Replacing personal documents

One of the most important things to take care of is recovering personal documents that were destroyed in the fire. Here’s a list of some personal documents and what to do to replace them.

Driver’s license/state ID card
Drivers licenses and state ID cards for non-drivers are the most commonly used IDs for proof of identity. These documents should be replaced as soon as possible. Contact the Pennsylvania DMV.

Social Security Card
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has no expedited procedure for issuing replacement Social Security cards at this time. Currently, the replacement process requires another form of identification, such as a driver’s license. The process is explained on the SSA’s Web site.

Passport
You’ll have to get a replacement from the State Department. A set of instructions are on the government's Web site. You’ll need photo ID, so get a driver’s license first if you lost that too.

Birth Certificate
You will have to go to the Office of Vital Records of the state you were born in and submit a request. Or, you might have to go the vital records office of county, depending on how your state does it. You will essentially have to provide all the information on the certificate in order to prove that it’s you.