I was born outside of the U.S., but I am a U.S. Citizen because one or both of my parents was a U.S. Citizen. How do I get certification of my birth and citizenship?

If you are a U.S. citizen who was born abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s), your parent(s) should have reported your birth to the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy as soon as possible after you were born.[35] Under federal law, they should have applied in your name for a “Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America” (also called “CRBA,” or Form FS-240).[36]

If your parents did register your birth with a U.S. Consulate or Embassy, the U.S. Department of State should have given them a CRBA in your name. Like a U.S. birth certificate, your CRBA is proof of your U.S. citizenship, and you can use it as official ID to get other key forms of ID, including a U.S. passport.[37]

The only people who can legally request a copy of your CRBA are: (1) you, (2) an authorized government agent, and (3) a person with written authorization. To request a copy of your CRBA, follow these steps:

Prepare a written (or typed) request. Include all of the following:

    Your full name at birth, and any adoptive names you had.
    Your birth date and birthplace.
    Your parents’ full names.
    The serial number of your Consular Report of Birth Abroad (also called Form FS-240), if you know it.
    Any available passport information.
    Your mailing address and phone number.
    Your signature. (Leave space for this, but don’t actually sign until Step 3, when you’re with a Notary Public.)

Get your request notarized by a Notary Public.

See the box on PG. 32 to learn how to get a document notarized.

Prepare a check or money order for $50 (no cash). Make it payable to “Department of State.” Mail your request and fee. Address the envelope to: Department of State, Passport Vital Records Sections1150 Passport Services Pl, 6th FloorDulles, VA 20189-1150.[38]

  1. 35

    Where to Write for Vital Records, CDC, Nat’l Ctr. for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, Office of Information Services (July 2014), http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/22310.

  2. 36

    Where to Write for Vital Records, CDC, Nat’l Ctr. for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, Office of Information Services (July 2014), http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/22310.

  3. 37

    Note: Until January 3, 2011, the document issued for this purpose was “Certificate of Report of Birth Abroad,” or “Form DS-1350,”also called “CRBA.” The Department of State no longer issues Form DS-1350 for new births. However, if this was the document issued when your parents registered your birth, it is still valid for the same purposes as a Form FS-240, and you can still request a copy by taking the same steps you would to request a Form FS-240. See Foreign Birth and Death Certificates, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/foreign.htm; Birth of U.S. Citizens Abroad, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html.

  4. 38

    See Foreign Birth and Death Certificates, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/foreign.htm; Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth/replace-or-amend-consular-report-of-birth-abroad.html.