when a baby is born is a birth certificate template optional or does the hospital give it along with both?

A fake, souvenir birth certificate is given by some hospitals.

The real certificate is transfered from the birth hospital to the State. The parents then request and pay for a copy from the county.

Here in the state of TN, after baby is born and before Mom & baby are discharged, you must fill out the birth certificate information to be filed with the state's vital records office. Mom gets a "mother's copy" of the information filed with that office, but you must then send a form in (or do the ordering online) and a fee based on whether you want a "long form" or a "short form" and how many copies you want in order to have a Certified copy of the birth certificate sent to you via "snail mail".

It is VERY important to have certified copies of the birth certificate, as a only a "certified" copy can be used to prove identity here in our state.

In Virginia where I live they don't give you a birth certificate. You have to pay $12 & order it through the Dept. Of Vital Records.