The story is much longer but here is the short version. My mother, about to turn 88, is her father's "love child" and was raised by him and his wife (not her actual mother). As a child she remembers finding a birth certificate in her mother's dresser listing a girl's name with a Polish-sounding last name and birth date several weeks earlier than hers. Her mother took it from her and tore it up. So a record of her birth actually exists, but she doesn't know the name, date, or anything, so we cannot request a copy. And she isn't even certain WHERE she was born. She made at attempt to search for vital records in the most likely state using her maiden name, but no records were found. My mother has lived her entire life with no birth certificate. She served in the Navy and has her discharge papers, and also has a SSN.
We recently moved her up from Florida to live with us in Wisconsin, and of course there is now a requirement, which seems iron-clad, that she produce a birth certificate in order to prove her identity in order to get a drivers license or even an ID, which she cannot do. To top it all off, her existing license expires in three weeks.
We cannot believe that she is the only elderly American with no birth certificate. She is a good driver. She has already had a huge number of changes to her life in the past two months; I don't want her to lose that last vestige of independence. What to do????
He had been kicked out of home and was 15 when he enlisted in WW2. He changed his name and age when he enlisted and nobody checked any documentation. When the war was over he had a complete new identity. The family did not know until after he had died, someone from his birth family reached out when they saw the Obit.
She must have had proof of her birth, citizenship, etc. in the past which allowed her to get her FL driver's license, to join the military and to vote.
Totally off topic, does she have any interest in doing a DNA test and finding the rest of her family?
The main office of the department has more informed staff.
But also ask what the alternatives are if no birth certificate can be located.
I also think the Navy would likely have had to have enough information to verify her birth and citizenship.
Another alternative is to check with the records of the county in which your father lived at the time of her birth, on the offchance that her mother gave birth in that same county. If you have any other data tracing his whereabouts at that time, that could be helpful.
Was your father by any chance in the military at that time of her birth? And if so, was he stationed overseas? If so and if your mother was born in another country, I would think there must be immigration papers, but I think the INS would be the place to start and given the pandemic, I'm not sure they're fully staff up at this point.
Do you have any access to her medical records? Are her father and stepmother still alive?
Wish I could think of better answers.
A baptismal certificate. Census records. A birth certificate issued by a local or military hospital. A certification of birth from the doctor who delivered you.
If yes, then what about just renewing her Florida license? Can you do that online or by mail?
I also suggest calling the main DMV offices for more answers, although it may be some time before you can get through as the offices are likely closed. Good luck!