Passport/Certified copy of birth cert. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Shauk · 09-08-2007, 12:16 AM

Ok so I want to go to Canada to get away from some shit, I have a brief window of opportunity to hop on a cruise ship to vancouver but in order to do this I need a passport OR Certified copy of my birth cert.

I'm not too entirely sure the fastest way to go about this. I was born in CA. my old cert was water damaged into frailty and unreadability and more to the point, has since been lost entirely.

Which would be faster? I eventually want/need to get a passport anyways just because I'd like to be able to travel in general but it sounds like getting just the cert would be fastest

I need to have this together by the weekend of the 22nd.

frozenstellar · 09-08-2007, 02:08 AM

i have absolutely no idea what the process is in the US, but here in Aust, we can walk into the office of birth, deaths & marriages (I think thats what its called here) and actually get a birth certificate over the counter. The key is you have to go in and do it - doing anything via mail will be useless.

Midnight · 09-08-2007, 04:56 AM

passport application process - 3 months+ *note* on need the birth certificate to GET this - and you will want to get extra copies of your birth certificate when you DO get it, for things like getting a passport and obtaining a new/copy of your social security number, among other things.

certified birth certificate - one day to 6 weeks average, one day if you can walk in to the appropriate office in the appropriate county of your birth. up to 2 weeks if you walk in and order it at a currency exchange that covers birth certificates for the county of your birth. up to 6 weeks to deal with the records office from where ever you are inside the USA.

meanSpleen · 09-08-2007, 08:03 AM

JUst like Midnight said, you will probably get your certified birth certificate faster than the passport.

The passport requires you to go to a passport issuing postal office, with passport photos in hand and a copy of your birth certificate, where they fill out some forms. You then wait by the mailbox until it arrives.

Grasshopper Green · 09-08-2007, 08:33 AM

When I got my birth certificate (to get a passport), it only took two weeks. However, my mother was able to get the paperwork for me since she lived in the county I was born in, and that expidited the process. I've heard that it takes a lot longer to get a passport these days than when I got mine 8 years ago...good luck.

snowy · 09-08-2007, 08:45 AM

Too bad you weren't born in Washington--they consolidated their birth certificate process a couple years ago, and now you can go into any county records office and get a fresh birth certificate, regardless of where in WA you were born.

However, California says that their by-mail process takes 12 weeks. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OVR/BirthOrderCert.htm

Passports take forever, but it seems like in this case you're pretty much SOL either way.

09-08-2007, 12:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
Shauk Confused Adult Location: Spokane, WA	Passport/Certified copy of birth cert. Ok so I want to go to Canada to get away from some shit, I have a brief window of opportunity to hop on a cruise ship to vancouver but in order to do this I need a passport OR Certified copy of my birth cert. I'm not too entirely sure the fastest way to go about this. I was born in CA. my old cert was water damaged into frailty and unreadability and more to the point, has since been lost entirely. Which would be faster? I eventually want/need to get a passport anyways just because I'd like to be able to travel in general but it sounds like getting just the cert would be fastest I need to have this together by the weekend of the 22nd.

09-08-2007, 08:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
meanSpleen Squid hat! Location: A Few Miles Away From Halx	JUst like Midnight said, you will probably get your certified birth certificate faster than the passport. The passport requires you to go to a passport issuing postal office, with passport photos in hand and a copy of your birth certificate, where they fill out some forms. You then wait by the mailbox until it arrives. __________________ Like TFP? Donate To Keep It Alive!!

09-08-2007, 08:33 AM	#5 (permalink)
Grasshopper Green ...is a comical chap Location: Where morons reign supreme	When I got my birth certificate (to get a passport), it only took two weeks. However, my mother was able to get the paperwork for me since she lived in the county I was born in, and that expidited the process. I've heard that it takes a lot longer to get a passport these days than when I got mine 8 years ago...good luck. __________________ "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king" Formerly Medusa

09-08-2007, 08:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	Too bad you weren't born in Washington--they consolidated their birth certificate process a couple years ago, and now you can go into any county records office and get a fresh birth certificate, regardless of where in WA you were born. However, California says that their by-mail process takes 12 weeks. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OVR/BirthOrderCert.htm Passports take forever, but it seems like in this case you're pretty much SOL either way. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

09-08-2007, 02:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
frozenstellar Without Wings Location: Australia	i have absolutely no idea what the process is in the US, but here in Aust, we can walk into the office of birth, deaths & marriages (I think thats what its called here) and actually get a birth certificate over the counter. The key is you have to go in and do it - doing anything via mail will be useless.

09-08-2007, 04:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
Midnight Banned Location: Chicago's western burbs	passport application process - 3 months+ note on need the birth certificate to GET this - and you will want to get extra copies of your birth certificate when you DO get it, for things like getting a passport and obtaining a new/copy of your social security number, among other things. certified birth certificate - one day to 6 weeks average, one day if you can walk in to the appropriate office in the appropriate county of your birth. up to 2 weeks if you walk in and order it at a currency exchange that covers birth certificates for the county of your birth. up to 6 weeks to deal with the records office from where ever you are inside the USA.