(a) Except as otherwise provided in §§ 570.9 and 570.10, a certificate of age which shall have the effect specified in § 570.5 shall be issued only upon application of the minor desiring employment or of the prospective employer to the person authorized to issue such certificate and only after acceptable documentary evidence of age has been received, examined, and approved. Such evidence shall consist of one of the following to be required in the order of preference herein designated:

(1) A birth certificate or attested transcript thereof or a signed statement of the recorded date and place of birth, issued by a registrar of vital statistics or other officer charged with the duty of recording births.

(2) A record of baptism or attested transcript thereof showing the date and place of birth and date and place of baptism of the minor, or a bona fide contemporary record of the date and place of the minor's birth kept in the Bible in which the records of the births in the family of the minor are preserved, or other documentary evidence satisfactory to the Administrator, such as a passport showing the age of the minor, or a certificate of arrival in the United States issued by the United States immigration office and showing the age of the minor, or a life-insurance policy: Provided, That such other documentary evidence has been in existence at least 1 year prior to the time it is offered as evidence: And provided further, That a school record of age or an affidavit of a parent or a person standing in place of a parent, or other written statement of age shall not be accepted except as specified in paragraph (a) (3) of this section;

(3) The school record or the school-census record of the age of the minor, together with the sworn statement of a parent or person standing in place of a parent as to the age of the minor and also a certificate signed by a physician specifying what in his opinion is the physical age of the minor. Such certificate shall show the height and weight of the minor and other facts concerning his physical development which were revealed by such examination and upon which the opinion of the physician as to the physical age of the minor is based. If the school or school-census record of age is not obtainable, the sworn statement of the parent or person standing in place of a parent as to the date of birth of the minor, together with a physician's certificate of age as hereinbefore specified, may be accepted as evidence of age.

(b) The officer issuing a certificate of age for a minor shall require the evidence of age specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section in preference to that specified in paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section, and shall not accept the evidence of age permitted by either subsequent paragraph unless he shall receive and file evidence that reasonable efforts have been made to obtain the preferred evidence required by the preceding paragraph or paragraphs before accepting any subsequently named evidence: Provided, That to avoid undue delay in the issuance of certificates, evidence specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section may be accepted, or if such evidence is not available, evidence specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this section may be accepted if a verification of birth has been requested but has not been received from the appropriate bureau of vital statistics.