitals sent us, could it be the right thing needed for the cruise? Ya know....thats our luck. I ALWAYS get the grocery cart with the wheel that only goes to the right!! Any help is appreciated.

kell

[RHefley228]

Have him get a passport---now. Right now.

[EastTexans2]

If it's a certified copy from the office of vital statistics.....that's all you need. Every state birth certificate looks different. Have a great cruise!

[kellbellscruise]

will he be able to get a passport with this thing ya think?

[mstery56]

It has to have a raised seal to get a passport. My birth certificate was very old and about the same size. The State Department rejected it and I had to order one. The new birth certificate had much less info on it than the old one but it had an embossed seal and they took it.

[kellbellscruise]

The Division of Vital Records issues only certified copies of birth with the raised seal that are acceptable for numerous uses, i.e. passport, Social Security, employment, and personal identification. Records are available for births from 1906 to the present.

 

I copied and pasted that from the website. I will have him go by post office anyway....It just doesnt seem like much of a raised seal...

 

Thanks friends.

[BSQ]

not all certified copies have a raised seal. Does it have any sort of stand indicating it is certified anywhere on it?

 

Mine just has a purple stamp from the county recorders office, no raised seal at all.

[shumdit1]

Hi, If it came from the Vital Statistics in PA it is exactly what you need.

No they don't have much information. The raised seal is just a notary seal that your sometimes can't see but can feel usually more on the back.

It will work but I think everyone should get a passport.

[PlanoDebbie]

It has to have a raised seal to get a passport. My birth certificate was very old and about the same size. The State Department rejected it and I had to order one. The new birth certificate had much less info on it than the old one but it had an embossed seal and they took it.

 

Very few states are still using any sort of raised seals on their birth certificates. As long as it's an original certificate issued by the Department of Vital Statistics for your state, you should be fine.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w.htm

 

Here's the website I give to parents who need to obtain a new birth certificate to enroll their child at our school.

[G'ma]

Hi all. Trying to get things together for our 1st cruise on the Sensation on Sept 20, 09. Situation....my hubby has a very old and torn copy of his b-cert from Penn. It is a small copy... maybe 4x5.. ya know, a short one. So, i downloaded the form for a certified copy and sent them a copy of what we had. We got it in the mail today, and it is just another copy of what he already has. Not even sure if I can actually feel a raised seal or not. It does not list his parents on it either. Problem is that his mother died in 88, and they were not remotley close!! Also, he never knew who is father was. Name only. So no info there either. Since this copy is what the office of vitals sent us, could it be the right thing needed for the cruise? Ya know....thats our luck. I ALWAYS get the grocery cart with the wheel that only goes to the right!! Any help is appreciated.

kell

 

The only information they want off the birth certificate is proof that you are born in the U.S. They don't care about parents, etc.

 

As long as the copy you have is a state issued copy, no problems...and, it sounds like it is.

[MinnieGi]

My DH was born in PA and he ordered his certificate a few months back and it sounds just as you described. It is on the smaller side, no raised seal and just contains his name, date of birth and county. No other info. Myself and our children are all born in DE which in comparison has the raised seal tells more info like birth parents full names and is bigger in size.

 

He will be able to get a passport with it, as that is the real PA certificate!

[rednose83]

It has to have a raised seal to get a passport. My birth certificate was very old and about the same size. The State Department rejected it and I had to order one. The new birth certificate had much less info on it than the old one but it had an embossed seal and they took it.

 

Mine did not/does not have a raised seal and I have a passport. Our state sends them sealed electronically.

 

To the OP, go to the passport office and try to apply. If it can't be used to get a PP they will let you know.

[PaganView]

My birth certificate (from VA) has a raised seal, parents' names, ages, all kinds of information.

 

My children's certificates (also from VA) look like car titles. No seals, block printing, just basic info. They are very simple so they can shoot them out of a laser printer as quickly as possible.

 

You've received the information here correctly. If it came from Vital Records, it's the real thing.

[gazingm42]

Some states don't have seals. Mine has just a bright purple seal or ink on it with

the word certified on it.

 

DW aunt and uncle just got their passports and only took 2.5 weeks once they

dropped them off.

[lovintravelin]

We went to get passports last week. We live in Texas, but all four of us were born in California. They stated that the short form birth certs. from Calif. were not acceptable. Luckily we had the regular certified birth certificates. We are going on a "closed loop" cruise, but decided to better be safe than sorry and got passports. Think of it like insurance. There is a small outlay of expense, but a lot of peace of mind knowing you will be covered! Once you have it, it's good for ten years. No excuse to leave the country when a good deal comes your way! :)

[JAXCRUISER]

When I ordered my Birth Certificate from PA about 13 years ago (to use for my Passport) I was surprised too at what I got. It was just like yours--small, yellow and said "Female Subject" and my name with no parents listed. But this is their Certified Birth Certificate. I had also ordered my husband's from Indiana and his listed his parent's names. The Birth Certificate you received is what PA sends and the seal is very faint. Hope this helps.

[dobiemom]

Another vote to get a passport. It's a "peace of mind" thing with me. Just like travel insurance.

 

... I ALWAYS get the grocery cart with the wheel that only goes to the right!!

You are TOO funny!

[mom2tcdx2]

It has to have a raised seal to get a passport. My birth certificate was very old and about the same size. The State Department rejected it and I had to order one. The new birth certificate had much less info on it than the old one but it had an embossed seal and they took it.

 

This is false information, not every birth certificate has a raised seal on it. It will have the state seal, but not all are raised. They haven't been that way in Virginia for years. I have 3 different VA birth certificates and none have a raised seal.

[Tmrlovesjr]

Hi all. Trying to get things together for our 1st cruise on the Sensation on Sept 20, 09. Situation....my hubby has a very old and torn copy of his b-cert from Penn. It is a small copy... maybe 4x5.. ya know, a short one. So, i downloaded the form for a certified copy and sent them a copy of what we had. We got it in the mail today, and it is just another copy of what he already has. Not even sure if I can actually feel a raised seal or not. It does not list his parents on it either. Problem is that his mother died in 88, and they were not remotley close!! Also, he never knew who is father was. Name only. So no info there either. Since this copy is what the office of vitals sent us, could it be the right thing needed for the cruise? Ya know....thats our luck. I ALWAYS get the grocery cart with the wheel that only goes to the right!! Any help is appreciated.

kell

 

New birth certificates are looking weird now. My son was born in 2007 there is no raised seal, and it looks almost like a sheet of typing paper, but if you look closely it is the palest blue and there is a water mark. Getting a passport is suposed to make life easier, we just got the cards, right b4 they announced that you could still use bc 4 closed loops (so we feel a little cheated) but it only took 4 weeks to get it.

[stargate fan]

Hey, it could be worse...my birth certificate is completly in Hebrew. :eek:

(I used my citizenship paper to get my passport. I look nothing like the picture since I was a kid when it was taken and it had my maiden name on it, but I had no problem getting my US passport.)

kellbellscruise, did the birth certificate come with any kind of letter, stating something like, "Here is your certified copy of your birth certificate"?

[BaseballMomof4]

Another good hint is it is entitled "Birth Certificate". If you have a document entitled "Birth Notice" or "Birth Registration", they are not the official documents.

 

I used to work at a passport issuance office, as long as your document was sent by your state government and is a Birth Certificate, you should be fine. Each state has their own version and not all have raised seals, particularly duplicates. Often they simply have a stamp on them that says it is a true and correct copy.

 

These stamps should not be notary stamps, the office that issues the Birth Certificate has their own stamp. A notary can only witness a signature, and therefore having a notary on a document does not make it an "official" document, it just means someone is verifying a signature.