What is a Delayed Birth Certificate?



You may or may not have come across an ancestor with a ‘Delayed Birth Certificate’. This type of record came about when Americans needed to prove when they were born for passports (beginning in 1920s) and registration with Social Security (in the 1930s).

From the Dept. of Health and Human Resource – a delayed birth certificate is any birth certificate NOT Filed within one year of the date of birth for a person. There were different types – one for a person between the age of 1 and less than 7 years old. Here at least two proofs were required, of a marriage and one of personal knowledge of the birth.

If a delayed certificate of birth was for a person over 7 years old (many who were born before 1910), With the form to be completed at least 3 documents were needed to prove birth of that person. Examples accepted included baptismal record, school record, attending midwife or physician statement of the birth, a hospital record of the birth, official census record research, military discharge documents, naturalization certificate, or a letter from voter’s registration office. Each individual state issuing a delayed birth certificate can add ot their requirements.

In the United Kingdom, official compulsory registration of births by the government started in 1853. In the United State, it varied by states but became standardized for all states in 1902.

To get a ‘delayed birth certificate’ on an ancestor usually was done when the person was an adult. So a good deal more information can appear with a delayed certificate, where they have lived, their occupation and any marriages.

Photos: Birth certificates; Delayed Registration of birth-born 1904—registration done 1954.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Make Your Ancestor’s Birth Interesting

Delayed Birth Certificates

Finding Female Ancestors

< Return To Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.