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Baby's Birth Certificate
A Serious Document with a Fun Side
By Katherine Bontrager
When your little one finally makes his or her big arrival, among the responsibilities you'll have is supplying the information required for a birth certificate. Everyone knows it's an important legal document, but what information do you need to properly fill out the certificate? If you haven't decided on a name, can you leave that part blank? And what will your little one ever use a birth certificate for?
According to the U.S. government's Web site, "government-issued, certified birth certificates are one of the valid proofs of U.S. citizenship required when applying for a passport in person." Among the information the site lists as needed on the certificate is the seal from the registrar's office (which should be raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored), the registrar's signature and the date the certificate was filed in the office, which must be within one year of the child's birth.
To obtain the birth certificate, new parents need to contact the vital records office in the state where their child was born. This office can answer any specific questions about the process. (And if your child will be born abroad or on a military base abroad, the birth will need to be registered with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country and a Consular Report of a Birth Abroad will need to be issued.)
Admittedly, the government's Web site instructions aren't chock full of details. This may be because each state has its own birth certificate requirements, says Brette Sember, a former attorney and the author of Your Practical Pregnancy Planner: Everything You Need to Know About the Financial and Legal Aspects of Preparing for Your New Baby
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