What To Do If You Lost Your Birth Certificate

Published March 25, 2022

While lost birth certificates are normal, they can cause more problems than imagined, especially if they get into the wrong hands. In addition, unfortunate events such as fires, theft, or simple misplacement frequently result in losing a birth certificate. So we provide guidelines on what to do if you lost your birth certificate and how to obtain a certified replacement quickly.

What Happens If You Lose Your Birth Certificate?

A birth certificate is the first proof of identity you acquire in life and is frequently required when replacing important documents or getting access to important services.

Whether you misplaced your birth certificate or are positive it was stolen, you must immediately notify your state’s Vital Records Office and make an order for a certified Birth Certificate Replacement. Your state’s Department of Health is almost certainly linked to the Vital Records Office. In the event of a stolen birth certificate, it is advisable to take further measures to safeguard against identity fraud. Your birth certificate may be used by identity thieves to get further valid forms of identification, such as a driver’s license, passport, or Social Security number. Therefore, it is important that you alert a local police station, the Identity Theft Government website, as well as a credit monitoring agency about your stolen Birth Certificate. Once you’ve completed these steps to safeguard yourself against identity theft, you’ll need to get a replacement Birth Certificate.

Each state has rules about who can specifically ask for a replacement for a missing birth certificate for a family member, such as your child or grandchild. However, when it comes to replacing a birth certificate for someone else, most jurisdictions restrict requests to spouses, grandparents, parents, siblings, and grandchildren.

How To Replace a Lost Birth Certificate?

You can immediately request a replacement birth certificate online, by mail, or in person at your county’s Vital Records Office. Unfortunately, suppose you currently live in a state different from where you were born. In that case, you may be unable to visit the Vital Records Office. This is why services like InstantVitalRecords.com come in handy by offering the convenience of online ordering, which removes the trouble of completing lengthy forms — all done from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Your replacement birth certificate will be a certified copy. This shows that the copy was produced by the state agency that maintains your original birth certificate and includes a stamp or embossing indicating that it is a true copy of the original document. A certified copy is required for a variety of purposes, including applying for a passport or a driver’s license.