Original Birth Certificate

I foolishly handed in my original wedding certificate years ago - asked many times for it back as it had my dad's signature on it - Commune has repeatedly told me it is impossible.

I hope you get it back and am looking at this thread for anyone who has an answer

Next time -- I will get a certified copy and keep originals -- fingers crossed you find a way.

Under Belgian law, there is no such thing as an "original" birth certificate. It is just an extract of the population register, and they are normally dated and valid for 6 months.

I would therefore be very surprised if you get it back - it is just an "extract", and you can ask for as many as you want.

You have to re-apply to your country of birth for another extract of the register - basically a duplicate of your birth certificate.

Commune gave me mine back otherwise I wouldn't still have it. Which is good news because I'll be damned if I'm paying 60 bucks every time for a new one.

We married in Belgium and had to provide original documents for birth, previous marriages and divorces. These documents were kept and now we are planning on moving from Belgium we want them back. I was amazed when I went to the appropriate court office and was told that a judge would be asked if they could be released!
A few years back when I renewed my passport at the embassy in Brussels they were apalled that I didn't have the original documents and said it was illegal for them to be kept by Belgian authorities. Any thoughts?