Birth Certificate

[Andrea S]

Are we supposed to request a birth certificate or was I supposed to call for it? I have never received one. We got a SSN 6 weeks after
Andrew was born, but no BC.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[emilyf]

It probably varies by state, but we had to send away for it and pay $6.00. I just did this last week and it came within a few days. We are in Maryland. I would think if you looked in the phone book under the vital records dept you could call and find out. I was surprised, and the only reason I even thought to do this was I need to get Charlie a passport for a trip this summer.
Emily
mom of Charlie born 11/02

[Annette_C]

Andrea,
Like Emily said, it varies by state but, most often, you have to request it.
Did they have you fill out a form at the hospital after the baby was born that asked for first, middle and last name of baby and parents? If they did, you would get it in the mail; if not, you need to request one.
HTH,
Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

[parkersmama]

You most likely filled out the form (the doctor has to sign it as well) at the hospital but they won't send you one unless you request it. Where I live you have to actually go *in person* and fill out a request form and pay about $10 to get a certified copy. The only time we've needed one so far was to get our child registered for kindergarten. I haven't even bothered to get one for our 3 year old yet. Guess I'll get his and the baby's at the same time!

[C99]

In Cook County, Illinois, they send you one automatically and you send back your payment. I got the birth certificate right away, but am still waiting for the SSN. I was at SSA the other day to get a new replacement card for me and they hadn't even processed the paperwork yet. They told me to come back with Nate's immunization record if I wanted to speed it along. So, his birth certificate doesn't count as proof of ID, but his immunization record from the doctor (which I have not gotten, btw) does?? Does that make sense to anyone else?

[mharling]

For us, the hospital reported the birth to the county and then gave us a form to fill out to request the birth certificate. We had to fill it out at home and mail it in. It was very generic (i.e. I wondered what would stop someone from just filling out the form, legit or not, and trying to get a birth certificate). I'm guessing that the county matches up the information from the hospital to the requests that they receive.

Mary
Mommy to Lane 4/6/03

[gravymommy3]

OMG Denise. I got my oldest DD's BC right away and my younger two still don't have theirs!!! I can't even find the form the hospital sent me to get them in the mail. I guess I will either have to call Vital records (oh joy!) or go to downtown Atl. and get their copies. Can't wait. Were you able to gets yours in Columbus or did you have to deal with Atlanta?

[dogmom]

You usually have to go in person or send in a written signed request, with a fee. It will be either the city or county your child was born in, not where you live if it is different. Most larger cities have web sites. You could either look for instructions on line for requests or call the town clerk. They should have given you very clear instructions at the hospital, my hospital was very good about giving me typed instructions because I had other things to worry about. You might call your OB office, they probably could tell you the address.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03

[parkersmama]

LOL!! Isn't it funny how we are with the first and so slack after that?!? I was able to get mine in Columbus at the vital records office at the health dept. I didn't have the form, either, so when I went they just had me fill out the request (I believe I had to show ID to prove who I was, as well) and pay them (what they really care about!) and they got them for me. I had to wait while they typed it up and signed and sealed it! I wonder if you could call and they'd mail you another form? That would save you the horror of dealing with downtown Atlanta! Whatever you do, if you think you need it do it before school gets out so you don't have to deal with all the kids and the traffic! :-)

[Andrea S]

That is weird I am in Cook co too. I will have to call tomorrow and find out what happened. I remember filling it out in hospital.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02