My BC (from 1950):
I have a hospital birth certificate dated and signed by nurse superintendent ...a Dr with a seal (looks decorative to me ) It has my footprints....I assume this has no legal weight.....or does it?
No .. remember a few weeks ago, whether on purpose to make a point or not, Trump gave AbC his hospital birth certificate. For the first time the media notice that that wasn’t a REAL birth cert. The ‘real thing’ is maintained by the public office in the jurisdiction where you were born.
i.e., while Trump had his hospital issued ‘birth certificate’ the official one is maintained by the City of New York where he was born. (if he were born in NYS vs NYC, there’d be another office that held his records)
It's going to depend on a few things...Does it have a government (i.e. state or county) form number on it? If it is an "official" government form used for recording purposes and is properly completed, it has weight. Even if it is merely a local hospital form, does it have the language of an oath on it? If it does and is signed and properly notarized, it would have the same legal weight as say, an affidavit of the physician attesting to the information on the form. It may not have the full import of an actual Birth Certificate for purposes that specifically require such a document, but it could be instrumental in helping you secure one.