You can order a certified short form or long form copy of a birth certificate for someone born in New York City in or after 1910. Apostille or Certificate of Authentication.When a document is to be used in another country, it may be necessary to have the document authenticated. Original and certified copy are basically the same. In this article, learn how to get official New York State and New York City Death Certificates available in pdf format for easy printing. Instead of submitting the original document, you will give the certified true copy that a government office or notary has verified. I am a California notary and I have never had this come up for me. So my question is am I able to notarize an application for a certified copy of birth record? A certified copy is generally quicker than obtaining a notarised copy. The county clerk will certify it and swear it to be true in writing that it is an original copy.