Daily AncestorMedical certificate
A medical certificate on a passenger list meant a Public Health Service doctor found a condition that could affect an immigrant's admission.
Doctors saw arrivals before the immigration inspectors and certified illness, mental conditions, or problems such as senility that might keep a person from earning a living. The certified immigrant had a full exam and was often held for a special inquiry hearing on LPC grounds.
Stamps such as In Hospital, discharged, died in hospital or deported may follow. At New York from 1903, check the detained and special inquiry lists at the end of the manifest.
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Daily Ancestor. "Medical certificate." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/medical-certificate. Last checked 2026-10-03.