How to make a blank copy of a birth certificate

The only legally recognised birth certificates are those issued by a hospital at the time of birth. However, many people like to use decorative or blank birth certificates for a variety of purposes. These include framing a decorative birth certificate for display or creating fake birth certificates for pets or dolls. Blank, decorative birth certificates are available online from a few different websites. For those who want more official, or long form, birth certificates, they must use a scanner and basic graphics software to create their own.

Navigate to a Web page that offers decorative birth certificates for free (see Resources).

Download the file. Choose the PDF format if the desired certificate is offered in various file formats.

Choose the location for the saved file, such as the desktop, and click "Save."

Double-click on the downloaded file to open it. Click on the "File" menu and select "Print."

Choose the desired printer and click "Print" to print a copy of the blank birth certificate. Fill out the birth certificate information to complete the decorative certificate.

Obtain a copy of an original birth certificate from the state or country you want your blank certificate to model.

Scan the original birth certificate and choose "JPG" as the file format if your scanning software gives you the option to choose what format to use. Choose a location you can easily remember, such as the desktop, for the scanned file's save location.

Open any graphics software, such as "Microsoft Paint." Click on the "Start" menu and navigate to the chosen software in the "All Programs Folder" or double-click on the desktop icon to launch the program.

Click on the "File" menu in the graphics software program and choose "Open." Navigate to the location of the saved scan file and click on the file icon. Click the "Open" button to load the file into the work area of the graphics program.

Select the "Eraser" tool in the graphics program and adjust the size to match the height of the writing on the scanned birth certificate.

Position the "Eraser" tool over the first line of unwanted text, click and hold the left mouse button and slide the tool over the text to erase it from the scanned birth certificate. Repeat this process with each line of text you want to erase until the birth certificate is blank. Choose "Save" from the "File" menu and rename the birth certificate file to reflect the changes. Choose where to save the file and click "Save."

Click "File" and choose "Print" in the graphics program to print a copy of the now blank birth certificate.

Things You'll Need

  • Printer
  • Original birth certificate
  • Scanner
  • Graphics software

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