This is was the wallet size birth certificates look like.
Iowans who have a child, born between 1993 and 2009, are being encouraged to replace their wallet-sized birth certificate issued to newborns in the state during that time period.
Melissa Bird, with the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the smaller cards are missing vital information that make them useless for various identification purposes.
“The issues that we’ve seen, coming out of that period of time, include the Department of State not being able to accept these types of cards for passport purposes and the Department of Transportation has issues with these cards because they lack identifying information,” Bird says.
Parents of many children have already exchanged the wallet-sized certificates, but the Iowa Department of Public Health is now offering the exchange at no charge. Bird says over 634,000 people were born in Iowa between May of 1993 and October 2009, when these smaller birth certificates were issued.
Iowans who were born in the state during that time period can get a new birth certificate for free, but must surrender the old wallet-sized card. “In exchange, at no cost to the customer, we will provide an 8-1/2 by 11, letter-sized, certified copy of that birth certificate,” Bird says.
The application can be filed online through the Iowa Department of Public Health’s website. Bird says, due to the volume of requests, it may to 4 to 6 weeks to process each application. Iowans can also make the exchange through their local county recorder’s office or the newborn birth cards may also be exchanged by mail or in person with the Bureau of Health Statistics, 321 E. 12th St., Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.