When you were born, you were given a certificate of live birth and a birth certificate. Typically, if you are required to prove your identity, you should use your birth certificate. Some people wonder if there is a difference between a birth certificate and a certificate of live birth of — the answer is that there is. One records your birth into the world and the other allows you to use it for identifying purposes throughout your life.
Certificate Of Live Birth
When you are born, the medical community uses a certificate of live birth to record your identity. It includes the following information:
– Name of baby
– Name of parents
– Name of doctors
– Hospital name
– sex of the baby
– Race
– Date of birth
– Name of the person recording the data
This information is recorded by a health professional and entered into a private database at the hospital.
Once it has been recorded, it is verified by one of the parents. If the father is present after the birth, he may be the individual to check the record for accuracy. Periodically, mistakes might be made when data is entered into the medical database. Any corrections that need to be made to the record should be completed before it is used for creating the official birth certificate. However, if there are errors on a birth certificate, they can be changed by following certain procedures.
A birth certificate can be corrected for a child who is under the age of one by sending proof or records to the Vital Registration Office.
First Unofficial Draft
A certificate of live birth is a quick way for the medical staff at a hospital to create an unofficial draft of vital information. Once the information has been recorded, it can be verified and sent to the State Registrars office or the Vital Registration Office where an official birth certificate can be created.
Birth Certificate
Throughout life, you will have times where you need to prove your identity. These come in the forms of identification cards, travel documents, taxes, insurance or schooling. In these cases, you will use your birth certificate. The certificate of live birth indicates that you are alive. You do not need a certificate of live birth to obtain an official birth certificate.
Some individuals are born outside of hospitals. In these cases, the provisions pertaining to the Births & Deaths Act, 1969 should be followed — the head of the household has a responsibility of notifying authorities within a period of 21 days to register the birth.
The US. federal government will not be able to use your certificate of live birth for proof of identity if you are attempting to get a passport.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!