short form birth certificate

[anricat]

We had to renew my DD's passport yesterday and I didn’t realize they were going to take her birth certificate to do it since it was just a renewal, but I guess renewals for minors are different. We needed to get it done now because we have an actual international trip in March that it needed to be done in time for and I was worried if we waited until after we got back from our upcoming cruise on the Wish, it wouldn’t be back on time.

So…I have no passport and her long form birth certificate has been taken. However, the state of Texas (and apparently California) also offers a short form birth certificate and when my DD was born, we got one of each. It’s got a lot less information on it, but it’s still a certified birth certificate with the raised seal and all that. The Internet isn’t so helpful when it comes to if this is accepted by cruise lines or not. (Lots of people confusing it with those hospital certificates when folks try to ask about it on various forums.) When I do find people who understand what it is, some say yes, some say no. I've got an email into my TA to see if we can get some kind of actual answer from DCL, but I'm just wondering if anyone else has any experience with using the short form birth certificate for boarding?

They told us 9 weeks for the passport and our cruise on the Wish is 8 weeks and 5 days. LOL! I’m crossing my fingers that her passport is back in time, and honestly, it should be, but just in case, I'm trying to figure out if I should order a new copy of her long form birth certificate! Any data points anyone can share on this one or if you were me, would you bite the bullet and order the long form cert?

 

[nancipants]

Do you happen to have a copy of the long-form birth certificate? When we were waiting for my mom's passport to come in, I reached out to DCL and the rep informed me that copies are okay.

 

[lanejudy]

I believe it's the following information that's required, doesn't matter long-form, short-form or otherwise:
Baby's name
Date of birth
Full names of parents
Location of birth

Many modern "short forms" have the vital information needed -- my daughter's short form is different from my husband's short form, both issued by the same state but years apart. My husband's is missing the parents' names while my daughters includes that.

If her short form doesn't have the info listed above, you can still get another copy of her birth certificate. As a note -- in the US a child's passport "renewal" is always treated as a "new application" until they are 16+ and old enough for an adult passport.

 

[anricat]

Do you happen to have a copy of the long-form birth certificate? When we were waiting for my mom's passport to come in, I reached out to DCL and the rep informed me that copies are okay.

I didn't think to make one.

I believe it's the following information that's required, doesn't matter long-form, short-form or otherwise:
Baby's name
Date of birth
Full names of parents
Location of birth

Many modern "short forms" have the vital information needed -- my daughter's short form is different from my husband's short form, both issued by the same state but years apart. My husband's is missing the parents' names while my daughters includes that.

If her short form doesn't have the info listed above, you can still get another copy of her birth certificate. As a note -- in the US a child's passport "renewal" is always treated as a "new application" until they are 16+ and old enough for an adult passport.

It does actually have all of that! Thanks! I'm really hoping that the passport comes back. I would really like to think we'll be fine since we have just over 8 weeks.

 

[kmedina]

I just renewed passports for my kids on September 16th. We had the passports by 10/23/22, so it took a little over a month. The identity paperwork (birth certificate) is returned separately. We received that on November 10th, so it took almost 2 months. We got the passports with a tracking number, so we knew exactly when they were coming. The identity paperwork does not come with tracking and if you reach out, they will not tell you exactly when they are coming. They also never appeared in our informed delivery (yours could, assuming you have it, but ours never did). While there is a chance the birth certificate can get returned before your cruise, I would make it a habit to check the mailbox everyday once your passports are returned.

 

[kmedina]

Oh, and I am 90% certain that the only birth certificate I own is the short form one from California. It is much smaller than my husband's, who is 3 years older than I am, and my kids, who are much younger than I am. I've never had a problem using it anywhere, at the DMV for my driver's license, to get my passport, to change my maiden name to my married name, etc. I also used a photocopy of it to get on a Disney cruise one time when I had just moved and could not find my passport. I think she'll be fine even if the long form does not make it back in time.

Mine does have the last names of my parents on it.

 

[kmedina]

I should also add that my husband and I were born in the same state. Since his is longer than mine, he must have the long form, and I must have the short form. I never realized there was a difference until right now. I just assumed the state of California provided less information the year I was born than it did the year he was born.

 

[anricat]

Oh, and I am 90% certain that the only birth certificate I own is the short form one from California. It is much smaller than my husband's, who is 3 years older than I am, and my kids, who are much younger than I am. I've never had a problem using it anywhere, at the DMV for my driver's license, to get my passport, to change my maiden name to my married name, etc. I also used a photocopy of it to get on a Disney cruise one time when I had just moved and could not find my passport. I think she'll be fine even if the long form does not make it back in time.

Mine does have the last names of my parents on it.

I'm surprised you could get a passport with it because there was a sign at the passport office we went to that specifically said it would not work for a passport application so that's interesting. Maybe that's a more recent rule. The one I have for my daughter is about 2"x4" so it's super small.

 

[anricat]

I should also add that my husband and I were born in the same state. Since his is longer than mine, he must have the long form, and I must have the short form. I never realized there was a difference until right now. I just assumed the state of California provided less information the year I was born than it did the year he was born.

I'm surprised you could get a passport with it because there was a sign at the passport office we went to that specifically said it would not work for a passport application so that's interesting. Maybe that's a more recent rule. The one I have for my daughter is about 2"x4" so it's super small.

 

[anricat]

Oh, and I am 90% certain that the only birth certificate I own is the short form one from California. It is much smaller than my husband's, who is 3 years older than I am, and my kids, who are much younger than I am. I've never had a problem using it anywhere, at the DMV for my driver's license, to get my passport, to change my maiden name to my married name, etc. I also used a photocopy of it to get on a Disney cruise one time when I had just moved and could not find my passport. I think she'll be fine even if the long form does not make it back in time.

Mine does have the last names of my parents on it.

I'm surprised you could get a passport with it because there was a sign at the passport office we went to that specifically said it would not work for a passport application so that's interesting. Maybe that's a more recent rule. The one I have for my daughter is about 2"x4" so it's super small.

 

[anricat]

Oh, and I am 90% certain that the only birth certificate I own is the short form one from California. It is much smaller than my husband's, who is 3 years older than I am, and my kids, who are much younger than I am. I've never had a problem using it anywhere, at the DMV for my driver's license, to get my passport, to change my maiden name to my married name, etc. I also used a photocopy of it to get on a Disney cruise one time when I had just moved and could not find my passport. I think she'll be fine even if the long form does not make it back in time.

Mine does have the last names of my parents on it.

I'm surprised you could get a passport with it because there was a sign at the passport office we went to that specifically said it would not work for a passport application. Maybe that's a more recent rule. The one I have for my daughter is about 2"x4" so it's super small.

The identity paperwork (birth certificate) is returned separately.

They told us it would be separate and coming after the passports, which is sort of baffling to me.

 

[ironz]

I can't remember-- was she born here? Right? I have lost my mind, because I should know this. Anyway, I don't recall a super long wait to get a copy of my birth certificate here in Texas last time I needed one.

 

[anricat]

I can't remember-- was she born here? Right? I have lost my mind, because I should know this. Anyway, I don't recall a super long wait to get a copy of my birth certificate here in Texas last time I needed one.

Yep! Born at St. David's North Austin. I just wonder if it's not a bad thing to get a spare.

 

[ironz]

OMG, I thought so... but my mind went completely blank. Hope it all gets sorted out before your cruise!!

 

[tvguy]

Good luck. Everything I can find says Short Form Birth Certificates are not acceptable for getting a Passport.
https://www.usbirthcertificates.com/articles/birth-certificates-long-form-vs-short-form

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Good luck. Everything I can find says Short Form Birth Certificates are not acceptable for getting a Passport.
https://www.usbirthcertificates.com/articles/birth-certificates-long-form-vs-short-form

Directly from the US Passport website:

• U.S. birth certificate that meets the following requirements:
  • Issued by the city, county, or state of birth
  • Lists applicant’s full name, date of birth, and place of birth
  • Lists parent(s)’ full names
  • Has the signature of the city, county, or state registrar
  • Has the date filed with registrar's office (must be within one year of birth)
  • Has the seal of issuing authority

Please note: Some states issue birth abstracts which are a summary of your original birth record. Most birth abstracts meet all the requirements listed above, while some birth abstracts do not meet these requirements. If you submit a birth abstract, it must meet all of the requirements above. If your birth abstract does not meet all the requirements above, we may also need you to submit a long-form birth certificate showing a copy of your original birth record.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/citizenship-evidence.html

 

[tvguy]

Directly from the US Passport website:

• U.S. birth certificate that meets the following requirements:
  • Issued by the city, county, or state of birth
  • Lists applicant’s full name, date of birth, and place of birth
  • Lists parent(s)’ full names
  • Has the signature of the city, county, or state registrar
  • Has the date filed with registrar's office (must be within one year of birth)
  • Has the seal of issuing authority

Please note: Some states issue birth abstracts which are a summary of your original birth record. Most birth abstracts meet all the requirements listed above, while some birth abstracts do not meet these requirements. If you submit a birth abstract, it must meet all of the requirements above. If your birth abstract does not meet all the requirements above, we may also need you to submit a long-form birth certificate showing a copy of your original birth record.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/citizenship-evidence.html

Thanks. So short birth certificates can't be used for Passports since they lack the parents names.

 

[Disneyfam854]

I was able to obtain passport with the short form, but I didn’t know until after I submitted so I definitely panicked initially. In Texas you can use short form conditionally.

Short-form Texas birth certificates are accepted ONLY if there is a letter “I” printed next to the date filed.

We have also used the short form for cruise without passport but since we have passports now will not do again. Passports are so much easier. I would recommend to anyone to order a couple official copies of birth certificates to keep on hand as a back up just in case of those time lapse of submitting for renewals, school, travel, or other emergencies.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks. So short birth certificates can't be used for Passports since they lack the parents names.

Maybe, maybe not. Apparently some short forms do include all the necessary info.

 

[anricat]

Thanks. So short birth certificates can't be used for Passports since they lack the parents names.

My daughter's short form birth cert has parent's names. However, I already used the long form for the passport application (therein lies my issue). My big question is can it be used for a cruise.