Is a typo on a birth certificate a big deal?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m not talking about naming the wrong father or misspelling the child’s name. In my daughter’s case, her mother’s birthday is wrong. Very wrong. Wrong enough that according to the BC, my wife is only about 6 months older than my daughter (who is now 26). She’s never had it questioned and has used it for getting a passport and whatever else you need one for.

So thus far, it’s never been an issue. Could it be at some point? If she ever runs for president, I’m sure that someone would take note. Should she consider getting it fixed?

2

I’d fix it. It might create issues if she needs to pass security clearance (the birth certificate is obviously faked!).

Does she have a passport? I’d think that would be the likeliest common place where it might cause an issue.

But don’t ask me how you’d get it fixed.

3

From the OP:

As far as getting it fixed, I’d start with whoever records birth certificates in you county/state. Here I believe it is the Register of Deeds.

4

My middle name is “Francis”. I just found out a few years ago that on my birth certificate, it says “Franics”. It’s never been an issue for whatever reason, except that I have no idea who I’ve been the past few decades.

5

My mother is from Okinawa.

I didn’t realize til much, much later that on my birth certificate, mother’s place of birth is listed as…

Oklahoma!
Great job guys!

6

I would try to get it fixed. When I retired and my retirement was converted to an annuity, they wanted to see my birth certificate as proof of age.

When my son got his first passport, he noticed the birth date was off by six months. It turned out that the clerk who issued the BC typed a 5 rather than an 11 in the month box. So they issued a new BC for free, but he had to pay for a new passport. I had pointed out to him that it would have allowed him to drink 6 months sooner, but he wasn’t interested.

7

This tell how to get a birth certificate , I needed to replace mine and my mom called it in for. When it came in the mail my mom was upset b/c is spelled her maiden name wrong . An ‘A’ was an ‘O’ so I used a pen to correct it, I needed it and didn’t have time to get an new one . I still use it and no one notice the correction I made but things are a lot difference today , it could be an issues .

8

That just tells how to get a copy of one, not how to get one corrected.

9

I think I’m confused by the original post and the responses.

It’s the daughter’s certificate where the mother’s age is wrong, is that correct? The mother’s own birth certificate is correct, so she will never have a problem using it.

I’d be surprised if anyone noticed the date of birth of the mother on the daughter’s certificate. The dad’s birth date will be correct, the daughter’s birth date is correct, and if the mother seems to be a six month old baby who is giving birth, I think it would be seen as an obvious typo.

10

It’s probably a straightforward fix, but it will be tedious. Keep notes of what they tell you to do and send everything certified.

When I retired from the military, I discovered that through some blip in a system I was listed as male. Let me reassure you, I’m a total girl. No one obstructed me in getting it fixed, but it took 6 months including after a submission of my birth certificate, for the update to percolate through all the systems that used the same database for original data.

However, I’ve been working 8 months to get my veteran’s status changed from “Post Vietnam Vet” to “Vietnam Era Vet”. I’ve sent them a copy of my DD214 and a copy of the law. And silence. And it doesn’t even have to go to the Board for Correction of military Records. It’s a database update based purely on the service dates on the DD214.

Come the end of September I’m sending a letter to my Congressman and we’ll see how they react to a Congressional.

11

Sorry I wasn’t clearer but you are correct. My wife’s BC is fine. My wife’s birthday on my daughter’s BC is off by 26 years. It shows my wife and daughter as having the same birth year.

12

I agree with Pai325, fixing it seems like it would be more trouble than its worth.
It’s an obvious typo. All your daughter’s relevant information and the things that a birth certificate is usually needed to prove - (name, date and place of birth) are correct. Unless it is specifically called out as a problem for something, I’m not sure I’d bother.

13

My name was misspelled in the official records, which my parents didn’t learn until I was nine, and they applied for a passport for me, so it’s misspelled on my first passport. The final “H” is missing from my first name.

I managed to get my driver’s license issued with the H though, because I could show them my high school enrollment, and I had been enrolled as “Rivkah” all through school, except for a brief experiment with calling myself Rebecca, and then I got my high school diploma and college degree with “Rivkah.”

So when I entered the military, I enlisted as Rivkah, and went all through training as Rivkah, had dogtags issued as Rivkah, military ID, etc., and went all through training as Rivkah.

When I got to my home unit, some pedantic paper pusher (newly hired and out to prove something) decided that my name had to be what was on my birth certificate, and set out to change it on all my records. That was going to be a real headache for me, because now it wouldn’t agree with my college transcript or civilian driver’s license.

So I looked into having it fixed.

I was told (state of New York) that all I needed to do was show that I had “always” used the Rivkah spelling, indicating that it was indeed a mistake, and not a recent personal preference, which was easy, because among other things, I still had birth announcements my parents had made up when I was born with the “H” spelling. I sent one, along with a copy of a first grade report card, a cancelled receipt from my paper route when I was 11, my high school diploma, my driver’s license, my college transcript, and several other documents, showing a lifetime of using the spelling. The record was corrected for free, but I did have to pay $10 for the new copy of my birth certificate.

I imagine that your state is similar. All you need is clear evidence of the error-- in this case, a copy of your wife’s own birth certificate, and maybe something else, like a copy of the birth announcement from the paper, or the hospital discharge, if you saved stuff like that as mementos. They should correct the record, and then you will probably have to pay for a copy of the new certificate, but eh, it probably won’t be much.

I’d do it. You never know, with tightening security in this country, the possibility of national IDs, and like you say, what if she ever wants to run for office and is expected to release her birth certificate? It could be a problem. It could even be a problem if some employer decides it must be fake, and not to hire her. You just never know. If it’s an employer who has been burned by fake IDs before.

Start by writing or calling the office that issues BCs in whatever county she was born, and see what the procedure is.

14

It can cause problems. It wasn’t until my sister was in her mid-20s and tried to change her name after getting married that we realized her birth date was wrong on her birth certificate. Actually ended up being a bit more of an ordeal than you’d think. I’d take care of it.

15

It isn’t a problem until it is a problem, at which time you or your daughter will wish you had had it fixed, so get it fixed now before it becomes a problem.

IAAL

16

It’s an historical document that will outlive you all. Correct it now, and some future genealogist will remember you fondly.

17

Maybe I just never applied for the right jobs, but what employers need a birth certificate? Is that a common thing, as I’ve never come across it.

Well, given that your birth certificate is used to prove, in part, your DOB, having your DOB wrong could cause problems.

I’ve never heard of anyone using a kid’s birth certificate to prove a parent’s DOB. That’s what the parent’s birth certificate is for.

So, pray tell, what are these problems that not fixing it can cause?

Well, then, as a lawyer, I assume you can tell us what these problems are?

18

This is going to cause some problems when she runs for president with an obviously faked birth certificate.

19

I agree with RiivkahChaya. In a logical world, there would never be an issue with this, but it’s a government document and the world is not logical. I would fix it now, so it’s never a problem. Otherwise I could see something like Social Security benefits or something equally mundane (but critically important) being held up because the birth certificate is in error.

20

Yes, it’s common. Unless someone has a passport or is a legal immigrant, they pretty much have to show their birth certificate to get a job unless their employer breaks the law.