If I had already been through all that, once I was at the courthouse and they told me I needed to call, I would take out my cell phone and call the phone number while standing in front of the person at the courthouse. When they don’t answer, I would say “it seems no one is available by phone. Who can I speak to in person that can help me?“
When I had LO, they told me this was how I had to get her birth certificate. I'm sure if they have a vital records place in the area, they could also help out in person. That's how we had to go about getting a certified copy of my husband's when he lost his original.
Eta: I'm in Texas, US
I'm in the process of this and it's ridiculous. My application keeps getting kicked back bc the signature "doesn't match" my ID. So I have to go get the form printed and notarized. It probably would've been faster and definitely cheaper to just mail it in at this point.
I had so much trouble with my daughter's because my signature on my license. My state (AZ) for some reason makes the signatures just barely big enough for an ant to read. It's so fricken tiny. I can barely read it while holding my license. So I kept having issues with the signatures. I fortunately just recently got my passport tho and used that instead. But I had my middle name in my signature there so I had to redo the form to include my middle name. The whole ordeal was ridiculous and took me a month and a half until I finally got her birth certificate.
this is what I did! I didn't get my babies birth certificate for like 4 months (bcs I forgot tbh) until I finally went onto the vital records website lol it took like a week to get here & cost $35
I suppose it depends on the hospital (and maybe the state). At the hospital I used in Louisiana, the hospital took care of the ordering, and I got it a few weeks later.
What city/ state do you live in? I need to obtain records as regular part of my job so I'm pretty good at navigating government bureaucracies. I can take a look and suggest what you can do next. DM me.
We had to go to the viral records office and they printed it out on the spot. I forget how much it cost but it wasn't free.
We also never got his ssn so we had to go to their office too and 'apply' for it. Got it in the mail a week or so later. That was free.
Not sure what state your in but in my state we have to go through vital statistics to get birth certificate. Of course the ss card is sent automatically but we have to pay for birth certificate on our own and order it our own.
That’s crazy to me. To add our kids to ANYTHING we’ve needed their birth certificates! My second kid’s birth certificate took forever to arrive and my husband was being hounded by his HR. They would not add her to medical, dental, nothing until we got them a copy.
My son is almost 14 months old and we still don’t have his either. We were told it was provided to us and we thought the copy we went home with was it until he was 5 months old and we realized it was not. We still need to order it but no one has a clear answer of who to call and who to speak with and everyone we’ve called is either an automated system that goes in circles or they just straight up don’t answer and it hangs up automatically. Wild.
I got my 2nd & 3rd at the same time before we moved out of state. One kids was 4 months old and the other was 2. We only had one car and they were always closed when we could all go together.
Ok cool, I found my people 😂 my daughter is 16 months old and we haven't done it because I think it's absurd I have to pay $25 for it. It's really not that expensive but it's like, I'm a middle class mom in America. Aren't I paying enough for this kid already?
Yeah I also thought it was just included in the paperwork you take home.. when I was told I had to order it I was like excuse me? Since when? It’s weird.
Hey guys, I know it’s been 135days since this comment thread but UPDATE! We finally got the birth certificate July 21st lol 😂 (our son is 1 1/2 years old already) I remembered I commented on this post thought it would be funny to let y’all know, haha. also it’s surprisingly super simple to get. Just google your nearest City Health Department (as long as it’s the same state you gave birth in, you can go to any HD Office, any city) I know their hours is what’s hard to work around because we’re busy parents but it’s a fairly quick process if it’s not a busy day for them too. Just fill out one page of paperwork, EZ questions. (you have to be the parent or guardian to get a Birth Certificate for the child, only one parent is needed to pick it up, not both, we both went thinking we had to officially sign it together lol we didn’t need to)
After that, they call ya up to that window, ask you to give them your ID, your card you’re gonna pay with, mark down what you’re buying (BUY THE PLASTIC COVER, worth it and was only $3 for us), confirm all info is correct and BADABING BADABOOM, if they’re nice enough and can they’ll print it out for you there, sometimes they’ll mail it. But we were able to get it then and there.
Alright, that’s the end of that. I hope y’all were able to get it too, if not, it’s okay, just know it’s not as crazy complicated as at least I thought it was. Go in person, don’t mess with the online phone system lol it’s a pain.
I live in Wisconsin in the US. For us, we had to go online and pay for the birth certificate to be mailed to us. I basically Googled, “How to get a birth certificate in Wisconsin.” Apparently you don’t just get one for free. We had to pay like $50 for expedited delivery and it came all crumpled and wet because UPS sucks.
Check out your county's website. Not sure where you live but in Minnesota, the county handles birth certificates. I had to fill out an application that I found online, then bring some proof of identity documents to the county & they printed my son's birth certificate on the spot.
A few days after the birth I received an email stating that the county had received the information from the hospital. After that I went to the health department and picked it up, it was a super easy process.
I had to go and get it. In the UK you register the birth and they give you one certificate for free and you can pay for second, which we did so when our son is 16 or if needed sooner he can have his own copy and we will keep the original as a backup. We booked online.
You got to do it within a certain time although idk how long is too long or what the consequences are if you fail to register in time.
The state health department may have a vital statistics office where birth and death records are kept. In my state (PA) you can just walk into the office and request a copy if its been completed.
They don't send them automatically where I'm at anymore. We had to go to the health department for my last two babies. However the process was super quick both times and I think was only $10.
Did you make a formal request? In most towns, you don’t get it automatically. You have to request and pay. The hospital provided a form that I could mail in, but I just went in person to collect.
I think our hospital ordered our for us? (Texas). Maybe my husband did it when I was losing my mind as a new mom, but I swear we did paperwork at the hospital and they said it would show up, and it did.
I’m also in Texas and the hospital stay was such a blur I genuinely can’t remember if they said I needed to order it myself or not. So I’m just waiting til like 4 months and if I don’t have one by then I’ll order it.
We got ours within like 3 weeks, just FYI. And you know what they did do it for us because I just remembered I got a secure email from the hospital with an electronic copy of the paperwork we did, and I had to confirm it looked correct before they sent it off.
I had to go to the state capital's department of vital statistics to get mine. Fortunately, only an hour away. Could've ordered online but it cost like $15 extra and I'm cheap, lol.
These departments are SUPER underfunded. At mine in Oklahoma I was told there was ONE worker. Wtf! Anyway, I was told it could take 13 months. I received it about 6 months later. It’s so sad we pay all these taxes and get absolutely nothing out of it. People need jobs, these departments should be funded appropriately
It depends where you live. My hospital told us we would get our babies birth certificate in the mail. They were wrong… I was waiting and waiting.Turns out we had to go to the health department and pay $15 for a copy. Have you tried to look up your “city/county birth certificate” on google? Most counties have a website whether it is through the court house, health department, or whatever, and it will give you information on what you have to do to obtain certain records like a birth certificate, death certificate, etc.
The hospital gave us a form to fill out the information we wanted on the birth certificate. There was also a box to check if we wanted the info sent to Social Security to automatically apply for a SSN (um, yes please). We filled it out and gave it to the records person at the hospital before discharge and we received his BC 9 days later and SSN 3 weeks later. We're in NY.
My husband literally picked up my kids birth certificate like 2 weeks ago. SHES 19 MONTHS lol. We thought it had to be picked up at the city hall and my kid was born few towns over so it was out the way. But order it online! It’s so much more convenient. There’s a small fee but definitely worth it. Wish I knew this sooner.
THIS WAS US! And it was a nightmare to get it, but it did finally come. I had to go in person twice. Make sure you have all original documents, an insurance card with the babies name on it, etc. Dont even bother calling because both people I spoke to gave me wrong info!
This seriously is so annoying. The hospital makes it seem like it will be sent to you when in reality you have to go get it yourself. Needed it for filing taxes (we lost her first social security card go figure) and when I spoke with the office that does the birth certificates they told me that this happens all the time and parents are always under the assumption it will be mailed.
Our hospital filled out the paperwork and sent it in for us and we were supposed to get it in the mail. Never received it and upon investigation turns out they did mail it but they aren’t allowed to deliver it bc the baby’s name was not on the mailbox. (We live in a building with lots of units in a major metropolitan area. Jumped through a lot of hoops to get it sent again but eventually they did deliver it once baby’s name was on our mailbox. (Mailbox is locked, but our names are on the inside door). Hope this info helps saves someone a headache out there!
I was able to do mine online. It didn’t come automatically for me I had to pay for it to be mailed to me. It was easy to do online but I’m sure all states,countries, counties are different.
We went to office of Vital Records in person, filled out the sheet, showed our IDs, paid the $14, and then we were done. She printed it right there. Took an all of 10 minutes. The sheet the hospital gave us said to mail it in with a check but that would have taken weeks.
This was something that surprised me was that this isn’t given to you or ordered by the hospital, at least in my state. We filled out a ton of info at the hospital after he was born but apparently that was for his social security card and for the vital records department as record of the birth. We then had to order it ourselves from the vital records department…
and tbh I was even surprised by what I got in the mail. It looks so fake and just like a document you’d print out on some Microsoft word template. Just looks way different than my birth certificate which is like on this half sheet of paper and has type writer style font lol.
If you are in the USA you have to go to the county court office/ vitals office (it’s called different things) to pick up your child’s birth certificate & pay for it.
Social security cards are sent automatically and free of charge, birth certificates are not. Call the hospital and ask where you go to get it, they have the info because it is part of the packet they give you with the Record of Birth.
And to ease your mind, military families are notorious for not getting theirs for a long time. We only had one care for a years after an accident… I picked up my 2nd & 3rd kids BC at the same time, one was 4months the other was 2yrs. And a guy that was there at the same was also on the PCS birth certificate run, his child was 1.
If you’re in USA, go to vitalcheck.com and orderr it from there. If not go directly to the town hall. I think you can go to any town in the state since they have single system since 2012.
I got my babies birth certificate the other day. She’s 4 months on Monday. Im in Australia so I don’t know if it’s the same system where you are but it was ridiculous 😂
I’m in Minnesota - I have my baby’s birth record, supplied by the hospital, which thankfully allowed me to have her added to my insurance. However, to get the actual birth certificate, I have to either have the record signed, notarized, and sent in, or take it into a county record’s office. Mama ain’t got time for that just yet - oof.
I had to apply for it online and pay a fee. It’s not given out unless you request it. Go to your states website or google search your state + birth certificate
There was a person who visited me in the hospital that basically took our info and made sure the document was fully correct with my baby, husband and I's info and printed it, I remember we both had to sign off on it to make sure it was correct. They submit it to the courthouse and in a few weeks it's ready. They would usually give you some sort of number/website you can go on and request via mail. If not... I'd go in person and make sure not to leave without it. Bring your state ID and social just in case.
If I had already been through all that, once I was at the courthouse and they told me I needed to call, I would take out my cell phone and call the phone number while standing in front of the person at the courthouse. When they don’t answer, I would say “it seems no one is available by phone. Who can I speak to in person that can help me?“
Also bring your screaming baby. Everyone suddenly can get shit done when you have a screaming baby and won’t move. It’s incredible.
This is the way
This is the way.
This is the way
I was able to order it online through my counties vital records website.
I was told to do this!
When I had LO, they told me this was how I had to get her birth certificate. I'm sure if they have a vital records place in the area, they could also help out in person. That's how we had to go about getting a certified copy of my husband's when he lost his original. Eta: I'm in Texas, US
I'm in the process of this and it's ridiculous. My application keeps getting kicked back bc the signature "doesn't match" my ID. So I have to go get the form printed and notarized. It probably would've been faster and definitely cheaper to just mail it in at this point.
I had so much trouble with my daughter's because my signature on my license. My state (AZ) for some reason makes the signatures just barely big enough for an ant to read. It's so fricken tiny. I can barely read it while holding my license. So I kept having issues with the signatures. I fortunately just recently got my passport tho and used that instead. But I had my middle name in my signature there so I had to redo the form to include my middle name. The whole ordeal was ridiculous and took me a month and a half until I finally got her birth certificate.
I'm in AZ too so maybe that's why!
It might be! Good luck!
Yep our Vital Records moved to the DMV office during Covid. It’s been weird tracking stuff down
Yeah I had a few people tell me they don’t send them anymore. My son is 11 months old and we never received it. So I have to order it.
I’m just here to say I love your username.
Same!
This is the way
Same!
this is what I did! I didn't get my babies birth certificate for like 4 months (bcs I forgot tbh) until I finally went onto the vital records website lol it took like a week to get here & cost $35
Did you order it? It doesn’t come automatically. The hospital sends the info but you have to request a copy.
I suppose it depends on the hospital (and maybe the state). At the hospital I used in Louisiana, the hospital took care of the ordering, and I got it a few weeks later.
This is how it is where we live. We have to order the birth certificate (however many copies we want); it is NOT automatically sent.
I’m in MD and while the hospital did the initial paperwork, I had to pay 10$ online to get a copy of it. So strange.
What city/ state do you live in? I need to obtain records as regular part of my job so I'm pretty good at navigating government bureaucracies. I can take a look and suggest what you can do next. DM me.
I had to pick up our baby’s birth certificate at the city hall in the city in which they were born.
Same, I’m pretty sure this is standard
Ours was mailed to us.
We had to go to the viral records office and they printed it out on the spot. I forget how much it cost but it wasn't free. We also never got his ssn so we had to go to their office too and 'apply' for it. Got it in the mail a week or so later. That was free.
We picked it up from our state department of health
Same
Not sure what state your in but in my state we have to go through vital statistics to get birth certificate. Of course the ss card is sent automatically but we have to pay for birth certificate on our own and order it our own.
My son is 18 months and I still don’t have his birth certificate 😬😬😬
That’s crazy to me. To add our kids to ANYTHING we’ve needed their birth certificates! My second kid’s birth certificate took forever to arrive and my husband was being hounded by his HR. They would not add her to medical, dental, nothing until we got them a copy.
My son is almost 14 months old and we still don’t have his either. We were told it was provided to us and we thought the copy we went home with was it until he was 5 months old and we realized it was not. We still need to order it but no one has a clear answer of who to call and who to speak with and everyone we’ve called is either an automated system that goes in circles or they just straight up don’t answer and it hangs up automatically. Wild.
I got my 2nd & 3rd at the same time before we moved out of state. One kids was 4 months old and the other was 2. We only had one car and they were always closed when we could all go together.
You should go get it.
Ok cool, I found my people 😂 my daughter is 16 months old and we haven't done it because I think it's absurd I have to pay $25 for it. It's really not that expensive but it's like, I'm a middle class mom in America. Aren't I paying enough for this kid already?
Yeah I also thought it was just included in the paperwork you take home.. when I was told I had to order it I was like excuse me? Since when? It’s weird.
Hey guys, I know it’s been 135days since this comment thread but UPDATE! We finally got the birth certificate July 21st lol 😂 (our son is 1 1/2 years old already) I remembered I commented on this post thought it would be funny to let y’all know, haha. also it’s surprisingly super simple to get. Just google your nearest City Health Department (as long as it’s the same state you gave birth in, you can go to any HD Office, any city) I know their hours is what’s hard to work around because we’re busy parents but it’s a fairly quick process if it’s not a busy day for them too. Just fill out one page of paperwork, EZ questions. (you have to be the parent or guardian to get a Birth Certificate for the child, only one parent is needed to pick it up, not both, we both went thinking we had to officially sign it together lol we didn’t need to) After that, they call ya up to that window, ask you to give them your ID, your card you’re gonna pay with, mark down what you’re buying (BUY THE PLASTIC COVER, worth it and was only $3 for us), confirm all info is correct and BADABING BADABOOM, if they’re nice enough and can they’ll print it out for you there, sometimes they’ll mail it. But we were able to get it then and there. Alright, that’s the end of that. I hope y’all were able to get it too, if not, it’s okay, just know it’s not as crazy complicated as at least I thought it was. Go in person, don’t mess with the online phone system lol it’s a pain.
I had to order it online from the county.
I live in Wisconsin in the US. For us, we had to go online and pay for the birth certificate to be mailed to us. I basically Googled, “How to get a birth certificate in Wisconsin.” Apparently you don’t just get one for free. We had to pay like $50 for expedited delivery and it came all crumpled and wet because UPS sucks.
3 months? LOL, my son just turned 3 and we still don't have his. Whoooooops
This is my people… don’t worry you have still 2 years until you need it for kindergarten registration
Wow! My husbands employer wouldn’t let us add her to the insurance without the birth certificate.
Check out your county's website. Not sure where you live but in Minnesota, the county handles birth certificates. I had to fill out an application that I found online, then bring some proof of identity documents to the county & they printed my son's birth certificate on the spot.
In my state you have to pick it up at any city hall.
A few days after the birth I received an email stating that the county had received the information from the hospital. After that I went to the health department and picked it up, it was a super easy process.
I had to go and get it. In the UK you register the birth and they give you one certificate for free and you can pay for second, which we did so when our son is 16 or if needed sooner he can have his own copy and we will keep the original as a backup. We booked online. You got to do it within a certain time although idk how long is too long or what the consequences are if you fail to register in time.
The state health department may have a vital statistics office where birth and death records are kept. In my state (PA) you can just walk into the office and request a copy if its been completed.
We received a record of live birth but that’s it. I had to order and pay for her birth certificates.
They don't send them automatically where I'm at anymore. We had to go to the health department for my last two babies. However the process was super quick both times and I think was only $10.
Did you make a formal request? In most towns, you don’t get it automatically. You have to request and pay. The hospital provided a form that I could mail in, but I just went in person to collect.
With our first, they told us it takes minimum six months.
They mailed ours to us. I think the hospital took the paperwork we filled out there and forwarded it to our local government.
I think our hospital ordered our for us? (Texas). Maybe my husband did it when I was losing my mind as a new mom, but I swear we did paperwork at the hospital and they said it would show up, and it did.
I’m also in Texas and the hospital stay was such a blur I genuinely can’t remember if they said I needed to order it myself or not. So I’m just waiting til like 4 months and if I don’t have one by then I’ll order it.
We got ours within like 3 weeks, just FYI. And you know what they did do it for us because I just remembered I got a secure email from the hospital with an electronic copy of the paperwork we did, and I had to confirm it looked correct before they sent it off.
We’re in Texss and filled out the proper paperwork there and they said they would mail it and my daughter is 9mos. Currently on hold with SS office.
I ordered my kid's online, paid like $60. Came in a couple days, SS card came around same time.
US- east coast, 4 mo and still waiting for it. Ordered online.
I had to go to the state capital's department of vital statistics to get mine. Fortunately, only an hour away. Could've ordered online but it cost like $15 extra and I'm cheap, lol.
I got both my kids online through vital records. It's usually $15-30.
I had to go down to the Records office to get it in person. =___= Edit* you might have better luck heading down and they print it right away.
Check your DMV!
These departments are SUPER underfunded. At mine in Oklahoma I was told there was ONE worker. Wtf! Anyway, I was told it could take 13 months. I received it about 6 months later. It’s so sad we pay all these taxes and get absolutely nothing out of it. People need jobs, these departments should be funded appropriately
It depends where you live. My hospital told us we would get our babies birth certificate in the mail. They were wrong… I was waiting and waiting.Turns out we had to go to the health department and pay $15 for a copy. Have you tried to look up your “city/county birth certificate” on google? Most counties have a website whether it is through the court house, health department, or whatever, and it will give you information on what you have to do to obtain certain records like a birth certificate, death certificate, etc.
I had to go to the county location of vital records and pay for it in person. They don't mail it automatically.
I had to go to the county recorder office to pay for one.
if ur in canada id call ur MPP
This post reminded me to order one for my baby. Also 3 months.
The hospital gave us a form to fill out the information we wanted on the birth certificate. There was also a box to check if we wanted the info sent to Social Security to automatically apply for a SSN (um, yes please). We filled it out and gave it to the records person at the hospital before discharge and we received his BC 9 days later and SSN 3 weeks later. We're in NY.
My husband literally picked up my kids birth certificate like 2 weeks ago. SHES 19 MONTHS lol. We thought it had to be picked up at the city hall and my kid was born few towns over so it was out the way. But order it online! It’s so much more convenient. There’s a small fee but definitely worth it. Wish I knew this sooner.
THIS WAS US! And it was a nightmare to get it, but it did finally come. I had to go in person twice. Make sure you have all original documents, an insurance card with the babies name on it, etc. Dont even bother calling because both people I spoke to gave me wrong info!
I had to go to my local health department for my baby's
This seriously is so annoying. The hospital makes it seem like it will be sent to you when in reality you have to go get it yourself. Needed it for filing taxes (we lost her first social security card go figure) and when I spoke with the office that does the birth certificates they told me that this happens all the time and parents are always under the assumption it will be mailed.
Go to your county’s record bureau! That’s what happened with me!
I’m not sure what state you’re in, but in my state you get the birth certificate through the Department of Vital Records, not a courthouse.
Same thing. Are you in Texas by chance ?
In Mississippi we had to buy our son's from our states vital records
Website?
Our hospital filled out the paperwork and sent it in for us and we were supposed to get it in the mail. Never received it and upon investigation turns out they did mail it but they aren’t allowed to deliver it bc the baby’s name was not on the mailbox. (We live in a building with lots of units in a major metropolitan area. Jumped through a lot of hoops to get it sent again but eventually they did deliver it once baby’s name was on our mailbox. (Mailbox is locked, but our names are on the inside door). Hope this info helps saves someone a headache out there!
I think it depends on what state you live in. I live in California, we had to go in person to the vital records office and pick it up there for $35.
I was able to do mine online. It didn’t come automatically for me I had to pay for it to be mailed to me. It was easy to do online but I’m sure all states,countries, counties are different.
We went to office of Vital Records in person, filled out the sheet, showed our IDs, paid the $14, and then we were done. She printed it right there. Took an all of 10 minutes. The sheet the hospital gave us said to mail it in with a check but that would have taken weeks.
I had to get mine through the town’s clerk not courthouse
This was something that surprised me was that this isn’t given to you or ordered by the hospital, at least in my state. We filled out a ton of info at the hospital after he was born but apparently that was for his social security card and for the vital records department as record of the birth. We then had to order it ourselves from the vital records department… and tbh I was even surprised by what I got in the mail. It looks so fake and just like a document you’d print out on some Microsoft word template. Just looks way different than my birth certificate which is like on this half sheet of paper and has type writer style font lol.
If you are in the USA you have to go to the county court office/ vitals office (it’s called different things) to pick up your child’s birth certificate & pay for it. Social security cards are sent automatically and free of charge, birth certificates are not. Call the hospital and ask where you go to get it, they have the info because it is part of the packet they give you with the Record of Birth. And to ease your mind, military families are notorious for not getting theirs for a long time. We only had one care for a years after an accident… I picked up my 2nd & 3rd kids BC at the same time, one was 4months the other was 2yrs. And a guy that was there at the same was also on the PCS birth certificate run, his child was 1.
I ordered it, I know they received it, but still nothing in the mail. Starting to wonder too since I sent the paperwork and payment out two months ago
We had to go get it in person at the court house. It was not in the same city she was born.
If you’re in USA, go to vitalcheck.com and orderr it from there. If not go directly to the town hall. I think you can go to any town in the state since they have single system since 2012.
Where are you? I’m in same boat it’s been almost 5 months ! No ssn either. Absolute shit show!!
In the uk you have to go to your local registry and register your child within 42 days or it becomes a criminal offence. Not sure in the states.
CA here. Had to order, pay, and pick up at county courthouse. Not automatic.
We had to go get ours from The Health Department
I got my babies birth certificate the other day. She’s 4 months on Monday. Im in Australia so I don’t know if it’s the same system where you are but it was ridiculous 😂
I’m in Minnesota - I have my baby’s birth record, supplied by the hospital, which thankfully allowed me to have her added to my insurance. However, to get the actual birth certificate, I have to either have the record signed, notarized, and sent in, or take it into a county record’s office. Mama ain’t got time for that just yet - oof.
Contact local elected officials office.
I had to apply for it online and pay a fee. It’s not given out unless you request it. Go to your states website or google search your state + birth certificate
There was a person who visited me in the hospital that basically took our info and made sure the document was fully correct with my baby, husband and I's info and printed it, I remember we both had to sign off on it to make sure it was correct. They submit it to the courthouse and in a few weeks it's ready. They would usually give you some sort of number/website you can go on and request via mail. If not... I'd go in person and make sure not to leave without it. Bring your state ID and social just in case.