Do you have a copy of your original birth certificate?

[1monster]

After listening to The Donald pontificate on whether or not Obama was born in Hawaii or not, I realized that I have never seen my own original birth certificate. And I'm not sure I actually saw my son's original birth certificate either (other to sign next to X on a form the hospital shoved at me with a do it quick attitude).

Apparently according to The Donald's rules, I can't prove that my son or I was actually born in the US of A. All I have for either one of us are Certificates of Live Birth from the respective states involved.

How are DUers set on this very important citizenship issue?

edited to add option: No

[REP]

1. I have the original hospital certificate and county long form (2 copies). Why?

[pnwmom]

40. The hospital "certificate" has no legal standing.

It's a souvenir, nothing more.

And many states don't have a long form or short form. They only have one form.

[REP]

57. I needed my hospital certificate and birth certificate to receive a duplicate SS card

My state has two forms of birth certificates; copies of the original and certificate of live birth

[liberal N proud]

2. You have to have a state certified copy to get a PassPort

[Historic NY]

10. And in some cases for residency verification for college....

that souvenir hospital copy is worthless.

[1monster]

11. I have a state certified copy of my certificate of live birth. It has stood me in

good stead for everything up to now. But, I have never applied for a passport.

[Drale]

3. I needed it a couple of years ago for my passport

So I'm all up to date.

[treestar]

No, just a certified copy

And that is the most I'll see, unless the state records custodian decides to let me into the state office housing the records.

[Rage for Order]

4. Sort of...

I believe the original is on file with the state vital records office, but I do have a certified copy with a raised stamp from the state

[tammywammy]

5. I have the one my mom got from the state when I was about to go to kindergarten. n/t

[William769]

6. No.

And when I had to get a copy of it, man did it cost some big bucks!

[Biker13]

52. Really?

I lost my original, and NJ charged my about 5 bucks for a copy with a seal.

But, that was a few years ago...

Biker's Old Lady

[SoCalNative]

7. I have my original

but couldn't vote because the stupid Weight Watcher's ad was right over the vote link

[Billy Burnett]

8. No. But i have a Kenyan grandma who says I was born in the US.

:sarcasm:

[coalition_unwilling]

28. Oh, man, that sign really says it all, doesn't it? I would almost

suspect a 'Yes-Men'-like parody. But the exclamation point gives it away as legit.

[Billy Burnett]

32. Here's another fav of mine ...

The stoopid. It hertz.

[Sherman A1]

49. It's so hard to use spell checker on

signs & banners.....

[a la izquierda]

9. I don't. I have a registration of vital stats form...

good enough to get me a passport.

[ellenfl]

12. none of the above. mine is a hospital birth certificate (no footprint).

the back says that it is unofficial and can be used to, among other things, prove citizenship. i used it to get my passport a couple of years ago.

ellen fl

[pnwmom]

43. That is "unofficial," not a state certificate. n/t

[ellenfl]

64. huh? eom

[Pathwalker]

13. I have an ADOPTEE birth certificate, naming my adoptive parents,

not my birth parents. So does my eldest son. Neither of us has access to our original birth certificate, just one reason I find this issue insulting.

[Pacifist Patriot]

41. +1

[wtbymark]

14. none of the above

My original sits in a file cabnet in Chaudfountain, Belgique

I have an official French translation (signed by both the American Embassy and the Royal administration)

I was born in Syracuse and my mother is a registered DAR


(IMO on this interesting stunt, his mother was born in Kansas, the debate is moot)

[ejpoeta]

15. I lost my original birth certificate in a fire. Had to get a replacement.

I do have my baptismal certificate though, which I remember being able to use as proof for something official before. Can't remember what it was, but the idea that it was acceptable as proof considering it is a religious thing just amazed me.

[Fla_Democrat]

16. I live in Florida.. wadda you think?

http://www.gathergoget.com/



Gather one original or certified copy of the following documents:

Certified United States birth certificate, including territories and District of Columbia
Valid United States Passport or Passport Card
Consular Report of Birth Abroad
Certificate of Naturalization, Form N-550 or Form N-570
Certificate of Citizenship, Form N-560 or Form N-561



NOTES

A birth certificate must be issued by a government agency. Hospital birth certificates cannot be accepted.

Please come prepared to present one of the listed identification documents as proof of citizenship or legal presence.

When necessary, marriage certificates, court orders, or divorce decrees must be provided to tie the name on the primary identification to the name the customer would like to place on the driver license or identification card.

If presenting a valid U.S. Passport and the name on your passport is your current name, you are not required to present additional name change documents.


http://www.gathergoget.com/checklist/checklist.aspx



:smoke:

[1monster]

30. The thing is that my state certified certificate and my son's state certified

certificate looks a lot like Obama's state certified certificate.

It states the name of the person, his/her sex and parents' names, including the maiden name of the mother, date, time, and place of birth.

Nothing else.

But according to The Donald, this is not a "real" birth certificate. Only the long form, according to him, is a "real" birth certificate.

And I tried getting the long form from the State of Pennsylvania. They didn't send it. Just the certificate as described above.

[pnwmom]

45. Trump is wrong. You have the correct document for your state.

Each state has their own form of birth certificates. Some have more detailed forms, like New York State (which Trump has). Some have short and long forms available. Some have only one form, and it's simple -- like Hawaii.

[lpbk2713]

17. Yes. And the hosp doesn't even exist any more.

It was a small three story women's hosp. It was torn down
in the 60's and replaced with an office building.

[pnwmom]

47. That's a hospital souvenir, not a state issued birth certificate.

People are confusing the two.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. Yup, but I've only seen it twice.

My mother insists on hanging onto it; she's afraid I'll "lose it." The last time I saw it was when I got my driver's license - in 1979. :eyes:

[dkf]

19. I have that black and white microfiche looking certificate.

But I can understand if Obama doesn't have his as his mother may have taken it around as they moved.

The green one that he already presented is the one they give to you. I'm not sure how to the the black and white one.

[Phentex]

36. I used that for my passport (WAY back) but I got a copy...

on the paper they use now (certified from the state) many years later. My mother says she used the black/white one for school and anything else that required it and it worked fine.

[pnwmom]

48. Different states have different forms. Some have long forms,

some have short forms, some have both. And hospital "certificates" are really just souvenirs -- they aren't official state documents.

Obama presented the only form that is available in Hawaii now. Years ago, apparently, they may have had two forms, but now only one is available -- the certification of live birth that Obama has made public.

[dkf]

55. Exactly.

[Glorfindel]

20. No...I'm sure it exists, but I've never seen it

It never mattered. I got drafted anyway.

}(

[mwooldri]

21. Somewhere I have a certified copy from the book that has my birth certificate in it.

AFAIK my mum got the "short version" at the time of my birth. For most things in the UK it's just fine and dandy. But Uncle Sam isn't happy enough with our short version, they require the long one - which costs more. So off to the Public Records office in the town of my birth I went and asked for a long formn copy of my birth certificate. It's only a copy, because the original is in a book. I've seen the book. I know where my birth certificate is - a much safer place than my home for sure!!!

But in essence my "birth certificate" is *in* another country. The copy is here - somewhere.

[yellowcanine]

22. No. I have an official looking piece of paper saying that an application for a bc has been filed

with the state and it is signed by some Pennsylvania health dept muckity muck. It says on the paper that it can be used as proof of age for school attendance etc. And I believe I have an official looking piece of paper from PA somewhere saying that there is a bc on file with the PA Health Dept. Pretty sure I don't have anything which actually says "Birth Certificate" on it. I was born in 1951. Maybe they do it differently now.

[1monster]

33. Yes! that is what I have. (It's been a while since I've looked at it.)

[frazzled]

23. Many people think they have the original, but they don't

They have something with a gold seal, but it's a copy.

[JoePhilly]

24. Why don't you include NO?

I do have my original. The only reason I have it is this.

My mother found it in a box when, about 10 years ago, at 60, she moved to a new home. She almost threw the box in the trash. She had no idea it still existed.

I do have multiple certified copies (which look NOTHING like the original), which I've used to get passports, etc.

My wife has her original birth certificate from Florida (1964).

The quality is so terrible, it looks totally fake. Looks like a fax copy of fax a copy of fax copy.

[Pacifist Patriot]

42. My original birth certificate looks ridiculously fake.

[madokie]

25. My original birth certificate was issued to me when I was out of high school

and was being drafted into the service. Not a person who attended my birth other than mother and father and of course myself were even still alive by then.

[appleannie1]

26. I have a certified copy of a certificate of live birth that was issued by my state. I have gotten a

passport using it. It is considered legal in this country and is the only type my state issues. I guess in Tea Party world I am not a citizen even though I am descended from a man that fought at Valley Forge.

[Moondog]

27. I worked for Uncle Sam for a number of years.

I had security clearances. Among other things, I had to prove who I was, my citizenship, and that I was born within the United States. I have originals, and I have raised seal certified copies; curiously, raised seal certified copies seem to be preferred.

I keep the originals and some certified copies in a safe deposit box, along with some other more intrinsically valuable stuff. I keep photocopies, and some certified copies at home, in a filing cabinet. It is amazing to me how often I need these things. Perhaps that is simply a reflection of the life I lead; more likely it is a reflection of the times we live in. For example, I recently had to renew my Driver's License, and among other things I needed to present a raised seal certified copy of my birth certificate, as the result of some federal statute passed during the last Bush era. Honestly, if you don't have these things on hand, based on my limited experience, you will probably need them within the next few years.

As for The Donald, well, who can say wtf he's thinking.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

29. I have a certified copy of the original and was issued from the board of health of NYC.

[eridani]

31. My hospital birth cirtificate is good only for a 1 year temporary passport

I haven't gotten around to writing the state of Illinois for the state birth certificate required for a 10 year passport.

[Buzz Clik]

34. NO. Not sure my mom even has it. (She's 84, and I'm sure she knows)

I don't have my kids' originals, either. The cute one with the footprint is NOT accepted as official, so we reordered official copies for all of us.

[Ghost in the Machine]

35. I have a certified copy, from the State of Florida

It plainly says "Certified Copy" at the top.

At the bottom it says:
"The above signature certifies that this is a true and correct copy of the official record on file in this office. This document is printed or photocopied on security paper with a watermark of the great seal of the State of Florida on the front, and the back contains special lines with text and seals in thermocromic ink."

I used to have a copy of the original, that showed the time of birth, my weight, the name of the hospital, the name of the delivery doctor and all that, but lost it when my wallet was stolen in a robbery. I had gotten that copy when I was about 16 or so, and kept it til it was stolen. It was in my wallet because I was going to renew my license or something, and needed a copy of my birth certificate. It usually stayed put away in my drawer.

[Blue_In_AK]

37. I think it's here somewhere,

but I sure couldn't lay my hands on it quickly. Probably packed up in a box under the house.

[housewolf]

38. I have a certified copy of the origingal & it says "Certificate of Live Birth"

I don't think state agencies give out the "real" original

[pnwmom]

39. I bet most the people who think they have an "original"

just have a certified copy like everyone else.

Or else they think a hospital "certificate" is the real thing.

[bluestate10]

44. I have a copy. The original is retained in the vital records of my birth state. nt

[blondeatlast]

46. Other: I have a state certified COPY--just like everyone, whether they know it or not. nt

[HopeHoops]

50. We have all of our originals - wife, me, 3 daughters. My wife's and mine have vac. records.

No shit. They're both from '63 and the vaccination records are recorded (by hand) on the back of them.

[taught_me_patience]

51. I've got a Hawaii birth certificate that looks exactly like Obama's.

I guess maybe it doesn't count?

:shrug:

[kskiska]

53. I have a wallet-sized certificate from city hall

with an embossed state seal. I've used it to get a driver's license, passport, and to apply for Social Security. I also have the hospital "souvenir" certificate and since I was born during WWII, I I have a "Wartime Proof of Birth."

[librechik]

54. The original birth certificate is a Public Record. It belongs to the State, not you

NOBODY gets the original birth certificate. EVERYBODY gets a copy. Teapers complain that Obam has never produced the ORIGINAL birth certificate--a document he never had, no one ever has (except the clerk of the public records. Also, in Hawaii they digitized all the originals, so the original birth certificates don't even exist anymore. This is just a huge distraction becasue the Teapers don't want us to notice how good our president is compared to their pieces of shit who have ruined our country. They have nothing to be proud of, so they only try to destroy our pride.

[Raine]

56. I don't know ... I sent for it from the Hall of Records

because all my mother had for me was a Baptism Certificate. I wasn't born in a hospital, I was born at home. What I have is what the state of CA sent me. :shrug:

[Warren DeMontague]

58. Mine sez I'm a double secret Socialist Mooselam, born in Kenya, which is in the country of Africa.

And it says that I subscribe to Scientific American just to make the baby Jesus cry.

[blondeatlast]

67. OMG--

you must be my long-lost brother! :bounce:

[pitohui]

59. why would i? what do you need it for?

i suppose my parents have it, the last time i remember needing it for anything was to get a driver's license as a teen (the driving age was much lower then)

for i.d. purposes i have my driver's license and passport

for proof of citizenship i have my accent -- for that matter my passport is proof of citizenship in the world's eyes, i got my passport as a teen, i don't remember what docs i provided, but maybe i sent it off to them, who knows...that was decades ago, you sure don't need it to renew

what the hell does a birth certificate prove? any baby looks much like any other baby, it proves nothing, right? i'm older than obama, there was nothing on the birth certificate for me which looked like a bit of white printing on black mimeograph (?) paper that proved fuck all

i guess these days they get a child's fingerprints or something?

anyone who has heard obama speak, who can't figure out that he's an american, needs to get their hearing tested, i don't need a birth certificate where i have my common sense

folks who are american citizens but who have "foreign" accents are in a challenging category but obama is clearly an american...i've traveled all over the world, never heard a non-american speak like that, i guess maybe a canadian could sort of kind of but they're not accusing him of being a canadian, are they?

the whole birth certificate things is bogus, and anyone with normal range of hearing should know it, unless they're an idiot racist

[Vinee]

62. you need it to enlist in the military.

[Tx4obama]

60. I have BOTH. One from hospital with footprints & one from the state w/ official seal.

Anyone that has ever applied for a passport knows that you have to obtain an official one from the state with the state seal on it.

[Vinee]

61. I have the original and multiple copies. I needed them to enlist in the Army.

along with copies of my college transcripts, HS diploma, court records for a few youthful indiscretions, etc.

[MilesColtrane]

63. I have a copy of the state issued certificate with a seal on it, and...

a notarized copy of THAT copy.

[miscsoc]

65. I think I lost it.

Might be kicking around somewhere at my parent's home

[karynnj]

66. I do - but the federal government will not accept two of my daughters' origninal s

To get passports for the older two, 25 and 23, we had to get NEW birth certificates because the format of the original ones was not acceptable to the State Department, which issues passports. The original for the youngest, who is now 20 was acceptable.