Am I illegitimate?!

[Mark]

I may have imagined it, but is it correct that there are two sizes of GB birth certificates, and that the smaller A5 size (like mine) is not as readily accepted as being legally definitive by the French authorities as the A4 alternative (which I don't think I've ever had)?

 

[Just Katie]

Hi Mark,

Also, my children have small BC's, when I applied for their passports, these were unacceptable and the larger versions had to be forwarded.

Sorry I cannot give you the answer for France though.

Are you illegimate?  Well I have often heard West Ham supporters being called worse[;-)]

[Will]

As with so many things where French bureaucracy is concerned, there is no clear answer. I had to get copies of the full birth certificate because I had only ever had the short version, but I know other people in other areas have had the mini-ones accepted.

I think strictly speaking you need the full one, because French officials need full details of your parentage, but not all bureaucrats realise that. So try it - if you find you need to get full certificates it's not difficult. See http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/births/obtainingbirthcertificates/index.asp

[Mark]

Will, thanks.  I wonder why, when one needs the full version later in life (eg Katie's kids' passports), they don't issue it at birth.  Seems very cheeky not to do so, and then charge a tenner later on. 

Katie, good point re WHU! [:P] 

[Just Katie]

Takes one to know one me old china[:-))]

[Cassis]

Well, my BC is so old (possibly BC) that it is neither A5 nor A4 - last time I saw it I think it was about 8 inches high in old money and twice as wide.

The CPAM looked at it funny but accepted it. [;-)]

[Mark]

[quote user="Cassis"]Well, my BC is so old (possibly BC) that it is neither A5 nor A4 - last time I saw it I think it was about 8 inches high in old money and twice as wide.

The CPAM looked at it funny but accepted it. [;-)]
[/quote]

Isn't that roughly A4 then?  I couldn't say my defective BC is exactly A5 - just roughly.  Sounds like yours is roughly A4, me old china, which means you've got the 'No sir, Mr CPAM, my dad wasn't the milkman' one.  Unlike me.  [:(]

[Cassis]

I've just dug it out of the folder.  Going all metric, it's 36cm by 16.5cm.  A4's 30cm by 20cm.  It doesn't look like A4 at all!  It is bigger than your puny A5 (-ish) effort though! [:D]

[tenniswitch]

[quote user="Mark"]

I may have imagined it, but is it correct that there are two sizes of GB birth certificates, and that the smaller A5 size (like mine) is not as readily accepted as being legally definitive by the French authorities as the A4 alternative (which I don't think I've ever had)?

 

[/quote]

It probably depends on what you're doing.  We were asked by the notaire to produce copies of our birth certificates when we were buying our houses, but he was perfectly happy with the laminated, wallet-size, minimally informative version that is the only copy I have of mine (US).

[opas]

[quote user="Cassis"]I've just dug it out of the folder.  Going all metric, it's 36cm by 16.5cm.  A4's 30cm by 20cm.  It doesn't look like A4 at all!  It is bigger than your puny A5 (-ish) effort though! [:D]
[/quote]

Yes mines a biggun too and the kids, so is Mr Os for that matter!  and the things only just fits in our scanner.

When you register a birth they `give` the small one and ask if you would like to buy the full one, I suppose not everyone can spare a tenner when they register a birth.

 

[Alexis]

Mines a big one too but I'm old.

OH has to apply for a copy of his birth certificate as and when he needs one as they only 'last' for two months here.  We were just talking about this today...we have an exciting life.

I think I am right in saying that all his marriages and divorces are scribbled in the margin of the birth certificate.

There again, I could be talking rubbish.

I do know that British Powers That Be (family allowance) wouldn't accept the French birth certificate of my grandson as they said it could have just been run off the computer.  Why did the Embassy in Paris accept it then for his passport?

Swines.

[Tony F Dordogne]

OK, perhaps I can help with this as I work with these things all day.

The long certificates (old version) were printed to fit in with the old foolscap format, pre-A4.  When I present them to clients in book form I have to have them scanned down into A4 size.

Certificates are now provided  in the standard A4 format for BMD certificates and have been for some time.  The old short certificates were technically called bastardy certificates because they omitted the father's name and it was a comfortable way of people using a birth certificate without their lack of parentage being obvious.  They then became standard issue during the 1960s and 1970s - my kids had them though they were not illegitimate.

The fact that the French want the full or long certificate is that it contains all the details they need - when you register a birth, marriage or death in France through the Etat-Civile, they want the full mother's name and, for example, for a death you have to give the deaceased's mother's name as the woman still uses her own name and her parents names.

Hope this helps

[Cassis]

So in response to Mark's original question, then yes, he really is bastardy?  [:-))]

[Tony F Dordogne]

No, probably not (I don't know him well enough to venture an opinion on that) but he's likely to be one of those people who got one as a matter of course.  The only way to find out is to get the long certificate, £7, linked through www.1837.com and then see whether his Dad's name is filled in.

If it is he isn't, if it isn't, he is .............

If anybody wants help with things like this, email me privately

 

[Mark]

[:@]  I am NOT bastardy!!  I have a little one because I'm such a spring chicken.

Tony, thanks.  I'll follow the link and fork out the £7.  Then I'll scan it and put it on here to clear my good name.

[Cassis]

You're not really angry, are you, Mark?  Sorry. [:(]

[Mark]

Course not mate! [:D]

Now get back to your jackhammering.   

[Cassis]

Oh good! [:)]

I've just finished cleaning the toilets and bathrooms - can't I have a sit down first before I start outside?

[Rob Roy]

You think you've got problems! You ought to see their (French) faces [8-)] when my husband produces his birth cert. It is from Southern Rhodesia (as was) - we have to explain where that is, let alone anything else[:D]

[Tony F Dordogne]

If you get stuck Mark, let me know, I order about 30 a week

[chessie]

Please don't waste £7 using the 1871(?) site - much easier way to do this.

Where were you born - go to the local registry website - it is possible to order a copy of your birth certificate for only £3.50....

As I understood things, your parents were always given two copies of birth certificate - one full one giving details of parents etc, and a much shorter one which could be used for all sorts of occasions.  So if you don't have your full BC chances are it's become 'mislaid' somewhere - how many times did your parents - or you - move house ???

[Russethouse]

Sorry Chessie, thats not what I thought, when I was born and when my own children were born parents were given the choice, short form or long.

I have sent for quite a few certificates (though not as many as Tony) and I can't remember them being that cheap....however it is often quicker to write to the place where you were registered direct. Phone first if you can, and explain that it has to be sent to France (if thats the case) I have found registrars and their staff, very helpful on the whole.

[KathyC]

Many areas seem to charge £5.50 for a replacement of a short birth certificate and £7.00 for the full certificate.

[Tony F Dordogne]

Whether people were given a long and short certificate was a matter of choice for which they had to pay - one certificate was and is free, other forms of certificate cost.

Short replacements are cheaper than long but the prices of both are fixed by law so are non-negotiable - if you haven't paid the full price, you've had a result.