Birth Certificate

A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. Please note, some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may not be acceptable for passport purposes.

Beginning April 1, 2011, all birth certificates must also include the full names of the applicant's parent(s).

"Notifications of Birth Registration" or "Birth Announcements," which do not meet the requirements outlined below, are not acceptable as evidence of citizenship.

For a Birth Certificate to be acceptable, it must:

• Be issued by the office of vital statistics of the state, county, or city where your birth occurred.
• Show your full name at birth.
• Indicate the date and place of your birth.
• Bear the embossed, impressed, multi-colored, or raised seal and signature of the issuing authority; and indicate a registration/file date within
  one year of your birth.