Birth Certificate ?

[seastar]

The birth certificate of my DD (5 yrs old) does not have a raised seal. It has an official flat seal and watermarks. Does anyone know if this will be a problem? The bc for my 8 year old DD has a raised seal so I guess they changed the seal in the last 5 years. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[alexandrew]

just make sure it's not the one with the foot marks that the hospital gave you-my mother passed that off for years as my birth certificate - LOL

 

[Favorite Auntie]

That should be fine. I don't think any place does the "raised" seal anymore. As long as it came from town hall and is official you should be all set.

 

[BrinxFam]

Your birth certificates should be fine. I had the same question when we cruised in May but all went well. No problems at all. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[seastar]

Thanks for the info everyone!!

 

[disneyfan551]

Does anyone else know about this? Just curious if anyone has had any problems...

 

[moinab]

Was your DD born in FL? My DD was born in January in FL. Her bc is a 5"x8" blue and white certificate from the FL Office of Vital Statistics. The yellow seal is very slightly raised - it's hard to tell. We used this on our cruise last month and had no problems.

 

[musicgirl]

Correct me if I'm wrong....but I believe it only says that it must be an official bc, not a copy. It doesn't even mention a raised seal.
We double checked this with my sister. In the end, it did have the raised seal-she couldn't see or feel it.

Remember, all bc are different even if they come from the same place. My sister and I have our original ones and new ones from the same place. Our new ones are nothing alike. Even my niece's is different from both of these. Ours were all acquired with in a year of each other. The same thing with my dh and ds. We ordered theirs at the same time. They're different.

 

[seastar]

My DD was born in Florida. I will have to go to our SD box to check but it sounds just like the one you described, Moinab. I didn't think the yellow seal was raised but I'll look again.

Where do you find the official rules from DCL?

 

[moinab]

When I received my documents, there was a large orange sticker that stated

Disney Cruise Line will deny boarding to Guests without proper documentation. All United States citizens must present one of the following as proof of U.S. citizenship for each member of the 1. Valid U.S. Passport. 2. Certified Birth Certificate and a Picture ID issued by Local, State or Federal government (for children under 18, only a valid birth certificate is required if traveling with parent/legal guardian). Copies of birth certificates or hospital birth certificates are not acceptable. 3. Certified Naturalization Certificate and a Picture ID issued by Local, State, or Federal government.

I had a question about my own bc, and DCL directed me to call INS. A raised seal is not necessary, as long as it is an official, certified bc. My bc was a "short form," from MA (didn't have my parents' information on it), so my mother got a "long form" copy for me. In MA, the bc was issued by the city we lived in. DH's bc was county issued (MN). I believe FL is state issued. Whew! It's no wonder we all get confused!

 

[ADisneygirl]

Last summer on our first cruise I was almost denied boarding due to my birth certificate. It was a "hospital record" as they are called, but my mom always said it was my birth certificate. My husband and children's certificates were ok, and eventually they allowed me aboard, telling me that in the near future no one with a hospital record was getting on anymore. That was very nerve-wracking to say the least.

I wanted to mention that the boarding agents at DCL kept feeling the certificate, looking for a raised seal. Someone here said a raised seal isn't required, but I don't know about that. It seemed to be required both times when we went. We all had different looking certificates -- my husbands' was b&w with a raised seal of the state of NY, my daughter who was born in NY had a colored certificate with a raised seal, and my son, born in Florida, had a small rectangular certificate with the seal of the state of Fl. slightly raised.

This summer on our second cruise I had made sure to send away to New York for my certified BC. It came with a prominently raised seal. We had no problems this time.

 

[Bacrd]

They mean "NO PHOTOCOPIES" or "Hospital Certificates". Any birth certificate issued from the appropriate government office is acceptable. All counties and states have different certification methods...some raised seals...some colored seals...but all are acceptable. Anything issued by the hospital itself (sometimes with hand & footprints &/or picture is NOT acceptable.