Short Form Birth Certificate

Short form birth certificates are also called informational or abstract birth certificates. They are a condensed version of the original and only contain part of the information included on a long form birth certificate.

Short form copies of birth certificates are not valid for official use, and so they cannot be used as proof of identity or citizenship when applying for things like driver’s licenses and passports. However, they do contain important information about the individual’s birth and are useful for genealogical purposes.

See also: Long form vs. short form birth certificate

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