The State of Iowa is offering replacement birth certificates issued over a 16 year span because they do not contain enough information.
From May 1993 to October 2009, parents were given newborn birth certificate wallet cards after having a baby. The certificates, which are supposed to be used as a vital record, do not contain enough information, making them less useful, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health Bureau of Health Statistics.
The wallet cards (which are 2 and 5/8 in. x 4 in.) were printed as a perforated attachment to a larger document (which is 3.5 in. x 8 in.)
If you have one of these birth certificate cards, you can exchange it by mail or in person with the Bureau of Health Statistics, at 321 E. 12th Street, Lucas Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.
To exchange your wallet card, you must do the following:
- Download the Application for Certified Copy of Iowa Vital Record from http://www.idph.iowa.gov/health-statistics/request-record;
- Open Application for Copy of Birth Certificate link and print document;
- Complete the application, including notarized signature;
- Return application, copy of driver’s license and original newborn birth certificate wallet card in person or by mail.
Allow between four and six weeks to receive your replacement in the mail.
