birth certificate question

[yuki5900]

the birth certificate i have is a photocopy that says "Certificate of Live Birth/Michigan Department of Health/Vital Records Section" at the top.  and at the bottom it says "I hereby certify that the above is a true and correct representation of the vital record facts on file with the Division for vital Records, Michigan Department of Comunity Health."  and then: "Certified by: XXX, State Registrar".

 

i know i need my driver's license, too, but does this satisfy all the requirements?  we've been on many cruises but always used a passport and it's out being renewed right now.

 

 

[Cruise, J.D.]

My BC is the same, a photo copy with the record keeper's certification. It's fine.

[Elaine5715]

Yes, that works

[chengkp75]

Lots of people say the birth certificate needs to have the "raised seal" on it to be okay.  In fact, many states, and in particular notaries, have gone away from the raised seal, as it does not replicate on faxes or scans.  Most notaries use an inked stamp these days, and the birth certificates I got recently from Illinois had inked seals.

[tiffy0728]

My birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal. As long as it is an original and not a copy like (copy machine copy)

[sparks1093]

36 minutes ago, tiffy0728 said:

My birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal. As long as it is an original and not a copy like (copy machine copy)

Copies are actually allowable under the regulations that govern this. Carnival's website used to be very clear on this matter but it has been modified to be less clear (which serves no one). Here is the language from the regulations (I have bolded the section):

When traveling entirely within the Western Hemisphere on a cruise ship, and when the U.S. citizen boards the cruise ship at a port or place within the United States and returns on the return voyage of the same cruise ship to the same United States port or place from where he or she originally departed. That U.S. citizen may present a government-issued photo identification document in combination with either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before entering the United States; if the U.S. citizen is under the age of 16, he or she may present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or

[teknoge3k]

57 minutes ago, tiffy0728 said:

My birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal. As long as it is an original and not a copy like (copy machine copy)

 

 

[tiffy0728]

On 2/4/2022 at 9:09 AM, sparks1093 said:

Copies are actually allowable under the regulations that govern this. Carnival's website used to be very clear on this matter but it has been modified to be less clear (which serves no one). Here is the language from the regulations (I have bolded the section):

When traveling entirely within the Western Hemisphere on a cruise ship, and when the U.S. citizen boards the cruise ship at a port or place within the United States and returns on the return voyage of the same cruise ship to the same United States port or place from where he or she originally departed. That U.S. citizen may present a government-issued photo identification document in combination with either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before entering the United States; if the U.S. citizen is under the age of 16, he or she may present either an original or a copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department, or a Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or

wow i didn't know that . I remember when I cruised out of NY, I had a copy. They turned me away. Thank god I lived in NY and only 30 minutes from the port.

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, tiffy0728 said:

wow i didn't know that . I remember when I cruised out of NY, I had a copy. They turned me away. Thank god I lived in NY and only 30 minutes from the port.

Did they tell you why? As long as it it legible they should accept it (and it is possible that the staff member wasn't aware that it was allowable). I presented a copy once just to show it could be done due to the amount of discussion on the forums. Having the original is best practice but it's good to know that a copy will work. (I have read a good number of threads where someone was able to have their birth certificate faxed to the port.)

[tiffy0728]

13 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Did they tell you why? As long as it it legible they should accept it (and it is possible that the staff member wasn't aware that it was allowable). I presented a copy once just to show it could be done due to the amount of discussion on the forums. Having the original is best practice but it's good to know that a copy will work. (I have read a good number of threads where someone was able to have their birth certificate faxed to the port.)

this information is great because we have a cruise next Wednesday on the Horizon. My son (step son) can't find his birth certificate but his father have a copy of it. That's exactly what we have to use if the one we ordered doesn't come in time. 

[Ferry_Watcher]

1 hour ago, tiffy0728 said:

wow i didn't know that . I remember when I cruised out of NY, I had a copy. They turned me away. Thank god I lived in NY and only 30 minutes from the port.

As someone who has checked-in cruise passengers, I can tell you that the 'raised seal' requirement has evolved.  Not that long ago, there was an expectation that passengers would have their original birth certificate, usually with a raised seal.  Then it was relaxed to include having a official copy with  some sort of stamp from the registrar's office.  Now, if a passenger shows up thinking that just a driver's license is enough to get them on a closed loop cruise, we allow then to call home and will accept a photo of their birth certificate which is sent via cell phone to our office, where we print it out.    The supervisors will then check over this printed out birth certificate copy to make sure that it will satisfy the Custom and Border Protection Officers' expectations.  Once the supervisor deems the copy is acceptable,  the passenger will be embarked. 

 

An ordinary check-in agent can not/does not deny a passenger boarding.  We are trained to flag a problematic/or lack of document situation and a supervisor or two would be involved.   The supervisors will be the ones working with the passengers to either find a solution, or sadly explaining why they can't board the ship. 

 

Just as a reminder, I will say that hospital issued birth certificates are outright not acceptable - the acceptable birth certificate must be from a gov't agency (town, city, county, state, etc).  Good rule of thumb -  if it has your footprints on it, it most likely will not be accepted.

 

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

As someone who has checked-in cruise passengers, I can tell you that the 'raised seal' requirement has evolved.  Not that long ago, there was an expectation that passengers would have their original birth certificate, usually with a raised seal.  Then it was relaxed to include having a official copy with  some sort of stamp from the registrar's office.  Now, if a passenger shows up thinking that just a driver's license is enough to get them on a closed loop cruise, we allow then to call home and will accept a photo of their birth certificate which is sent via cell phone to our office, where we print it out.    The supervisors will then check over this printed out birth certificate copy to make sure that it will satisfy the Custom and Border Protection Officers' expectations.  Once the supervisor deems the copy is acceptable,  the passenger will be embarked. 

 

An ordinary check-in agent can not/does not deny a passenger boarding.  We are trained to flag a problematic/or lack of document situation and a supervisor or two would be involved.   The supervisors will be the ones working with the passengers to either find a solution, or sadly explaining why they can't board the ship. 

 

Just as a reminder, I will say that hospital issued birth certificates are outright not acceptable - the acceptable birth certificate must be from a gov't agency (town, city, county, state, etc).  Good rule of thumb -  if it has your footprints on it, it most likely will not be accepted.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for an answer directly from someone who has to deal with this issue.

 

And you previously did answer about the hospital birth certificate when I posted the story of my DW who was sent that certificate, not the proper one, by her Mother.

[tiffy0728]

On 2/7/2022 at 12:59 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

As someone who has checked-in cruise passengers, I can tell you that the 'raised seal' requirement has evolved.  Not that long ago, there was an expectation that passengers would have their original birth certificate, usually with a raised seal.  Then it was relaxed to include having a official copy with  some sort of stamp from the registrar's office.  Now, if a passenger shows up thinking that just a driver's license is enough to get them on a closed loop cruise, we allow then to call home and will accept a photo of their birth certificate which is sent via cell phone to our office, where we print it out.    The supervisors will then check over this printed out birth certificate copy to make sure that it will satisfy the Custom and Border Protection Officers' expectations.  Once the supervisor deems the copy is acceptable,  the passenger will be embarked. 

 

An ordinary check-in agent can not/does not deny a passenger boarding.  We are trained to flag a problematic/or lack of document situation and a supervisor or two would be involved.   The supervisors will be the ones working with the passengers to either find a solution, or sadly explaining why they can't board the ship. 

 

Just as a reminder, I will say that hospital issued birth certificates are outright not acceptable - the acceptable birth certificate must be from a gov't agency (town, city, county, state, etc).  Good rule of thumb -  if it has your footprints on it, it most likely will not be accepted.

 

This is very informative and I appreciate this response. It's good to know that there are options.