How do you get a copy of your birth certificate from the State Department when you don't have a valid ID which you cannot get without your birth certificate?

Sometimes legal questions are really bureaucracy questions.  This sounds like one of those, so I'll venture an answer despite not having any experience or special knowledge in this section.  Hopefully someone will step in with a better answer. You can pick your bureaucracy here: you can work the state DMV and you can work the State Department. Since you didn't identify your state, we'll start with the State Department.  First off, you should - as the parent - be able to request a copy of the birth record for yourself. http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_825.html Second, people can apply for a passport using so-called Secondary Identification: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/secondary_evidence/secondary_evidence_4314.html so your son should be able to use some of the same tricks to get a copy of his birth certificate.  Photocopy everything in his wallet, submit it with an affidavit from both your son and yourself explaining your situation, and basically trust to the mercy of the document processor.   Calling the number to check on the status may help your son find someone at the State Department willing to take a personal interest and help you out. Back to the state DMV, look over its secondary identification items as well.  http://www.dmv.org/ has some useful information.  Different states have different identification requirements.  For example, in Illinois you might be able to use a high school transcript to prove date of birth.  One one state site, I saw a link to VitalChek [https://www.vitalchek.com/] as a company that specializes in helping people obtain necessary identify records.  Sometimes states have different requirements for driver's licenses and ID cards.  It might be easier to get an ID card, use that to get the birth certificate, then use the birth certificate to get the driver's license. If your son doesn't have what his state requires, then have him call the DMV and see if he can find a reasonable person.  They are out there.  The first person to answer the phone might not be reasonable. If all else fails - everything is a complete muck of bureaucratic run-around - contact the office of your congress people.  Because the State department is involved and this touches on military service, they might be able to help.   Those are my initial thoughts.  As my father long reminded me, "Clerks think clerk-type thoughts."  If your son puts all his papers in order and uses the appropriate fasteners - staples, paperclips, whatever - those details go a long way to winning sympathy from the other side of the counter.  Good luck!

Based on the following info, this sounds like a big mistate.   He only needs to prove his identity, not his citizenship.  To Replace a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240), You Must Submit: 1. A notarized written (or typed) request that includes all of the following information: Full name of the child at birth Any adoptive names of child Child's date and place of birth Any available passport information Full names of parents If known, the serial number of the FS-240 Signature of requester Legal Guardian(s) Only: A copy of the court order granting guardianship Requester's mailing address Contact number of the requester 2. A copy of requester’s valid identification 3. A $50.00 check or money order Make payable to "Department of State" The Department will assume no responsibility for cash lost in the mail. 4. Mail to:     Department of State     Passport Vital Records Section                                                                      44132 Mercure Cir.                                                                                        PO Box  1213                                                                                              Sterling, VA  20166-1213 Overnight Delivery Send your request to our office using overnight delivery for  quicker service. To have your records returned to you using overnight  delivery, include an additional $14.85 with your request.  Consular  Reports of Birth documents are printed and mailed off site; please do not include a pre-paid express mail envelope with your request as this will cause a delay with delivery.   The other answers are also good:  there is no single "State Department," but there are many individuals answering the phone who have various personal quirks, attitudes and priorities.  Be persistent.  Ask to talk to a supervisor.  Or try to get the name of the Deputy Assistant Secretary in charge and email the copy of the correspondence to him/her.