The US Census Bureau reports that they regularly get requests for birth certificate from citizens who do not know that getting their birth records can be a lot closer to home, such as their own state, or even their own community.
However, there is no centralized federal repository of birth records in the United States. Instead, each state maintains its own records either at the state Health Department or Bureau of Vital Statistics (often a division of the Health Department).
Occasionally the county or town where you were born might have a copy of your birth certificate, but not all do. However, if you are in your mid-70s or older, you might find that's the only place they do exist as a number of state records go back only until the early 1900s.
This can be a Catch-22 for the elderly, particularly those from rural areas. Local records have been lost due to fires, floods, and other natural disasters. Sometimes the only record is a listing in a family Bible. (However, such family records have been accepted in some cases where the loss of official records is documented.)
Occasionally people think that a copy of their birth certificate is kept at the hospital where they were born and they can get a replacement copy there. That is not accurate. While the hospital records may include a record of your birth (and if you're middle-aged, the less likely this is, or at least the less likely it is that anyone could find the record), hospitals cannot issue you a replacement birth certificate.
Issuing a replacement birth certificate needs to be done by the state record center responsible for maintaining birth records in the state where you were born (unless, for previously mentioned reasons, that's impossible. Talk to your state record center about what to do in that situation.)
Requesting a copy of your birth certificate requires that you submit a request in writing with your full birth name, birth date, place of date and, when possible, your parents' first and last names (including your mother's maiden name). You also need to say that the birth certificate is for you, as birth certificates will only be issued to the person, their spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings, and/or legal guardians.
Official birth certificate replacement forms may require additional information, but a letter explaining what you want and providing the information generally is sufficient. You also need to include the appropriate fee.
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