Every person born in the U.S. gets a birth certificate and social security number, establishing his or her name, age, birthplace and U.S. citizenship. Citizenship is automatically granted to those born in the U.S. Sometimes a birth certificate is needed as proof of citizenship, for instance, when applying for a driver’s license, social security card, or certain types of employment.
There are other reasons why you might need a certificate as well, such as genealogy research or background checks. It gives you vital information about an individual such as the name of the baby born, the full names of the parents, birth date and birth place. Some birth certificates provide other information as well, like the physical addresses and birthplaces of the parents. This information can help you learn a lot about an individual you are researching.
There are several ways you can go about getting your birth certificate. The least expensive way is to contact your state’s office of vital records and request a copy of the certificate you need. Your state can give you a true, certified copy of your birth certificate for a low fee of $20.00 or less. This method can take longer than using a third party site, but it can save you money. If you want to get it quickly and easily, you can order it online for $25.00 to $60.00, depending on which site you use. Ordering online can help speed up the process, usually taking approximately 2 to 10 days to ship.
You still have to follow state guidelines even when you order online. You may have to send in additional documents such as a signed release or driver’s license to verify your identity. Many sites allow you to fax or mail these documents instead of transmitting them over the internet. Unfortunately, you can’t get free copies of birth certificates anywhere – not even online. Because all states charge for these records, there is no way a third party website can get them to you for free. Because of this, plan to spend at least $25.00 to order a birth certificate online.
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