PA birth certificates are essential for any Pennsylvania-born U.S. citizen who wishes to apply for a passport for travel abroad. For travel to Canada or Mexico, PA birth certificates are also needed to ensure a trouble-free passage across the border. Even for the simple matter of obtaining a driver's license, a birth certificate is required as a primary proof of identity.

The rules have gotten more stringent in the post-September 11th world of identity theft and security crises. The government is more careful than ever in matters regarding such important, primary identification documents such as birth certificates. The rules are more exacting, and the vigilance higher, to make sure these documents don't fall in the wrong hands.

How to Obtain PA Birth Certificates

Replacement birth certificates for those who have misplaced theirs may be obtained in two ways: through the government office itself, or over the internet, through an online service that obtains the document for you. The direct-to-government path is the traditional method of obtaining birth certificates. The new, more convenient way is by utilizing the services of online birth certificate search companies that do all the legwork for the consumer, deliver the documents in record time.

Currently, however, PA birth certificates may only be obtained from the government birth records offices themselves. This could have to do with security reasons, or merely bureaucratic ones. Whatever the reason, this is an issue that online birth certificate services have no control over, but some time in the future may change to allow consumers the convenience of these services.