If you were born in a hospital in a country that does not record the birth time on the birth certificate, you may need to confirm the exact time of your birth from the hospital that you were born in, as your birth time is usually recorded on your medical records. When you call the hospital of birth for your time of birth you will need to ask to speak to the person in charge of the medical records.

Each hospital has different procedures, some of which will charge you a small fee for the processing and administration.

Ireland

It is not uncommon to have to put your request in writing.

You may need to provide proof of identity.

It is not uncommon to be told that the hospital does not hold records longer than ‘x’ number of years, which is not true, (under normal conditions they are held for 65 years), unless they have been destroyed by ‘accident’ or your specific hospital has a different policy.

Please be aware that this process can take some time. It is not uncommon for a hospital to take up to 8 weeks to process your request, so I would gently encourage you to set the process in motion sooner, rather than later!

Places where you birth time IS on your birth certificate:

Europe: Scotland, France, Germany, Netherlands or Denmark

Worldwide: Some US states

Places where your birth time is NOT on your birth certificate:

Europe: Republic of Ireland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Poland, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia

Worldwide: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, China, Indonesia, most African countries. If your birth place is not listed, let me know.