It’s important to keep a copy of your birth certificate around, just in case. However, it’s also one of the easiest documents to loose since you don’t need it very often.\u00a0 Your desk can get shuffled around, it can get lost during a move…and unless you double-check its whereabouts periodically, you’ll have no idea that it’s lost until you actually need it.<\/p>\n
If you need a passport quick, not being able to find your birth certificate can be a significant roadblock. However, there are ways to get a passport quickly even if you don’t have your birth certificate available.<\/p>\n
Maybe not. If you are eligible to renew your passport by mail, your old passport is all you’ll need.<\/p>\n
The most straightforward way to get a birth certificate quickly is simply to go down to the Office of Vital Statistics where you were born. However, if you’ve moved from that location, this is probably not an option for you.<\/p>\n
Instead, you can order a copy of your birth certificate online at VitalChek.com<\/a>.\u00a0 They can get you your birth certificate within a week.<\/p>\n Of course, if you need your passport quickly, you may not be able to wait that long. In that case, as long as you’ve previously had a US passport, you can request that the State Department confirm your citizenship for you by submitting a Request for File Search form<\/a>. Submit this form with your passport application and a separate $60.00 check made out to the US Department of State, and they’ll search for your files for you.<\/p>\n