New Birth Certificates for Puerto Rico Natives

Given that 40 percent of the identity theft and identity fraud in the U.S. involves birth certificates from Puerto Rico, a new law has been enacted which invalidates all birth certificates issued to native Puerto Ricans before July 1, 2010.

The new law came about after thousands of birth certificates and other forms of identity were stolen from Puerto Rican schools by a criminal ring last March, [...]

The law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, states that all birth certificates issued by Puerto Rico before July 1, 2010 are invalid.

Native Puerto Ricans can request their new birth certificates on or after that date as needed. There is a $5 fee that is waived for those who are 60 and older or veterans.

To avoid clogging the system with requests, Puerto Rican officials are recommending that those who need copies of their birth certificates request it first, and others who want the new certificates for their records request them at a later date.

The law does not affect issued forms of identification that require a birth certificate. For example driver's licenses, passports, social security cards remain valid.

The new law was a collaborative effort of the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.