See Swampsniper’s post number 144, for yet another testimony of what most Americans have to go through to conduct the simplest transactions with their state governments.
I believe he’s in Florida.
Really? We don't need to go far to prove you wrong. Let's use your home state as an example. The Texas Department of Vital Statistics says:
Short form birth certificates can usually be produced in 30 minutes to 2 hours. If you need a long form birth certificate, it may take several days to process.
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/vs/reqproc/certified_copy.shtm
They call both the long and short form documents "birth certificates."