I have a certified copy of my birth record from the county in which I was born. It is signed by an official in the county recorder’s office and has the county seal affixed. It “certifies” that there is a record of my birth (with the date and name of my parents) contained within the birth records of the county.

That’s it.

It is not an actual reproduction of my actual birth record. It does not include all the information from my actual birth record.

Certifications are created to “certify” that the record exists. They are usually sufficient for situations where it is simply necessary to prove the event took place and was recorded. Genealogists usually need a reproduction of the actual record. That makes certain all the information from the original record has been reproduced and that words or names have not been transcribed incorrectly.

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One response

  1. I use this very thing in a class I teach. I show both the certified copy and the original copy of a birth record. Noting the differences between them is an eye-opener.

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