It is important to differentiate between a Certificate Live of Birth and a Birth Certificate. Even though both have similar names and are obtained for the same situation, they are not the same document. They do not have the same value, legally speaking.
The first record you get when born is a Certificate of Live Birth. This document registers information about the birth such as the name of the baby, the parent, and the doctors. Also, it includes the name of the baby, the sex, and the date of birth. A healthcare practician will record it and will submit it to the database of the hospital. This certificate has vital information for it to become a Birth Certificate.
For this record to become a Birth Certificate, the information has to be confirmed by the parents and the medical professionals that were involved. Then, the hospital will send it to the Vital Statistics Office. With this new information, this office will upload the information to the system. An official document will be ready with special features: an official paper with official signatures, seals, and tampons. This new document becomes one of the four Vital Records, a Birth Certificate.
Uses for each document
As mentioned above, a Certificate of Live Birth has actually few purposes, -but important ones-. It is the first document that states de existence and identity of a newborn. It works to create the first official document needed for several purposes during life: the Birth Certificate.
On the other hand, a birth certificate is the first official document of identification someone ever has. You will need it for several legal purposes since this document also proves age, parentage, citizenship, among other things. Between the legal purposes, you will require to present this certificate for enrolling for school or military, for getting a new passport or a driver’s license, etc. This is an important document. The best is to keep several certified copies of it, especially if the person is still underage.
Where to get these certificates
The only place where you can get a Certificate of Live Birth is at the hospital where the person was born. On the other hand, the only places legally authorize for issuing Birth Certificates are at the county office -it has to be the same one that received the Certificate of Live Birth the first time- or at the Vital Records’ Office -where the certificate was issued before-. The last one maintains the database to issue certified copies of the document when needed. These are the only legally authorize places where you can get the official document. However, there are independent servers like us who offer the service of getting your official certificate at home without having to visit any office.
At Birth Certificate Copy we can help you to get a Certificate of Live Birth.