HELP ...Passport issue ... About This Page:

[holly40]

Hey all !

Well I fianally located all of the copies of our birth certificates.They are all the size of an index card and all but mine has a raised seal. Mine is very old and did not have a raised seal,but a stamp seal. I brought them to the post office to see if these were ok ahead of time. At best I thought mine would be the only issue. Turns out I was told NONE of them were correct!! I wasn't even understanding what the guy was telling me about it being wrong?!?

Something about a new kind ... and a number .. or something????

They have : The town , date of copy issued, name,birthdate,birth city,mom/dads name and and town clerk signature...and raised seal (but mine! )

Can ANYONE please tell me what it is they are looking for? As it stands now I have to go to 3 different towns( not close ) to obtain another copy.

[cubfancolleen]

My guess is that you need the bc issued by the STATE. Should be from dept. of Vital Statistics or similar. It is a certified birth certificate. Very different from what the hospital or local office would give. Good luck!

[pamcarey]

I'm only guessing here, but I know that the index card sized birth certificates are called abstracts, and maybe those aren't sufficient to get a passport?? Maybe you need a full-blown birth certificate? Seeing as how I'm taking my family to get their passports next week, I guess I'd better find out! Good luck!

[audrey77]

In GA, you can get the official birth certificates through VitalChek Express - Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Marriage Records, Divorce Records and Vital Records
They cover other states too...

[Pax]

Originally Posted by holly40

Can ANYONE please tell me what it is they are looking for? As it stands now I have to go to 3 different towns( not close ) to obtain another copy.

I'm guessing you have certified ABSTRACTS. I've seen both the FULL=sized version of my birth certificate (issued in Boston, MA) ... and a smaller, ABSTRACT of it ... which is about the size of, you guessed it, a large index card.

The U.S. Department of State says this about Birth Certificates:

*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.

Note, there are multiple things required there:

1. a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal,
2. registrar's signature,
3. the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth.

I know the Abstract I have, does not include #3. It includes the date of birth ... but not the date the certificate was filed (I was born shortly before midnight, so I'm sure the certificate wasn't filed with the Registrar's office until the next morning. If that was a Sunday, or even perhaps a Saturday, it might have had to wait even longer!).

So, if I wanted or needed to get a passport, I'd have to go in to Boston and get a full copy of my birth certificate.

[holly40]

Thanks for everyones replies ! I guess I'm looking at going into Dorchester to get a full length copy,because I'm thinking this is what they are looking for . What a drag !!

Going into the office it is $18. If I order them via internet or phone it is $ 45 for the first then $37 additional. By mail is $28 and takes 20-30 days . I won't need them till Feb, but I'd like to get it done before the expected raise in the fee for a passport.

Thanks for the help !!

[Pax]

Originally Posted by holly40

Thanks for everyones replies ! I guess I'm looking at going into Dorchester to get a full length copy,because I'm thinking this is what they are looking for . What a drag !!

Boston, I think you mean. Dorchester is an annexed township, so all it's records should be in Boston's City Hall, AFAIK. I could be wrong about that, of course; I seem to recall that the actual hospital was in Boston "proper". *shrug*

And, it stands to reason that #3 is indeed what your abstracts are missing, too. Got from the same place, in all likelihood.

Where do you think I spent the first four and a half years of my life? Yep, you got it: Dorchester. My grandmother owned a house on Half-Moon Street, and my parents and I lived in one of the several rooms/apartments she had for rent. I can actually still remember glimpses and flashes of that house, and the area just outside. I have a clear memory of playing at the edge o the yard, JUST onto the sidewalk, with a toy firetruck (it had a connector to fit it to a garden hose so that the water cannons on it would work) ... I was three at the time, I think. And got quite muddy and dirty (dirt + water + small boy = MUDTASTROPHE, hehehe), much to my father's dismay.

... wow, THAT was a trip down Memory Lane ...



Honestly? If you're north or west of the city, drive in to someplace like Alewife (endpoint of the Red line), and take the T into the city. It'll take a bit more time, but not HUGELY so ... and it's a lot less headache and stress (not to mention, less feeding-of-parking-meters, assuming you CAN find a parking spot at all).

[holly40]

Originally Posted by Pax

Boston, I think you mean. Dorchester is an annexed township, so all it's records should be in Boston's City Hall, AFAIK. I could be wrong about that, of course).

Hi ... The Regisrty of Vital Records and Statistics ....sounds very official....is on Moutn Vernon St in Dorchester. According to the website, they do all of MA ...
I can go there and get ( what I think ) I need !!

I was not born in the city , I was born in Cambridge.We now are west of the city. I don't mind driving in there, during my college years I was in Boston .....ALOT !! Hahaaa....

I'm glad you got you trip down memory lane .... it's always fun !!

Thanks !

[Pax]

Ah, well, maybe they moved that function out of City Hall then. It's been ... some ten or so years, since I last needed to get a birth certificate of any sort.

EDIT: I just did some poking, and ... the issue is, the place your'e going IS state-wide, and costs more than getting a certificate directly. Boston only charges $12 in person, and Cambridge only charges $10 in person. So, I suppose you have a choice: less money, or, less driving-all-over-creation.

[holly40]

Originally Posted by Pax

Ah, well, maybe they moved that function out of City Hall then. It's been ... some ten or so years, since I last needed to get a birth certificate of any sort.

EDIT: I just did some poking, and ... the issue is, the place your'e going IS state-wide, and costs more than getting a certificate directly. Boston only charges $12 in person, and Cambridge only charges $10 in person. So, I suppose you have a choice: less money, or, less driving-all-over-creation.

Exactly ... I'd need to do 3 different cities/towns ... all are at least 45 mins from each other....Uggghhhh .... Dorchester looks better and better...LOL...

[lukeandbrookesmom]

In MA you can get a certified copy of your birth certificate in the city/town where your parents were living when you were born and/or the city/town where the hospital in which you were born is located. If you were born in a Cambridge hospital you can get it at that City Hall. My kids were both born in a Springfield hospital and we were living in Sturbridge at the time so I've been able to get them at either City Hall.

[Pax]

Originally Posted by holly40

Exactly ... I'd need to do 3 different cities/towns ... all are at least 45 mins from each other....Uggghhhh .... Dorchester looks better and better...LOL...

Oof. Yeah, to Dorchester you go, definitely then. And make sure you specify that you need documents suitable for passports, so that you don't end up having to do it all OVER again, later.