Birth Certificate Information

You may prove U.S. Citizenship with any one of the following:

• Previous U.S. Passport
• Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state
  NOTE: A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar’s signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth
• Naturalization Certificate
• Certificate of Citizenship

A Delayed Birth Certificate filed more than one year after your birth may be acceptable if it:

• Listed the documentation used to create it and
• Signed by the attending physician or midwife, or, lists an affidavit signed by the parents, or shows early public records.

If you do NOT have a previous U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate, you will need:

1. Letter of No Record
   Issued by the State with your name, date of birth, which years were searched for a birth record and that there is no birth certificate on file for you.
2. AND as many of the following as possible:
   - baptismal certificate
   - hospital birth certificate
   - census record
   - certificate of circumcision
   - early school record
   - family bible record
   - doctor's record of post-natal care
   NOTES:
   - These documents must be early public records showing the date and place of birth, preferably created within the first five years of your life
   - You may also submit an Affidavit of Birth, form DSP-10A, from an older blood relative, i.e., a parent, aunt, uncle, sibling, who has personal knowledge of your birth. It must be notarized or have the seal and signature of the acceptance agent.

NOTE: The following are NOT proof of citizenship:

• Voter registration cards
• Army discharge papers
• Birth abstracts from California or Texas
  (You need a long-form birth certificate.)

NOTE: If you travel extensively, you may request a larger, 48-page passport at no additional cost. To do so, please attach a signed request for a 48-page passport to your application.

Print page