Where to keep your birth certificate?
Asked by: Wava Corwin II | Last update: August 30, 2025Score: 4.4/5 (23 votes)
Where is the safest place to keep your birth certificate?
Safe deposit box
Most banks or credit unions offer safe deposit boxes. Some banks will offer a discount if you're a current customer as well. A safe deposit box is perfect for storing original documents, like birth certificates, wills, social security information, annual tax returns, and power of attorney.
Where is your original birth certificate kept?
In almost every case your original birth certificate remains in the state of birth. It is extremely rare, though it has occurred in some circumstances, that a person is born in one state and a birth certificate has been issued in another.
What is the best storage for birth certificates?
The best way to store any vital documents (ie, birth certificate, SSN, deed, etc) is in a security safe. Not only are these fireproof but they are impossible to get into without the correct combination. I would also suggest wrapping those documents up and placing them in a folder within the safe.
Where is the safest place to keep important documents?
Keep these types of records in a safe deposit box or a fireproof, waterproof, burglar-proof home safe—with a list of the contents of the box in your home file. Due to the danger of identity theft consider destroying any documents you decide that are out-dated and should be discarded.
The Truth About Your Birth Certificate...
Where should your documents be stored?
What is the safest way to store personal documents? A safe deposit box is one of the safest ways to securely store your valuables like personal documents.
Where is the safest place to keep house deeds?
Having your house deeds secured in a specialised vault is much safer as it protects them from environmental damage and third party theft.
Is it important to keep a birth certificate?
They may be needed at various times during one's life. For example, a birth certificate is used to prove age when starting school, to obtain a driver's license, or to apply for Social Security benefits. It is also needed by relatives to obtain a death certificate.
What paperwork should be kept in a safe?
Driver's licenses. Birth certificates. Lists of medications you're taking, any conditions you have, and medical equipment you use. Vaccination records.
How much is my birth certificate bond worth?
The Reality. There is no monetary value to a birth certificate or a social security number/EIN, and TreasuryDirect accounts must be funded by the owner (from the owner's personal bank account) to have any value.
Is it illegal to have two birth certificates?
Is It Legal to Have More Than One Copy of Your Birth Certificate? Yes, you can have more than one certified copy of your birth certificate. If you have lost your birth certificate, you may request a birth certificate replacement.
Do I need an original birth certificate for a passport?
Original Birth Certificate (if born in the United States); or Old (undamaged) passport; or Original Certificate of Citizenship or FS-240, DS-1350 ( if born outside the US ); or Original Certificate of Naturalization issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Office.
Where are birth certificates kept?
These are maintained by the vital statistics offices in the states or areas where the births occurred. Addresses for each state's vital statistics office may be obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics or check your local telephone directory.
Is it bad to lose your original birth certificate?
Yes. Identity theft is the main risk associated with a stolen or missing birth certificate. Many people don't realize how many legal and financial actions start with a proof of identity via a birth certificate.
How to keep original documents?
Original documents or copies that you need to keep at home can be kept in a home safe. Your home safe should at least be fireproof, waterproof (if possible) and have a secure locking mechanism.
Where is the best place to keep important documents?
A file drawer or cabinet might be a better option for a larger family or business owner. An at-home fireproof lockbox or safe can be a good choice to store important legal documents if you need to access them regularly (such as copies of your will, birth certificates, and passports).
What papers do you really need to keep?
- Birth and death certificates.
- Social Security cards (including expired versions)
- ID cards (including expired versions)
- Passports (including expired versions)
- Marriage licenses and divorce decrees.
- Copies of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.
- Adoption papers.
- Records of paid mortgages.
What important papers should I keep and for how long?
Examples are things like your birth certificate, marriage certificate, Social Security cards, retirement accounts, life insurance documents, will and powers of attorney. You need to keep all of these things—forever. Your birth certificate, marriage certificate and Social Security card matter most when you're alive.
Who legally owns a birth certificate?
Birth certificates are government records. The original belongs to the government entity that created it. Copies belong to whoever bought them or to whoever they were given, just like any other piece of paper.
Can your parents legally keep your birth certificate from you?
While your mother might have had the right to hold onto these documents when you were a minor, withholding them from an adult child could be problematic. If she refuses to give them to you, you can obtain duplicates.
Should you fold your birth certificate?
Most birth certificates can be folded. The ones that come in glass frames or the ones reproduced on metal sheets are hard to fold. When you send an original birth certificate in when applying for a U. S. passport, you'll always need to fold it to get in a regular envelope.
Should you keep old deeds?
Homeowners should retain the following documents as long as they or their spouse own the property: Property deeds. Condo association covenants, codes, and restrictions. Capital improvement receipts and invoices.
Who keeps the deed to a house?
When a home is owned free-and-clear, the homeowner is the rightful owner and thus holds the deed to the house. However, if the homeowner is still paying a mortgage, then they technically do not fully own the house yet. In this case, the deed may be held by the mortgage lender.
Does the bank have the deed to my house?
The house deed and mortgage are separate legal documents with different purposes. A deed proves ownership and transfers title, while a mortgage is a loan agreement. Your lender holds a lien on the property, not a mortgage, meaning they do not hold the deed itself.