Suppose you're getting married and need to get your marriage lisence. What if you are applying for a job or to a new school and the agency/school needs more proof of your citizenship? Suppose you are applying for public benefits such as Social Security. What if you're going abroad for business or pleasure and need to apply for a passport? In these cases, you may be asked to provide a birth certificate. I was asked for mine when I applied for my marriage lisence in North Carolina. Since I had moved several times, I didn't have a copy because it probably got lost somewhere along the way, so I had to take steps to get a certified copy. If you find that you need this, here's how to get your birth certificate.

If you were born in the United States, there are a few websites you can visit to tell you how to get your birth certificate online. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics website (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/) is one place you can look. Once you get there, click on the state in which you were born, not where you currently live.  You can also call the Department of Health in the city you were born to learn how to get your birth certificate. You may have to pay a small fee, as well as provide your parents' full names and mother's maiden name. If the Health Department does not carry birth certificates for your year of birth (some may only keep them back to a certain date), the probate court of the city in which you were born may know how to get your birth certificate. 

Foreign births are a little more complcated.  Since I was born in Guam because my father was in the Navy and stationed there, all of the government sites considered me a foreign birth.  I guess this is because of how far away Guam is or something, because it's been an American territory for more than 100 years! Since I was born in the only base hospital, I did a Google search and found the hospital's number.  Then, I called them directly and asked for two copies of my birth certificate. After sending $10 for a fee, I got two certified copies in the mail a couple of weeks later.  Perhaps the hosptial or health department where you were born may know how to get your birth certificate, but you very well may have to order your birth certificate through an online agency.

I hope you now know how to your birth certificate if you find you need it. You should probably order more than one copy to make sure you don't have to go through the process again.