‘Black copy’ certificates OK for proof of birth, city says

By June Watanabe

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 03, 2012

~~QUESTION: I went to the state Department of Health to get a copy of my marriage certificate to get ready to renew my driver’s license. I had a number of documents in a large envelope, including a black copy of my birth certificate, issued before statehood. As I was searching for the correct document to present to the clerk, the birth certificate slipped out. The clerk saw that and said, “That’s not good anymore. You have to apply for a new one.” I filled out an application for a new copy without asking any questions. I had been keeping my black birth certificate in safekeeping all these years only to be told that it’s no longer good. Can you find out why?
ANSWER: There were misunderstandings about these birth certificates on two levels.
~~

QUESTION: I went to the state Department of Health to get a copy of my marriage certificate to get ready to renew my driver’s license. I had a number of documents in a large envelope, including a black copy of my birth certificate, issued before statehood. As I was searching for the correct document to present to the clerk, the birth certificate slipped out. The clerk saw that and said, “That’s not good anymore. You have to apply for a new one.” I filled out an application for a new copy without asking any questions. I had been keeping my black birth certificate in safekeeping all these years only to be told that it’s no longer good. Can you find out why?