Puerto Rico Extends Birth Certificate Deadline

The Puerto Rican government has extended the validity of current Puerto Rico birth certificates for three months, through Sept. 30, to provide a transition period as the island gears up to begin issuing new, more secure certificates, a process that started on July 1.

“Puerto Rico is issuing new birth certificates ... to combat fraud and protect the identity and credit of all people born on the Island,” said Nicole Guillemard, executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration. “Our goal with the three-month extension is to provide a smooth transition, especially to assist Puerto Ricans born in the island who currently reside stateside, as they apply for the new, more secure birth certificates.”

Puerto Rico passed a law last year that required the issuance of the new birth certificates for everyone born in the U.S. commonwealth because of rampant identity theft problems with the current birth certificates.

People born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens at birth who can enter and move about the country freely. Identity theft rings have exploited that fact by purchasing black-market Puerto Rican birth certificates, which go for as much as $10,000. And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates that 40 percent of the fraudulent passport cases reviewed by the U.S. State Department come from fake Puerto Rican birth certificates.

In the past, public schools in Puerto Rico have typically required parents to supply a copy of a child’s birth certificate each time a student enrolls in a new school. So multiple copies wind up floating about. Identity theft rings know this, and target school files accordingly. One of the new law’s provisions prohibits schools from keeping copies of the certificates.

Guillemard underscored that only those who need a birth certificate for a transaction or official purpose need apply right away. Those who want to obtain a copy for their records can do so at a later date to avoid an unnecessary rush of applications.

Instructions on how to apply, as well as information on Puerto Rico’s birth certificate law, can be found at: www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates/ and www.prfaa.com/certificadosdenacimiento/.