Puerto Rico’s New Birth Certificate Law

 

The government of Puerto Rico has enacted a new law (Law 191 of 2009) aimed at strengthening the issuance and usage of birth certificates to combat fraud and protect the identity and credit of all people born in Puerto Rico. In the past, many common official and unofficial transactions in Puerto Rico unnecessarily required the submission, retention, and storage of birth certificates. As a result, hundreds of thousands of original birth certificates were stored without adequate protection, making them easy targets for theft. Subsequently, many birth certificates have been stolen from schools and other institutions, sold on the black market, and used to illegally obtain passports, licenses, and other government and private sector documentation and benefits.

As a result of this growing problem, approximately 40 percent of the passport fraud cases investigated by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Diplomatic Security Services in recent years involved birth certificates of people born in Puerto Rico. This left Puerto Rico-born U.S. citizens vulnerable to identity theft, ruined credit, and stolen Social Security benefits, among other consequences.

The new law was based on collaboration with the U.S. DOS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to address the fraudulent use of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates to unlawfully obtain U.S. passports, Social Security benefits, and other federal services. 

Under the new law, all Puerto Rico birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010, will be invalidated so that new, more secure certificates can be issued. Until that date, all birth certificates will remain valid.

It is important to understand that there is no need to rush out and get a new birth certificate on July 1.  It is suggested that only people who have a specific need for their birth certificate for official purposes need request a new birth certificate right away. Those people who want to obtain a copy of the new birth certificates for their records are encouraged to do so at a later date to prevent an unnecessary rush of applications and to ensure that those individuals who have a specific need for the birth certificates are able to obtain them in a timely fashion.

Those Puerto Rican-born living in the states will be able to request and receive their new birth certificates through a simple process by mail.  The fee is $5, but will be waived for people over 60 and veterans.

For additional information on the new law, please visit the links below.

-From: “ Puerto Rico’s New Birth Certificate Law (Law 191 of 2009)” http://www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates/ forwarded by Charlie Harak, utilitynetwork@lists.nclc.org, April 11, 2010.

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