Birth Certificate for I.D. - Travel Documentation

[kannm]

My Father in Law will be going on his first Cruise in 10 days. He only has a Birth Certificate and Driver's License. Since he was born in 1942, will Birth Certificates still be embossed from back then? Thanks for any help!

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by kannm

[tweak89]

For travel you usually need a "certified" copy of your birth certificate.  Here in Texas, it means a visit to the vital records office (might want to google what that means in OK).  Years ago, it was embossed with a stamp, but now it's an ink stamp. 

[chengkp75]

The original birth certificate will be fine.  Depending on how the document has been stored all these years, the embossing may be very faint, but if it is at all visible, it should be fine.  (Usually the embossing will pick up some dirt/dust transfer and make the embossing more visible)  Ten days is pretty close for trying to get another one, unless you live right where the documents are stored.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 hour ago, kannm said:

My Father in Law will be going on his first Cruise in 10 days. He only has a Birth Certificate and Driver's License. Since he was born in 1942, will Birth Certificates still be embossed from back then? Thanks for any help!

 

Just want to say.... in August we're taking my father in law on his first cruise also. He was born in 1940!

[Tierun]

Make sure it’s a government issued birth certificate not the one from the hospital.

[sparks1093]

Embossing isn't used by all issuing authorities and as long as it is legible it should be fine. Since the regulations do allow the use of copies (and Carnival's FAQ spells this out) there is no requirement for using only an original and of course the copy wouldn't have any embossing on it. As stated it needs to be issued by a government entity that shows his birth in the US. I would advise next time to not wait so long to verify what is sufficient (and I recognize that he may have just told you).

 

And in the event that this gets moved from the Carnival board to the Ask a Cruise Question board I will add that some cruise lines won't accept birth certificates even for a closed loop cruise and they require every passenger to have a passport (and these are typically the more upscale cruise lines).

[teknoge3k]

A photocopy is perfectly fine. It doesn't need to have a raised seal, it doesn't need to be a "certified copy" or any of that.

[mz-s]

14 hours ago, tweak89 said:

For travel you usually need a "certified" copy of your birth certificate.  Here in Texas, it means a visit to the vital records office (might want to google what that means in OK).  Years ago, it was embossed with a stamp, but now it's an ink stamp. 

 

Since OP didn't specify, but posted in the Carnival forum - Carnival doesn't require a certified or sealed birth certificate. A photocopy or faxed copy is perfectly fine.

[sanger727]

Just something to note. Some states make it so their birth certificates can't be photocopied. We can into this when we got married in Jamaica. I was born in Kentucky and was fine. My husband was born in Ohio. His birth certificate was a replacement one he had got from vital statistics. The paper they use to print them on turn to "void" if you make a copy or scan then. We had to send copies ahead to the resort to arrange our marriage license. I ended up having to take a picture with my phone to send it to them. 

[sparks1093]

6 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

Just something to note. Some states make it so their birth certificates can't be photocopied. We can into this when we got married in Jamaica. I was born in Kentucky and was fine. My husband was born in Ohio. His birth certificate was a replacement one he had got from vital statistics. The paper they use to print them on turn to "void" if you make a copy or scan then. We had to send copies ahead to the resort to arrange our marriage license. I ended up having to take a picture with my phone to send it to them. 

Maybe @Ferry Watcher can chime in but for the purposes of a closed loop cruise I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted since photocopies are sufficient. (It is best to bring the original but it's also good to know what alternatives might be available just in case.)  

[BallFour4]

For what it's worth, almost every cruise leaves here from Galveston with a passenger (or several) that left their birth certificate at home. When they check in and realize the mistake the embarkation staff sends them to the Expedite Desk. 

 In a flurry of calls to home these people often get the BC emailed to them, the staff prints them off, the balance of documents are verified and they are welcomed aboard.

 Insert your "if something happens to them while in a foreign country they will not be able to fly home comments here _________ ." Appreciate that isn't true. Cruise lines use a port agent that helps this process. It's not always flawless, but we've seen this twice with friends/table mates where a death in their family meant the need to fly home ASAP with no passport. Both couples were airborne from Cozumel, headed back to the US before the ship left port. No doubt it isn't always that smooth, but there are few absolutes. Pro Tip: scan your BC, drivers license and passport into a PDF and email it to yourself. 
 

Merry Christmas! 

.

[staceyglow]

2 hours ago, BallFour4 said:

 Pro Tip: scan your BC, drivers license and passport into a PDF and email it to yourself. 
 

Merry Christmas! 

.

Or take pictures of them with your phone.  That's what I do.

[tweak89]

On 12/22/2022 at 8:09 AM, mz-s said:

 

Since OP didn't specify, but posted in the Carnival forum - Carnival doesn't require a certified or sealed birth certificate. A photocopy or faxed copy is perfectly fine.

I was more thinking in the event of an emergency like I mentioned in my post. Better safe than sorry.

[Purvis1231]

On 12/21/2022 at 5:23 PM, kannm said:

My Father in Law will be going on his first Cruise in 10 days. He only has a Birth Certificate and Driver's License. Since he was born in 1942, will Birth Certificates still be embossed from back then? Thanks for any help!

 

If I were using a birth certificate, I would buy a new one for the proper government agency to make sure the was no problem but to be honest I have seen people using ones that were literally falling apart and others had relative fax a copy to the port. 

[klfrodo]

A good person to ask would be @Ferry Watcher  May they’ll see this

[Ferry_Watcher]

I have checked-in passengers using very old original birth certificate(s) that have been tucked away, folded inside a metal box, or maybe a shoebox for decades.  I felt that I should have been wearing archival gloves while unfolding these documents. LOL. We have also accepted birth certificates printed off of microfiche - so the background is black, and the print is white - it's almost impossible to read, but it is acceptable.

[mz-s]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:30 PM, tweak89 said:

I was more thinking in the event of an emergency like I mentioned in my post. Better safe than sorry.

 

In the event of an emergency overseas a birth certificate isn't going to do that much to help you no matter how official it is.

[Jasonsterling]

Since, as always there's some variation in answers here because policies change and sometimes people just don't know what they're talking about here's a link to Carnival's official policies on boarding documentation based on what's required by them, various ports of call and the U.S. government. Birth certificate information is further down the list. https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=3409 

[ninjacat123]

On 12/22/2022 at 10:55 AM, sparks1093 said:

Maybe @Ferry Watcher can chime in but for the purposes of a closed loop cruise I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted since photocopies are sufficient. (It is best to bring the original but it's also good to know what alternatives might be available just in case.)  

Is Ferry Watcher like ChengKP75 (go to for all ship/marine knowledge info) for identification purposes?  I have seen Ferry Watcher referenced on a couple threads.  Just curious, thanks!

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Is Ferry Watcher like ChengKP75 (go to for all ship/marine knowledge info) for identification purposes?  I have seen Ferry Watcher referenced on a couple threads.  Just curious, thanks!

Ferry Watcher is a Carnival check-in agent in Seattle.

 

One thing I will say, is that while the cruise line may accept documentation for embarkation, there could be a problem with CBP upon return to the US, as they are a lot more stringent.

[DAllenTCY]

When I began working at the pier we had a form that could be filled out in such an instance.  If I recall it was an "Acknowledgement Form".  

 

In short it said that you would accept a fee upon return to the US if your documents were not in order.

 

One of my side jobs (besides making coffee and cleaning the pot at the end of the day) was to throw those forms in the dumpster about 1 season later.

 

David

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by DAllenTCY

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Ferry Watcher is a Carnival check-in agent in Seattle.

 

One thing I will say, is that while the cruise line may accept documentation for embarkation, there could be a problem with CBP upon return to the US, as they are a lot more stringent.

Highly doubtful for a couple of reasons. First is the fact that the cruise line has to accept only documentation that is ultimately acceptable to CBP. Secondly while the cruise is ongoing CBP will be vetting all passengers through a multitude of databases. That is the check that is going to matter and those checks are done solely with the information that is on the passenger manifest. As long as those checks confirm that the passenger in question is a US citizen there won't be a problem. When we returned from our last cruise CBP didn't even make a show of checking anyone's documents, they stood outside their cubicles and watched everyone go by. 

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Is Ferry Watcher like ChengKP75 (go to for all ship/marine knowledge info) for identification purposes?  I have seen Ferry Watcher referenced on a couple threads.  Just curious, thanks!

As Cheng mentioned she is a check in agent in Seattle. Of course she can only outline procedures for her particular port, but that information is most helpful since other ports would have similar protocols when it comes to which documents are acceptable.

[sparks1093]

16 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

In the event of an emergency overseas a birth certificate isn't going to do that much to help you no matter how official it is.

Overseas is such a nebulous term but within the area covered by the WHTI and for closed loop cruises emergencies are handled differently than they would be in Europe (which is what I think of when I hear "overseas"). The regulations that give us the closed loop exception also have provisions that allow the waiver of the passport requirement for emergencies or humanitarian reasons. Yes, there may be a bit of a delay (dictated by the individual facts and circumstances) while things are sorted but passengers are repatriated as timely as they can be, as outlined in post #11.

[Purvis1231]

19 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

In the event of an emergency overseas a birth certificate isn't going to do that much to help you no matter how official it is.

Would the US government deny entry to a US citizen who was sick or injured?