Certificate of Citizenship and Form N-600: Who Needs One?

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Most people searching for a Certificate of Citizenship are already U.S. citizens. The document does not make anyone a citizen. It records a citizenship status, which you already hold, which is why USCIS treats it as optional.

Understanding this difference determines whether you need to apply. A parent who has recently naturalised and is wondering what document their children now need, and an adult born abroad who already holds a passport, are in very different positions. This guide explains what a certificate of citizenship is, if and when you need one, and any legal requirements. 

What Is a Certificate of Citizenship?

A Certificate of Citizenship is a document USCIS issues to a person who is already a U.S. citizen but who was neither born in the United States nor naturalised. It is called Form N-560, and its counterpart for naturalised citizens is Form N-550.

Under U.S. Code regulations, a person who claims to have derived U.S. citizenship through a parent's naturalisation may apply for the certificate. The government must find that the applicant is a citizen and that citizenship "was derived as claimed, or acquired, as the case may be."

The statute also requires that the person be inside the United States at the time. The government is not deciding whether to make you a citizen, but whether you already are one.

The same logic applies during cancellation. A certificate can be cancelled if it was obtained illegally or by fraud. The holder will receive a written notice and at least 60 days to show why it should not be canceled. 

But cancellation affects only the documents, not the person's citizenship status. Meaning, losing the paper does not mean you stop being a citizen. 

Note: the statute uses two words for two different routes. You acquire citizenship at birth, and you derive it later, usually through a parent. Both lead to the same certificate.

Certificate of Citizenship vs Certificate of Naturalization

A certificate of citizenship is issued to someone who is already a citizen at birth abroad, or through a parent. While a certificate of naturalization is issued to someone who became a citizen through naturalization. 

Here's how these citizenship documents compare;

Note: The Consular Report of Birth Abroad is not a birth certificate and you must apply for it before the child turns 18. 

How to File Form N-600 Application for a Certificate of Citizenship

The process is fairly straightforward; 

• Online filing: Fill out Form N-600 online through your USCIS Online Account portal and submit it with the required fee. The online application is not available if you are applying from outside the U.S., requesting a fee waiver, or filing as a military member on your own behalf. 
• Paper filing: Alternatively, you can download the paper form and mail it to the right USCIS lockbox address. Check the USCIS website for the current lockbox address before mailing, as filing locations can change.
• Applying for children under 18: A parent or legal guardian must file, attend appointments, and speak on behalf of a minor child.
• Biometrics and interviews: USCIS may require you to attend an interview or provide biometrics for identity verification and background checks. In some cases, USCIS may waive the interview if your documentation is complete.
• Surrendering old documents: Applicants must turn in any green cards or foreign immigration IDs they currently hold, as this new certificate replaces previous status documentation.
• Approval and oath: Once approved, the applicant takes the Oath of Allegiance (per 8 CFR part 337), and USCIS delivers the certificate within the United States.
• Denials and appeals: If denied, you will receive an explanation and information on how to appeal (8 CFR 103.3). If a denial becomes final, you cannot simply refile Form N-600; you must submit a motion to reopen or reconsider under 8 CFR 103.5 instead. Make sure your initial application is complete and accurate to avoid costly delays.

If a witness cannot travel to the U.S. to testify, USCIS may allow a written deposition taken abroad by a DHS or State Department official, which can be useful for establishing claims based on an older relative’s U.S. residency.

What Documents You Need for Form N-600

Here’s everything you need, divided by categories; 

The core set, for every applicant

• Your birth certificate or record, issued and certified by a civil authority in your country of birth. 
• The birth certificate or record for your U.S. citizen parent. 
• Proof of that parent's U.S. citizenship, which can be a birth certificate showing birth in the United States
• Form N-550, Form N-560, Form FS-240, or a valid, unexpired U.S. passport. 
• All marriage certificates of your U.S. citizen parent, and a certified divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment document where a marriage ended.

Documents that depend on your route

• A copy of your permanent resident card if you became a citizen after birth rather than at birth
• Evidence of legal and physical custody if your U.S. citizen parents divorced or legally separated.
• Proof of legitimation if your claim is through a father and you were born out of wedlock.

Evidence of the parent's time in the United States

• School, employment, or military records all count, as do deeds, mortgages, or leases, and attestations by churches, unions, or other organizations.

Adoption and name changes 

• A full, final adoption decree where you were adopted, plus a U.S. state adoption decree or evidence that the foreign adoption is recognized. Court-issued documents for any legal change of name or date of birth.

Photographs

• Two identical colour passport-style photographs if you live outside the United States. If you are in the United States, you will take the photograph at your biometrics appointment.

If you cannot obtain a record, you can submit secondary evidence, such as a baptismal certificate, a school record, census records, or affidavits.

Who Already Has U.S. Citizenship Without a Certificate

If you belong in any of these situation; you already have citizenship and may not need a citizenship certificate;

Born in the United States

If you are born in the United States, Form N-600 does not apply to you. Your birth certificate is your primary document. The State Department accepts it as primary citizenship evidence when it shows your place of birth, was filed within one year, and carries the registrar's signature and an official seal.

Born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent

Where both parents were U.S. citizens, the rule requires that one of them had a residence in the United States before you were born, with no minimum duration. 

Where one parent was a citizen, and the other was not, the rules are stricter. That parent must have been physically present in the United States for at least five years before your birth, and at least two of those years must have been after the parent turned 14. This is also called the physical presence test.

Certain military service and government employment abroad count toward those five years, which can be beneficial if your case looks short at first. 

Became a citizen automatically as a child

Under the U.S. Code, as rewritten by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a child born outside the United States becomes a citizen automatically when three things are true at once.

• At least one parent is a U.S. citizen. By birth or by naturalization, either works.
• The child is under 18. If the last condition falls into place after the eighteenth birthday, this route has closed.
• The child is a permanent resident living in the United States in the legal and physical custody of that citizen parent.

Nobody applies for this. It happens by operation of law, which is why so many parents find out afterwards that their children have been citizens for years.

The statute extends the same treatment to adopted children. A 2020 amendment also treats the U.S. residence condition as met for children of citizen parents stationed abroad as service members or government employees.

Children living outside the United States

If the child lives abroad, the automatic route does not apply. U.S. Code requires them to apply for the form N-600K rather than N-600. 

Do You Need a Certificate of Citizenship?

You do not need to acquire a certificate of citizenship to prove your U.S. citizenship. But if you want evidence of your U.S. citizenship, you may submit Form N-600 or apply for a U.S. passport instead.

The State Department's citizenship evidence guidance supports that. For a person born outside the United States, it accepts four documents as primary evidence of citizenship.

Those four are: a fully valid, undamaged U.S. passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth, a Certificate of Naturalization, and a Certificate of Citizenship. If you hold a valid passport, you already hold primary proof.

Even so, getting a certificate can still be worth it in a few key situations; 

• The document does not need renewing. The state requires a passport to be fully valid and undamaged before it will accept one as proof. No equivalent condition exists for the certificate.
• Foreign records can become unobtainable. Where a birth was registered in a country whose records are now inaccessible, a U.S. certificate does not depend on that archive.
• The CRBA window has closed. A Consular Report of Birth Abroad can only be applied for before the child turns 18. An adult who was never registered only has the N-600.
• Adoption. For an adopted child who has no foreign birth record usable in the United States, the certificate is often the only U.S. document of status.

Is a Birth Certificate Proof of Citizenship?

Yes, a birth certificate is proof of citizenship if you were born in the United States. The State Department accepts a U.S. birth certificate as primary evidence of citizenship as long as it shows your place of birth, was filed within one year of the birth, and carries an official seal, the registrar's signature, your parents' names and your own full name and date of birth. Form N-600 does not apply to you at all.

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If you were born abroad, your birth certificate is not a proof of citizenship. A foreign birth certificate records where you were born, which questions your citizenship. You need one of the four documents the State accepts: a valid U.S. passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Certificate of Naturalization, or a Certificate of Citizenship.

The Consular Report of Birth Abroad is the closest thing to a birth certificate in that group, and even that is not a birth certificate.

Form N-600 and Form N-600K: Which One Applies

• Form N-600 is for a person who is already a U.S. citizen by birth abroad or through a parent and wants that documented. The applicant must be in the United States when the government makes its finding.
• Form N-600K is for a child living outside the United States who has not automatically become a citizen. The citizen parent applies and must show five years of physical presence in the U.S., with at least two of those years after turning 14, or that their own parent meets that test.

For the N-600K route, the child has to be lawfully admitted to the United States temporarily and maintain that status. Then the child takes the oath of allegiance before a USCIS officer in the United States. You cannot complete this process from abroad. The same statute also lets a U.S. citizen grandparent or legal guardian apply within five years of the citizen parent's death.

What Form N-600 Costs

Below is the current cost of Form N-600 as of September, 2026.

• Form N-600 (Certificate of Citizenship): US$1,385
• Form N-600K (Citizenship and certificate under section 322): US$1,385
• Form N-565 (Replacing or correcting a certificate): US$555

There is no fee for an N-600 filed by a current or former member of any branch of the U.S. armed forces on their own behalf.

There is also no fee where the application is filed for someone who is the subject of a final adoption for immigration purposes and meets the definition of child under section 101(b)(1)(E), (F), or (G) of the Act. The same exemption applies to the N-600K. Form N-600 fees change considerably, so verify the current fees before applying. 

If Your Certificate Is Lost, Damaged, or Wrong

In this case, you must apply for a replacement using Form N-565. Form N-565 covers a lost, stolen, damaged, or incorrect certificate, and the fee is US$555 as of September 2026. If USCIS made the error, you will not need to pay a fee. You do not need to file a fresh N-600 to replace a certificate you already hold.