Change a Birth Record

Birth records sometimes need changes. All changes require a formal request and time for review.

Accurate birth records are a priority for the Office of Vital Records. State and county vital records staff work closely with hospitals and families to assure that birth record information is correct.

Birth records have information about the person who was born, that person's parent(s), and health data on the mother and child. Only some of that information prints on a certificate.

The items below print on a birth certificate if a parent gave the information.

• First, middle, last name and suffix of the subject (the person who was born)
• Subject's date of birth
• Subject’s time of birth
• Plurality (single, twin, triplet, etc.)
• Sex of subject
• Subject's place of birth (name of hospital or facility, city, county, state)
• Full names of up to two parents
• Parent’s names at birth (names before first marriage)
• Parent’s dates of birth
• Parent’s places of birth

Corrections

You may correct or add certification items (listed above) before the child’s first birthday and before you buy a certificate.

If you have already have a certificate and need to change a certification item, see the Amendments section below.

Many parents have two chances to review what will print on the birth certificate. If your child was born in a hospital or birth center, you can review the Parent Verification form while there. Or else you can review the Parent Notice from the county vital records office. County vital records offices send Parent Notices to parents of new babies born in the county. You may use the Parent Notice to make corrections before you buy a birth certificate. Contact the hospital where your child was born to request corrections.

In addition to the hospital that registered the birth, vital records offices have authority to make corrections to birth records. You may need to supply documents to back up your correction request. There is no fee to request a correction.

Amendments

Changes to a birth certificate after purchase, or after the child’s first birthday, are amendments. See the Birth Record Amendments webpage for more information.

Replacements

The Office of Vital Records (OVR) creates replacement birth records after adoptions or findings of the court. If OVR receives a recognition of parentage form after a birth registration, we also create a replacement record.

The record we create replaces any other birth record that may exist for the subject of the record. And it shows no evidence of the earlier birth record. The Office of Vital Records replaces birth records after receiving the required documentation and fee.

Information about adoption-related records is on the Birth Records after an Adoption webpage.

For information about how to add a father to a birth record, see the Birth Records and Paternity webpage.

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