At this point, I have no idea if my original birth certificate has also been lost under the care of the State Department. The acid test will come if I have to have a certified copy for a national U.S. ID. Thus far, renewing passports, etc., has not required showing a certified birth certificate once I showed it for the first time years ago.
My Virginia driver’s license expires in less than a year, so just in case we implement the program early I figured I should be prepared. A passport could come in handy even if I don’t travel. A dear friend lost her license some time ago and needed three forms of ID – or her passport. She was flustered (and she’s a lawyer!) and didn’t read the part about the passport. She was extremely agitated until I looked into it told her all she needed was her passport.