Gosh, I have never seen that disclaimer on a birth certificate, but it is true, whether it is on a birth certificate (or any other official document) or not. In other words, if a cousin of yours dies, it is illegal for you to obtain a copy of his birth certificate, open bank accounts, get credit cards, buy houses and cars in his name using that birth certificate to get the ball rolling.
Another way to look at it is this: it must be okay, because you can download copies of birth (and other) certificates from www.ancestry.com (and other sites). Official records are public documents; so, they are available to the public. Of course, much of the time you need to prove you are related and/or why you want a copy of the documents, but after 70 years or so even that goes away. (Gee! Doesn't the Government know that some people live longer than 70 years? Who is the most vulnerable to I.D. thieves?)
So, yes, it is okay to have a digital or hard copy of a birth certificate, or death, or marriage, or even passports/immigration documents/naturalization documents, etc. (Even when they tell you not to: after all, those same Government agencies that tell you to not copy them are the ones telling you to carry a copy of said documents whenever you leave the country.)
So, copy away. Just make certain said documents are either yours, your spouse, your children...or your ancestors (which, please remember, does not include aunts/uncles/cousins/siblings).
Thank you, Voters !!! Yes, this is a legal question, but the real ban is on documents being used for illegal purposes. As to raised seals, stamps, etc., my "original" birth certificate has neither....
Report Abuse
Is it legal to keep a digital copy of a birth certificate for family genealogy and records purposes?You are asking about a legal technically. The only birth certificate that is considered "Legal" is one issued by the county of birth, it can be the original or a certified copy. and can be used in a legal or court situation..
Digital copies of legal document cannot be used for legal identification. In other words they cannot be used in a court of law to establish entitlement as a heir to an estate.
The is nothing illegal about having a copy (either a copy of an original or digital copy) for genealogical purposes. I don't know what you mean by records purpose, but the copy for genealogical purposes is just the a copy. Records are usually a term used as a reference for legal copies.Is it legal to keep a digital copy of a birth certificate for family genealogy and records purposes?
Niki,
I think the warning about making a copy is intended to warn people about forging the document. An official birth certificate usually has a raised seal or other official imprint or stamp that certifies that the document is real, and originated from a governmental agency.
If you tried to make a copy, complete with the certification forged, that would be illegal, and if you attempted to use that forged document for some legal purpose, like applying for a driver's license or for voting registration , even though it might be your own birth certificate, it would probably be subject to legal action.
But that's not what you are doing. You are making a simple copy without forging the raised seal or other original stamps........ so don't worry.
In addition, if you searched online at Google for images of birth certificates, you would see very, very many.
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch%26amp;hl鈥?/a>
Absolutely.
An illegal purpose would be fraud or id theft. Genealogy, meaning research concerning family connections is a totally valid purpose.
Yes you are OK for genealogy purposes....what they mean is to pass yourself off as that person using the certificate or copy of the certificate........................
What would be illegal about genealogy records?
No comments:
Post a Comment