Documents

Birth Certificate

Mom had three copies of her birth certificate and a divorce certificate.  I kept a copy of these in my document binder in case I was asked for them when signing important documents.  I kept the original copy in a safe deposit box at the bank to prevent against losing.  I was lucky in that I had the original documents and I did not need to search for them or work to get copies of them.

Obtaining a certified copy of a birth certificate can take time. 

If your loved one was born in the United States, then you will need to contact the state your loved one was  born in to obtain the birth certificate.  There may be a cost and you will need to know the city and county your loved one was born in.

If your loved one was born abroad, then you will need contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in the country of birth to obtain a birth report.  

The link below is a usa.gov website that and includes links to information for each state as well as a link to Travel.State.gov for overseas births.

How to get a certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate
The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics provides information on obtaining birth certificates for each state.

Website
How to Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad
Information from Travel.State.Gov on how to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Website