The process of registering a child’s birth varies from country to country. In the United States the issuance of birth certificates is handled independently by each state. A birth certificate is required for getting a US passport and is considered valid proof of US citizenship by federal, state and local government agencies.
In the UK, the registration of births is overseen by the General Register Office (GRO). In England and Wales a birth must be registered within 42 days in the district where the baby was born. You can search for your local register office on the Directgov website (maps.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/MapAction.do?ref=grolight).
Although registering births in the US is a state function, the US National Center for Health Statistics creates standard forms that are recommended for use by individual states for the documentation of births. However, states are still free to create their own forms if they choose to. This means that neither the appearance nor the information contained in a birth certificate form is uniform and it will often vary from one state to another.
Birth certificate forms should be completed by the attendant at birth or a hospital administrator. The forms are then forwarded to a local or state registrar who will store the record. These registrars will issue certified copies of the certificates when they receive legitimate requests to do so.
A genuine copy of a birth certificate will have the registrar's raised, impressed seal on it, along with the registrar’s signature and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office. This date must be within a year of the person’s date of birth.
The federal government does not provide copies of birth certificates or any other personal vital records. Copies of birth certificates can only be retrieved from the state where the documents were originally filed.
In the UK, the registration of births is overseen by the General Register Office (GRO). In England and Wales a birth must be registered within 42 days in the district where the baby was born. You can search for your local register office on the Directgov website (maps.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/MapAction.do?ref=grolight).
Although registering births in the US is a state function, the US National Center for Health Statistics creates standard forms that are recommended for use by individual states for the documentation of births. However, states are still free to create their own forms if they choose to. This means that neither the appearance nor the information contained in a birth certificate form is uniform and it will often vary from one state to another.
Birth certificate forms should be completed by the attendant at birth or a hospital administrator. The forms are then forwarded to a local or state registrar who will store the record. These registrars will issue certified copies of the certificates when they receive legitimate requests to do so.
A genuine copy of a birth certificate will have the registrar's raised, impressed seal on it, along with the registrar’s signature and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office. This date must be within a year of the person’s date of birth.
The federal government does not provide copies of birth certificates or any other personal vital records. Copies of birth certificates can only be retrieved from the state where the documents were originally filed.
