Not All Birth Certificates Real

Now that Wyoming has begun requiring additional documentation to prove citizenship when applying for a state driver’s license, the Wyoming Department of Health is alerting people that not all documents that are labeled as “birth certificates” are in fact official birth certificates.  Matthew Rowe, registration supervisor with the Vital Statistics Services office says such documents are essentially souvenirs with little legal value and cannot be used to prove identity.  These documents typically have baby footprints on the document, the mother or father’s finger prints on the certificate and may have a seal from the issuing hospital.  An official certificate, on the other hand will have a state file number in the top right corner, show the city and county of birth and a date of issuance on the bottom.  Official birth certificates for those born in Wyoming are available from the state Vital Statistics Services office in Cheyenne.