No Record of Your Birth

What happens if you need a birth certificate, perhaps to apply for a passport, and you don't have one? Not that you have lost it or that it was destroyed during a natural disaster. You were born in the United States but you do not have a birth certificate.

It is difficult enough to obtain a certified copy of your birth certificate when it has simply been lost or damaged, which leads us to believe that it may be pretty difficult to obtain something that you never physically had. So, what would you do?

There are a few ways to go about it, but essentially all of them require basic paperwork. You will probably need a Letter of No Record, this must be issued by the state where you were born and must include your name, date of birth, exactly what years were searched when trying to locate your birth certificate and some type of certification from the state stating there is no birth certificate on file for you.

You may also want to include as many of the following documents that you can: a hospital birth certificate (usually a keepsake given to the parents), a doctor's record of postnatal care, early school record, family Bible record, a baptismal certificate and even a census record. These types of documents must be early public records showing the date and place of birth, preferably created within the first five years of your life. You may also file a Birth Affidavit from an older blood relative (parent, aunt, uncle, sibling, etc.) who has personal knowledge of your birth. This affidavit must be notarized and have the seal.

It can be pretty confusing and frustrating trying to keep track of all the forms and requirements that may be necessary. In order to save some time and maybe even stress, consider contacting a company that specializes in obtaining those types of documents. If nothing else at least they will be able to make sure you have done everything correctly, which of course may expedite the process.