Hi,

The internet is riddled with conflicting advice on this. There seem to be many sites offering speedy service but it's quite hard to determine if they are legitimate and they are relatively expensive. The official UK online ordering service does not offer international service.

What is the quickest reliable way to obtain a certified copy of a long form birth certificate in the US? Is it quickest for our parents to obtain copies (bearing in mind they live a long way from the original registry office)?

Would very much appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Doug.

Can you order it online and have it posted to your parents? They can then send it on to you seeing they live a long way from the place of birth.
I sent my Mom in for Dh's but she lives in the town we were all born in.

This is the official source (therefore also the cheapest) and they mail them overseas.

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

At least the faq says they do:
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...line.asp#bmd21

Wow. I could have sworn that I'd been to this site and it had specifically said that the service was only available in UK. I must have been somewhere else. Many thanks - that's definitely the cheapest way.

You're welcome. I imagine you were at some third party site that was deliberately designed to mislead folks into thinking that they were at the real GRO site. A bit like all those dodgy ESTA sites that popped up, charging $50 when it was free...

Bastards.

I ordered a birth certificate online through this site mentioned earlier this year. I used the standard option and it arrived within three weeks to my US address.

Yes, my husband got one with no problems.

We are forever getting mail from dodgy companies trying to look like official government agencies, something to be very wary of.