You're right, but so is OP because you had to write "isn't all true." My perfectly valid, accepted by the State Department for a passport and by a federal agen

You're right, but so is OP because you had to write "isn't all true." My perfectly valid, accepted by the State Department for a passport and by a federal agency for a rather intensive background check, birth certificate was issued by what was then a tiny town in north Texas, just after that city had gotten large enough to have its own birth registry. It is hand-typed and has a raised seal that is now mostly flat due to age. It doesn't even have a unique identifier. It says it is recorded in "book 2, page 19" and there are three other birth entries on that same page. I got to see the original book when I went asking about it out of curiosity. The only not-on-paper copy of it is on a microfiche roll at the new city hall. I've checked; they've not yet gotten around to digitizing records from my year of birth. Consequently, I can't order a copy of my birth certificate electronically from out-of-state. I have to mail in a paper form. The copy I get back is fantastically secure: microprinting, holographic seals, and a QR code unique ID. But the original, which is still good for everything, has none of those. Maybe new birth certificates are standard but there are literally dozens of us who are still in our prime working years of life that have "proof of birth" paperwork that can be fabricated by anyone who knows how to type.