Originally Posted by Nona
you have to send an original certified birth certifcate, not one that came from the hospital. It will be returned to you with your passport. .
The birth certificate must be a "Certified Copy" that has the raised embossed seal from the state of birth showing that the birth was registered within one year from date of birth. The one from the hospital with the cute little tootsie prints is only a souvenir - it is not proof of citizenship.
Certified copies can be obtained from the state for a fee.
Many states issue, upon request, a credit card size plastic certified birth certificate that includes the raised embossed official state seal. Guard those carefully if you keep them in your wallet all the time.
When I was a passport clerk, sometimes elderly applicants would have to procure census records or church baptismal records, etc., since back long ago sometimes when babies were born at home without a physician or even midwife, parents didn't understand the need for registering the birth. They'd think the birth didn't need to be proved, obviously, but actually the passport is to prove your citizenship for re-entry to your own country.
It was very interesting work.