Do I REALLY Need My Son's Birth Certificate to Fly?

Did you call Southwest just to verify? I think that would be the quickest way to get a 100% correct answer.

DS (5-1/2) flies 4-6 times a year and we have NEVER been asked for his birth certificate. He has a passport for when we travel out of the country and for a while I carried that, but I have not carried anything for the last year or two (just forgot would be the explanation). If you are not going out of the country I will bet you will be fine. I have never had anything additional when I have flown with DS by myself.

I hope it went alright. Generally if you are flying (or taking a cruise) with a child without the other parent, you need a notarized letter informing them of such. I also needed a notarized form to be able to apply for DD's passport without DH present. It's to prevent parental kidnapping.

Hrm, a birth certificate plus passport? Don't you need a BC to GET the passport? I'd be irritated if I were Riley J's friends. My DD has had a passport since she was 10 mo. old. Kid passports need to be renewed every 5 years til they are 16.

I've never had an issue with needing one when flying with my kids but we always had a seat for them. If you can't find the Birth Certificate it is pretty easy to go to vital statistics and get a copy for about $10 (it took under 10 minutes). You will need your own ID (driver's license is fine). They do not automatically send you a BC in the mail like a SS card. It will be at the vital statistics office in the town you gave birth in (i.e. where the hospital is located). You can usually find out by calling the hospital and they can tell you the number and address of the right office.

I'm not sure where you live but here in UT it took me 20 minutes tops when I went into the records dept. That was an original and not a copy too. I didn't get one at the hospital, so if this is in fact your original, it should take no time at all :D. . . hopefully.

To comply with TSA rules you do need his birth certificate. Depending on when you're flying you could request a new copy now. Take his SS card and anything you have on him, new insurance policy, discharge papers from the hospital, anything.

I traveled alone with my 4 year old daughter last October and I didn't need her birth certificate or anything else.

We almost got in trouble when the TSA agent checked her boarding pass and asked her what her name was. She told them that her name was Drizella (from Cinderella) and then they were really looking at me funny - like maybe she didn't belong with me. She was very insistant that Drizella was her name but luckily I was able to explain and they let us go. Thank goodness she used a funny sounding name like Drizella because I think if she would have said a different but normal sounding name we probably would have been detained.

We don't need a birth cert for flying domestically with our 3-year-old son. W took it the first few trips when he was an infant, but have never been asked for it (20+ airplane trips since he was a baby - several different airlines). You'll be fine without one.

I've never had to bring anything for my son when flying domestically, although I did bring his passport just in case, but they never asked for it. He flew as an infant in arms when he was six months old and has had his own seat.

I flew with my 6 mo old DD and no, we did not need a birth certificate or immunization record. I flew American, and they did require her to have a boarding pass of her own. However, no ID was needed to get that oarding pass since she was under 2. Just go to the counter and ask if you need a boarding pass. If you dont have the birth certificate to carry, get an immunization record from DR just in case. That should suffice.

I havethe same question but idont have the birth certificateall i haveis a copy i havea copy machine and i made oneand i lost the original andi have a flight tomorrow to misisippi

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I have the same question but idont have the birth certificateall i haveis a copy i havea copy machine and i made oneand i lost the original andi have a flight tomorrow to misisippi

I have flown with both of my children several times a year and have never had to show a birth certificate. We flew Southwest in Dec. They are 7 and 5. Call SWA to confirm that.

YES! We didn't bring my son's BC with us when we flew Southwest and they almost refused to board us--we would have been stranded in California. He was not even 6 months old and we were LIVID! Try with all your might to find it so you don't run into the same problem.

We only needed our daughters to prove she was under 1 to fly free b/c she was just about a year old. If he is only 4 mos old I wouldn't worry about it!

Not really...Southwest might give you a hard time (because you have to be under 2 to fly free), but he's clearly under 2. TSA won't ask for it. I always bring them for peace of mind, but in my memory they are not required. Oh, I might add are mom and dad flying together? I think it might be more problematic to fly without one if both parents aren't present.

yes you do need it.

If you can't find it, an immunization record (those yellow cards you get at the doctor's) should be sufficient if you are only flying domestically.

Since he is only 4 months old, they probably won't ask for it. I did find that if I am traveling with a toddler under two and trying to have him fly for free on my lap, then they will ask for a birth certificate.

Surprisingly, TSA doesn't ask to see birth certificates for young children either. Makes you wonder how easy it would be to kidnap a baby and fly to another part of the country.

Safe and happy travels!

Not sure about Colorado, but in Illinois you have to go to the county clerks office and request the birth certificate. You do not get one automatically. For my older son I did not get a copy until he started preschool (I thought they would require it, but they did not). I got one for our younger son almost right away because the health insurance company had changed its policy and require it.

At any rate, just call the county court house (records office?) and ask them what you need to do to get his birth certificate. Like MegandOllie said, it shouldn't take too long, 5 minutes tops if there's no one else there.

Bueller's out sick today.

They don't ask you for it, typically, unless there's an amber alert out or you have a 'lap baby' (for proof of age).

Flying domestically, we've never had a problem/ not once been asked. Although since the first international trip, we now have his passport (babies 1 day old can get a passport, btw. I have a whole stack of mine from childhood, because children's passports have to be renewed rather frequently)

My friends, however, seem to time their flights PERFECTLY with amber alerts. They fly several times a year and are *always* asked for their birth certificate/ proof their child is theirs and not the missing child. Since they fly internationally, they, like we, have a passport. Unfortunately, they've run into some particularly DENSE airport employees (having to take it up to management) who tried to deny their use of a passport. Um. Hello. FEDERAL photo ID, versus a non-photo ID easily forged birth certificate???

Technically, yes, because TSA now has a rule that every passenger must be identified. Your son is obviously not near two years old, so Southwest won't have a problem about him being a lap baby.

Will TSa refuse to let you on the plane? Probably not. But they could.

hi, if you are not flying yet you can ask for a copy ,i had to get the paper work for the copy from the hospital i gave birth at.i think it took about three weeks to have a copy of birth certificate for us.Later on i found the original when i was less sleep deprived like around my son being two years old:-)
my last baby crying (number 4 and last) hope this help.N.

If you have not purchased a seat for the baby and he will be travelling in your lap, then yes, they will want the birth certificate. I have flown Southwest with both of my children as infants and they asked me for it with each of them. Having said that, I would call them and let them know that you can't find it and ask them what you can do about that. Honestly, the point of it is to verify that the child is under 2 years of age, but at 4 months old, that should be a no brainer! Good luck. Hope it all works out for you!

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If you have not purchased a seat for the baby and he will be travelling in your lap, then yes, they will want the birth certificate. I have flown Southwest with both of my children as infants and they asked me for it with each of them. Having said that, I would call them and let them know that you can't find it and ask them what you can do about that. Honestly, the point of it is to verify that the child is under 2 years of age, but at 4 months old, that should be a no brainer! Good luck. Hope it all works out for you!

Yes, you need it.

And if only 1 parent is flying with the child, often, a "travel authorization' form, notarized, is needed as well.
Which is signed by both parents.
These forms can be found online.

We had to use that, before. Our travel agent said, that the Airlines REQUIRES it. And we could not book the flight without it.
Kids get abducted all the time etc.

I have only needed to use it once, my son and I fly 3-4 times a year on average since he was 3months old.

Your baby is obviously an infant (hopefully obvious to them), and I think they only want it if they are uncertain and you need to prove the age. I can't believe what happened to QueenoftheCastle - ridiculous! But I've never needed it for my little ones. I flew on Delta.

You can contact the bureau of vital statistics and get another. Even before 9/11 my kids were required to have a state ID to fly. You are lucky they are letting you off with just a birth certificate.

Unless you are going internationally, I have never had to have my kids BCs to fly.

We had to have a birth cert one time and that was to question my sons age. he was only 8 months and was flying lap baby and they wanted to make sure he was under two. Okay. But it was fine, I always travel with those documents to be on the safe side.

I've never had to have a 'travel document' signed by my husand to fly with our kids. We take one vacation a year with my mom without my husband to see my sister and I travel with our three kids and never have had to have anything signed by him to travel alone with them. Internationally, probably but not domestic.