Medical Records

What do you do when a government can't locate a birth certificate? Perhaps the person was not born in a hospital. Perhaps he or she was delivered at home by a doctor, a family member, or a midwife. What proof of birth do you have then?

Although most local laws require the filing of a statement by an attending physician or midwife as to the delivery of a baby, occasionally this didn't happen.

There is the story of a woman in her 50's who wished to obtain a passport so that she could visit Europe. She had no birth certificate as she was born at home, delivered by an old country doctor. What did she do? She knew the name of the doctor who delivered her. He had been dead many years. However, his son and daughter had kept all of his patients' records in the doctor's original filing cabinets in a barn. She contacted the doctor's son and was able to obtain her family's original medical records and prove her date of birth and citizenship. She got her passport.

A doctor's records, accompanied by a certified statement from the doctor or the owner of the records, can serve as proof of birth. A certified statement written and signed in the presence of a notary public can also serve as sufficient proof of birth. Finding out who these individuals are and locating them and/or their records can be the real puzzle to solve.

Written and contributed by George G. Morgan

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