To ask how you can tell

[WhatTheFluck]

If a birth certificate is an original or a photocopy?

A photocopy wouldn't be on official paper.

How can you tell if it's official paper though ?

If you hold an original up to the light there should be a watermark.

Well a photocopy would just be the print on a white A4 sheet. An original would be printed into the paper which has some kind of design on it. It would be obvious if the original paper was photocopied.

Are you trying to fake a BC?

The official paper is usually thicker and has some sort of watermark on it. Have you never seen a birth certificate before? The official paper is much different than regular paper.

Of course I am not trying to fake it.
It looks photocopied to me in terms of the writing and I just can't be sure if it is the original or not.

What is the age of the person it relates to?

Mine, being 46 years old is very soft and fragile, with curled edges and tears in the creases. I think there's also a watermark and the paper is a distinct colour - creamy coloured - I don't know how widely available the exact colour of paper is. Given all that I would have thought it would be reasonably hard to produce a copy that is indistguishable from the original.

Why do you need to know? If its for work purposes, you can get training in spotting forged documents from the counter terrorism police.

Ok, let's get some context. Who is giving you a BC, what's it for, do you need an original?

You can get one yourself if needed.

I have in the past ordered a birth certificate online from the General Registrars office (Scotland) and when it arrived I thought it looked like a photocopy/fake. It looked different to the ones I had issued at the local registrars office.

Watermark

Depending on the age of the person, aren't the official records online now? You can request copies of documents, so not sure if they use expensive papers and inks for all versions. May be worth checking with Somerset House to see if they have an explanation of fake vs real.

A new job needs it to pay me. Can anyone post a version of what it's meant to look like

I am 35

I have requested copies of old certificates before and some of them are photocopies however they have been copied onto the official paper, with the watermark.

The colour of the paper. If you google original birth certificate you will see.

A new job needs it to pay me.

So it's your own BC, why would it be a photocopy?

Can anyone post a version of what it's meant to look like

Erm, google 🤷‍♀️

Please don't ask people to post their birth certificates

So if it's your birth certificate, do you not know the source? I don't know why you would question it.

You will absolutely KNOW - it's not printed on 'normal' paper - so yes you have a photocopy, almost certainly.

Google it. A birth cert is printed on yellowy paper which is quite thick, the writing is often red. It's so obvious.

You can order another original copy of yours online.

who in their right mind would post a copy of their birth certificate?

It's also a non standard paper size - well, not an A size.

I colour copied one of my children’s birth certificates and I can only tell the difference if I have them both in front of me. The real thing just looks a bit older. No help, sorry OP but I would just give them what you have and see.

Jesus. Obviously I meant a sample copy and not real ones to be posted online.
If the lettering is red I must have a photocopy then. I had to do some photocopies for an old job who needed to see a certificate so I wasn't sure if it was an original or not

Obviously I meant a sample copy and not real ones to be posted online. Why can't you Google it's, the same as we would?

This is an original copy. It is a very old cert (all people named are no longer with us) but it does show that the details are obviously a photocopy onto official paper.

MNHQ redacted the photo just in case of ID fraud (even though, yes, they are all no longer with us). Sorry, hope you don't mind HilaryBriss. Please don't sell us any of your special stuff.