Supporting Documents for Amendments

Birth and death record amendments require supporting documentation that must meet several criteria. For birth record amendments, you must provide:

• One supporting document to add information to the birth record
• Two supporting documents to change existing information on the birth record

Death record amendments require at least one supporting document. You may need to supply more documents depending on what you want to amend and what your document shows. We will return your original documents when we finish processing your request.

Documents must be:

Additional document requirements

Each document must: 

1. Show the item you want to add or change exactly as you want it to appear on the birth or death record

   AND

2. Show at least two items that match what is on the current record and that you are not asking to change.

Documents need to show at least two of the following: 

• subject’s last name
• subject’s date of birth
• subject’s place of birth
• a parent’s name
• a parent’s date of birth
• a parent’s place of birth

Documents must show the date the document was created and the name of the entity that created the document.

Birth record amendments: Supporting document dates

Supporting documents for birth record amendments must be established at specific times based on the age of the subject: 

• Subject is younger than seven years old: The document(s) must have been established in the subject’s first year of life OR at least one year before you signed the amendment request form.
• Subject is seven or more years old: The document(s) must have been established before the subject’s third birthday OR at least seven years before the date you signed the amendment request form.

The date a document was established is the date it was first created. A document may have several dates on it, but the date it was established is the important one. For medical, social services, or school records, we need to see the date when the record subject began attending or receiving services from the organization. On marriage, birth, and baptism certificates, we look for the date the event took place. For a passport, the relevant date is when the passport was first issued. (If the first passport you were issued has expired, you may need to submit it in addition to your current, unexpired passport.)

Acceptable supporting documents

We will accept the documents listed below if they meet all the requirements above and the information supports the requested amendment. The Office of Vital Records may determine that documents other than those listed are acceptable.

Birth amendments

Acceptable supporting document for amending birth records: 

• Authenticated U.S. school record or official school transcript
• Authenticated U.S. hospital, clinic, or social services record
• Valid (unexpired) passport – NOT a notarized photocopy
• Original or certified copy of U.S. military discharge papers (such as a DD214 form)
• Certified (government issued) marriage certificate
• Certified U.S. court order that shows the subject’s name and date of birth as they currently appear on the birth record
  • To change a parent’s name on a birth record, the court order must spell out the parent’s name before and after the name change and specifically direct the birth record to be amended in the “it is ordered” section. If the parent’s name will be changed on more than one child’s birth record, each child’s name must be listed in the court order.
• Certified birth certificate for a child, parent, or sibling
• U.S. baptism certificate or other church record with the church’s current phone number
• Original or certified Certificate of Naturalization AND certified Petition for Name Change
• Official tribal enrollment record
• Numident record from the U.S. Social Security Administration

For changing gender: 

• "Medical certification of appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition" in the form of an original letter signed by a licensed physician. The letter must identify the subject using the name and date of birth on the current birth record.
• Certified court order that specifically directs amendment of the subject's sex on the birth record.

Death amendments

Acceptable supporting documents for amending death records:

• Certified (government issued) copy of a marriage certificate
• Certified copy of a birth certificate
• Divorce decree
• Notarized statement from a person who was present at the death and can verify the accuracy of a requested change to the date or place of death
• Legal description of the place of death, such as a deed or property tax statement
• Numident record from the U.S. Social Security Administration
• Certified court order from a U.S. court that instructs a registrar to make the requested change and:
  • Shows the decedent’s first and last name as it currently appears on the death record
  • Specifies the decedent’s date of death or date of birth
  • Lists how the item(s) to be changed appears on the death record before the amendment
  • Lists how the item(s) to be changed should appear on the death record after the amendment

Court orders and supporting documents

If the changes in a court order are the only changes you want, you do not need to send us any other documents. Our office can only make changes that the court order specifies. If you are requesting changes that the court order does not instruct our office to make, you must give us other documentation.

For information on getting a court order, please see the Minnesota Judicial Branch website.

Documents NOT Accepted

• Hospital souvenir birth certificate
• Driver’s license
• State, employee, or other ID card or permit
• Social security card or statement
• Application of any kind
• Insurance card or policy
• Paycheck stub
• Tax return
• Statement or bill
• Newspaper article
• Documents that don't meet all requirements listed above