Perhaps you’ve moved and don’t know where your important documents are or maybe your teenagers are about to start their first jobs and need to apply for an SSN. Whatever the situation, one thing is true: There’s never a good time to be without a California birth certificate. Yet, you do have options if you need to order birth certificate replacements right away.

For couples who are married when a baby is born, it’s assumed the husband is the father, and it’s his name that appears on the birth certificate. For a single mother, however, there are some pros and cons for putting a father on the birth certificate or getting a replacement birth certificate.