SELLERSBURG, Ind. — Editor's Note: As of Dec. 5, the Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline to get a REAL ID to May 7, 2025.
A southern Indiana woman is facing the reality that she may have been celebrating the wrong birthday her whole life.
Carolyn and Ron, a married couple in Sellersburg, tried to go on an Alaskan cruise several years ago. In order to go, Carolyn needed a passport. To get that, she needed a copy of her birth certificate.
That's when she got a shock.
When getting a copy of her birth certificate from the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Carolyn found her DOB was one day off from the one she had always celebrated.
"I immediately told them, 'You've made a mistake.' And the lady said they hadn't made a mistake. She said, 'I'm sorry, that's what in our basement in our permanent records,'" Carolyn said.
WHAS11 is not using Carolyn's last name, to not release too much personal information about her.
It turns out the birth document Carolyn had in her possession was a "souvenir" birth certificate issued by Norton Memorial Infirmary, and not a state-issued birth certificate.
But that shouldn't matter, because the dates should be the same, right? Wrong.
Somehow, August 27, 1948 ended up on her souvenir, and August 26, 1948 on the real certificate.
"The frustration just mounts. If anyone even mentions a birth certificate anymore, I just want to go off on them," Carolyn said. "Everything I've done for the last 74 years has the 27th on it."
A spokesperson for Vital Statistics said that in 1948, certificates of live birth were created at the hospital, forwarded to the local health department and then mailed to Frankfort.
The only thing that has changed is that they started electronically submitting the data in 2007.
Norton Healthcare could not say if its staff may have put the wrong date on either paper trial (souvenir vs. official) that started at the hospital.
"With the incident in question happening 74 years ago, we are unable to say how the discrepancy occurred. We file birth information with the state after it has been verified with the birth parent," a spokesperson with Norton Healthcare said. "The birth information filed with the state remains the source of truth for vital information, including birth date."
One reason why Carolyn is particularly interested in getting this fixed now is that all states will enforce Real ID at their airports.
No one needs to get a Real ID; you can still fly with a regular ID and a passport. But if you don't want to get in the habit of carrying your passport with you, it's probably the right call.
You will also need either a Real ID or passport to get into federal buildings such as military bases.
If Carolyn ever wants to go on an Alaskan cruise, she will need to get either a Real ID or passport.
"I'd like to have it either way," Carolyn said about a Real ID.
And to the question of, "Why doesn't she just use the birthdate the State has on file for her?" Well, that would technically work, but then her license would have a different date than all her other personal documents, and she wants to avoid that.
"I just wish there was some way to get it fixed," Carolyn said.
Vital Statistics declined an interview for this story, but told WHAS11 a court order is needed to change a birth certificate unless you can prove the person filing the original birth certificate made a mistake.
The Legal Aid Society suggested Carolyn sue Vital Statistics, using the souvenir document as proof.
"In my experience, the only solution is to file suit," John Young said, an attorney with Legal Aid Society.
Young said this issue is "not common, but it's not uncommon."
He suggested that Carolyn file a lawsuit, saying the birth certificate is wrong, and then contact the office's general counsel. He says they usually agree to the change without seeing the lawsuit fully through.
"It may sound scary, but it's not," Young said. "And if she files with us, she would only have to pay a $200 filing fee, which she can also apply to be waived."
The idea of potentially going to court makes Carolyn's head spin but said she would look into it.
What you need on-hand to get a Real ID
- Proof of Identity, for most people this is an official birth certificate or passport.
- Proof of any name changes, such as marriage licenses.
- Proof that you are in the United States legally, for U.S. citizens that will be the first document. For immigrants that will be your foreign passport with Visa forms.
- Proof of social security. That can be your SSA card, a W-2 or a paystub.
- 2 proofs of state residency, such as utility bills or bank statements.
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