Expert: Cesar - 12/7/2009

Question
I am trying to get my birth certificate from my home town of Pasto Narino in order to provide citizenship for my son. Since i was adopted 30 yrs ago i have no knowledge or no abouts of where these vital records are.

How can i replace my lost birth certificate without traveling to Colombia? Anything online?


Answer
Dear Mr. Binninger:

The usual way to get a copy of a birth certificate is to go to the notary office that recorded that event. Since you are not in Colombia and might not have who to do that for you and do not know which notary, book number, etc because you lost it then you could ask the nearest Colombian consulate in your country for assistance. For a list of consulates in the US you can visit:

http://www.cesarusa.com/consulates.htm

You can also contact the "Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil" (a civil status registry office similar to a Records Office in USA) for assistance because they should have information about you in their records and they issue documents. Their website is:

http://www.registraduria.gov.co/

There are several registradurias. One in the state you mentioned too (including in Nariño). A list appears at:

http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gov.co/entidad.aspx?entID=280

There you can find the one in Nariño:
Calle 16 No. 22a-54 Telephone: 011-57-(2)7223839 and 011-57(2)7223839 8 AM a 5 PM

The Colombian consulate helps in getting documents such as the Cedula de Ciudadanía and the passport. They can also notarize Colombia related documents.

The "Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil" can answer questions related to documents. They created a page that answers 200 of the most common questions at

http://www.registraduria.gov.co/Informacion/man_reg_civ.pdf

Best wishes,

Cesar
www.CesarUSA.com