How to Safely Store Birth Certificates

Birth certificates are important documents that should be preserved. To safely store a birth certificate use acid-free, archival materials. Make a high quality scan of it before putting it into long-term storage.

1-1/2″ Drop Front Box storing a birth certificate and other important documents which are in 3-Sided Sleeves with Card Stock Inserts to protect them during handling.

Layers of Protection

Archival Sleeves or Binder Pages – These protect the documents during handling and viewing.
Archival Envelopes or File Folders – Optional layer that helps sort and organize multiple documents and gives you room to write relevant information about the contents
Archival Box or Binder– Boxes are more economical and binders provide easier viewing and access. Here’s an in-depth look at the box versus binder decision.
Your Home! You should store your birth certificate and other important documents somewhere in your living space that is climate controlled. No attics or basements! Interior closets are ideal.

Handling

Many birth certificates, especially older ones, are very delicate. If you handle the document incorrectly you might wrinkle, stain, or tear it. While we recommend wearing gloves when handling photos and negatives, gloves can increase the risk of damaging fragile paper documents. Therefore, before handling birth certificates, always wash and dry your hands thoroughly. You want to ensure that no dirt, lotion, or naturally-occurring oils from your hands get on the document. If you would prefer to wear gloves, powder-free nitrile gloves are a better choice for this project because they won’t snag like cotton.

One way to protect a birth certificate during future handling is to put it in an archival sleeve or binder page. We recommend using archival Card Stock for extra support in the sleeve or page if you don’t need to see both sides of your document.

Pro Tip: When possible, store paper items unfolded when you are trying to preserve them. Paper damage occurs more rapidly along folds.

Sleeves

If you want to store your birth certificate in an archival box or file folder there are a few good archival sleeves for birth certificates.

Polyester Side-Loading Print Sleeves are the clearest, most inert of the archival plastics and have a natural static charge
Polypropylene 3-Sided Sleeves or Crystal Clear Bags are also very clear archival plastics

Polypropylene archival sleeves are a good choice for protecting important documents in storage and during handling.

The document above on the left is 8-1/2 x 11. Since it is a heavy paper, in good condition, and double-sided I put it into a 3-Sided Sleeve without a backing board, while the birth certificate on the right is thin, frail, and stained. It fit into an 8 x 10 sleeve and I used a card stock insert for support. I put a related newspaper clipping into a sleeve with support, too.

Pro Tip: Always isolate news clippings from surrounding items. Newspaper is very acidic and will harm paper that it is in contact with.

I used a Crystal Clear Bag but then realized why the 3-Sided Sleeve might be a better option. The clear bag takes up slightly more space in the box because it holds a tiny bit of air and the folded over flap takes up space. 3-Sided Sleeves and Crystal Clear Bags are made from the same material.

Binder Pages

If you opt to store your birth certificates in a binder, use archival binder pages and card stock inserts.

Polypropylene Print Pages (also referred to as “pocket pages”) feature an easy-to-use top-loading pocket.
Polyester 3-Ring Page Protectors are open at the top and bottom. The natural static charge of the material helps hold some papers in place without an adhesive, but sometimes you need to use a reversible method (Mounting Corners or E-Z Dots) to adhere them to the archival paper insert that comes with these pages.

Polyester 3-Ring Page Protectors come with an archival paper insert which can be removed if it’s not needed. The naturally occurring static in polyester can help hold some items in place without adhesive.

Envelopes and File Folders

Using protective sleeves and putting your documents in an appropriate box is an excellent way to help preserve your birth certificates and similar items. Envelopes and file folders are a useful addition that can help you keep items sorted and organized. They also provide space to make notes about the contents.

Flap Envelopes Open on Long Side come in sizes to store 8 x 10, 8-1/2 x 11 (letter), 8-1/4 x 14 (legal), and 11 x 14 sizes. The flap doesn’t have adhesive on it, it just folds over. Seams are on the sides to avoid uneven pressure when stacked.
File Folders come in letter and legal sizes with third, half, and full tabs and fit inside our Document Boxes.

Pro Tip: The Document Storage Kit includes a document box, 50 file folders, and an exterior box label. Add some sleeves and you’ve got yourself an easy storage solution!

Archival hinged lid metal edge document box with file folders inside and one open folder in front of box with vintage graphics in it — The Document Storage Kit comes with 50 acid-free, buffered file folders for safeguarding your important documents.

Boxes

You can opt for either flat or vertical storage in our metal edge boxes.

1-1/2″ and 3″ deep Drop Front Boxes are a great way to store documents and larger photos. The drop front panel on the base of the box makes it easy to insert and remove contents without damaging them.
Document Boxes, as mentioned, are a good choice when you want to use File Folders and store your documents upright. Just be sure the box is full so the contents don’t sag. We offer Document Box Spacers to use with partially filled boxes.

Questions?

You can contact us via email or phone if you have any questions. We are happy to help!