Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 11, August 30, 2024
(1) Birth certificates are presumed to
contain accurate information on the facts of birth when they are filed with the
Center for Health Statistics. Except to reflect changes in the registrant's
name and/or sex as provided by Code of Ala. 1975,
§
22-9A-19(c) and
§
22-9A-19(d),
birth certificates will be amended or corrected only to rectify errors in the
facts of birth.
(2) A delayed
certificate of birth placed on file with supporting documentation or by
judicial procedure shall not be amended except to reflect changes in the
registrant's name and/or sex as provided by Code of Ala.
1975, §
22-9A-19(c) and
§
22-9A-19(d).
(3) Only the following persons may apply to
have the facts of birth amended or corrected:
(a) If the registrant is 19 years of age or
older or otherwise became emancipated by operation of law, application to amend
a birth certificate must be made by the registrant. In the event of a
registrant who is incapacitated and unable to make application, the legal
guardian of the registrant may make application.
(b) If the registrant is under 19 years of
age but over 13 years of age, application to amend a birth certificate may be
made by the registrant, a parent of the registrant, or the legal guardian of
the registrant.
(c) If the
registrant is under 14 years of age, application to amend a birth certificate
may be made by a parent of the registrant or the legal guardian of the
registrant.
(d) Within one year of
the date of birth, application to amend a birth certificate may be made by a
representative of the hospital where the birth occurred.
(e) A woman claiming to be the mother of a
child under 19 years of age but whose name is not shown on the birth
certificate as the mother of that child may apply to have her name added to the
birth certificate or to have the birth certificate amended to show the correct
name of the mother.
(f) A man
claiming to be the father of a child under 19 years of age but whose name is
not shown on the birth certificate as the father of that child may apply to
have his name added to the birth certificate or to have the birth certificate
amended to show the correct name of the father.
(g) A person named on a birth certificate as
a parent of the child may apply to have his or her name removed from the birth
certificate as a parent of the child after that person has been determined by a
court of competent jurisdiction not to be a parent of the child.
(h) Minor corrections to birth certificates
may be made at the discretion of the State Registrar without specific
application from one of the above.
(4) With the exception of minor corrections,
an application to amend or correct a birth certificate must be made in writing
by an authorized applicant and must be accompanied by valid identification and
any required fee.
(5) Correction of
Minor Errors Within One Year of the Date of the Event:
(a) Correction of obvious errors,
transposition of letters in words, or additions of omitted information may be
made by the State Registrar based upon his or her observation or
query.
(b) A notation documenting
the source of information for the correction or addition and the date the
change was made shall be maintained with the certificate but does not need to
appear on certified copies of the certificate.
(c) The certificate does not need to be
marked "Amended."
(6) All
Other Amendments or Corrections to Birth Certificates:
(a) To amend or correct errors of fact on a
birth certificate, documentary evidence must be presented in support of the
facts at birth. All documents presented must contain sufficient information to
clearly indicate that they pertain to the registrant on the birth certificate
for which the correction has been requested.
1. Acceptable documents include, but are not
limited to, documents such as:
(i) Certified
copy of a marriage record;
(ii)
Certified copy of a birth certificate of registrant's child;
(iii) Early school records;
(iv) Social Security records;
(v) Passports or visas;
(vi) Military records;
(vii) Federal government census
records;
(viii) Government agency
records for benefit establishment such as social services, Medicaid, clinical
services, or similar services;
(ix)
Court orders clearly establishing the facts to be amended;
(x) Medical records; or
(xi) Other documents deemed to be valid and
adequate by the State Registrar to support the requested change.
2. Documents presented must be
from independent sources. Family documents such as records from bibles or
genealogical records are not acceptable.
3. Documents must be in the form of the
original record or must be a duly certified copy or excerpt thereof from the
original custodian of the record.
4. Only one document of each type may be used
in cases where more than one document is required to support the
facts.
5. The documents submitted
must have been established prior to the registrant's nineteenth birthday or at
least ten years prior to the date of application for the amendment or
correction. The State Registrar may make exceptions for other documents such as
court orders, passports, or other evidence that clearly support the facts of
birth.
(b) Amendment or
correction of date of birth:
1. The date of
birth cannot be changed to a date that is after the date the certificate was
filed.
2. The date of birth may be
changed up to 30 days within the same calendar year with two supporting
documents provided that date is not after the date the certificate was
filed.
3. Other changes to the date
of birth may be made at the discretion of the State Registrar provided that a
minimum of three documents adequately support that the registrant has
consistently used the date from childhood and the change does not make the
birth date after the date the certificate was filed. The change cannot be made
if that change would be in conflict with any birth certificates filed in the
Center for Health Statistics for other children of the same mother.
(c) Amendment or correction of
registrant's name:
1. Minor misspellings or
phonetic spellings of the registrant's name may be corrected with one piece of
documentary evidence that supports the correction.
2. If the registrant is over 50 years of age,
the first and/or middle names of the registrant as shown on the birth
certificate may be corrected to the first and/or middle names the registrant
has consistently used since early childhood with a minimum of two documents
that support the correction.
3. If
the registrant is over 50 years of age, the surname of the registrant as shown
on the birth certificate may be corrected to the surname the registrant has
consistently used since early childhood with a minimum of three documents that
support the correction.
4. Other
corrections to the name of the registrant may be made at the discretion of the
State Registrar provided a minimum of three documents adequately support that
the registrant has consistently used the name from early childhood.
5. If the registrant has obtained an order
from an appropriate court changing his or her name as specified in
Code of Ala. 1975, §
22-9A-19(c), the
registrant's name on his or her birth certificate shall be amended to show the
new name of the registrant as given in the court order. If the order changing a
person's name is for a married person who took a different surname at the time
of marriage, that surname does not need to be shown on the birth certificate
provided the order also shows the surname used at the time of birth.
(d) Addition of registrant's name
after the fifth birthday:
1. If the first and
middle names are blank:
(i) The first and
middle names may be added upon presentation of one document established at
least ten years ago or prior to the fifth birthday that shows the name of the
registrant along with the registrant's date of birth and parents'
names.
(ii) A notation shall be
shown on the birth certificate documenting that the names were added and by
what authority.
(iii) The birth
certificate does not need to be marked "Amended."
2. If the surname is blank and the surname to
be added is the same as the surname of either parent shown on the birth
certificate:
(i) The surname may be added to
be the same as that of either parent shown on the birth certificate upon
presentation of one document established at least ten years ago or prior to the
fifth birthday that shows the name of the registrant along with the
registrant's date of birth and parents' names.
(ii) A notation shall be shown on the birth
certificate documenting that the surname was added and by what
authority.
(iii) The birth
certificate does not need to be marked "Amended."
3. If the surname is blank and the surname to
be added is not the same as the surname of either parent shown on the birth
certificate:
(i) The surname may be added to
be a surname different from that of either parent shown on the birth
certificate upon presentation of two documents as follows:
(I) One document established at least ten
years ago or prior to the fifth birthday that shows the name of the registrant
along with the registrant's date of birth and at least the name of one
parent.
(II) One additional
document that clearly supports that the registrant has consistently used that
surname from early childhood.
(ii) A notation shall be shown on the birth
certificate documenting that the surname was added and by what
authority.
(iii) The certificate
shall be marked "Amended."
(e) Amendment to names of parents:
1. Minor misspellings of the names of the
parents may be corrected with two pieces of documentary evidence that support
the correction.
2. The name of a
parent may be corrected if there is adequate documentary evidence showing that
the name was entered incorrectly by the person preparing the birth certificate.
(i) The name of the mother may be corrected
if that correction is supported by adequate documentary evidence showing the
name of the mother is being corrected to clearly identify the person who gave
birth to the child.
(ii) The name
of the father may be corrected if that correction is supported by adequate
documentary evidence showing the name of the father is being corrected to
clearly identify the person who has been determined to be the legal father of
the child.
3. Except as
provided under Code of Ala. 1975, §22-9 A-12, or
as previously determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, the name of the
father or mother will not be changed to show a different person. If the name of
the father or mother listed on the child's existing birth certificate is
legally changed after filing of the birth certificate, the name of the father
or mother will not be changed on the child's birth certificate to reflect the
name change.
(f)
Amendment to other items on the birth certificate:
1. Signatures may not be amended.
2. Race of parents has not been on the birth
certificate form since 1991. For years prior to 1991, race of parents will not
be amended. However, an amended birth certificate may be prepared on the
current form to no longer show that item on the birth certificate.
3. Other items on the birth certificate may
be amended with adequate documentary evidence to support the amendment. An
order from an Alabama circuit court determining the facts of birth may be used
to amend or correct any item except signatures, the date of filing, and the
date of birth to a date which is after the date of filing.
Authors: Dorothy S. Harshbarger, Nicole
Henderson Rushing
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
1975, §§
22-9A-2,
22-9A-7,
22-9A-12,
22-9A-19.