States are scrambling to find a fix. What's the fix? The only company assigned to print special paper on which vital statistic certificates using a special type of printing known as "intaglio", has closed without warning.

California will be hit the hardest by the shortage and several counties are being forced to ration birth, marriage and death certificates.

This means people will get only 1 (one), official copy....an informational copy cannot be used for identity purposes and carries an inscription across the face of the document stating, "INFORMATIONAL NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY."

California allows only one other company to supply it's special printed paper and that company is in Canada, called Canadian Bank Note Co. This is only after a contract is signed and that can take a lot of time.

Parents need birth certificates to enroll their children. Several official copies are needed of a death certificate to claim "death benefits" or to retrieve any kind of a "will". In other words, an official document or certificate to establish an identity of a person will take more than 1 official document.

Here's the website of the company called Sekuworks in Ohio. Nothing is said about their closing.

Who closed them down, what's the reason?

http://www.sekuworks.com/