Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
This Section is based upon Section 17 of the Act. In the
following instances, a new birth certificate shall be prepared (if requested)
upon receipt of a Certificate of Adoption or a certified copy of the order of
adoption and shall be filed by the State Registrar. Preparation of the new
certificate is contingent upon the receipt of proper evidence. An amendment of
a Certificate of Live Birth shall not be made in the following
instances:
a) Legal adoption (in
Illinois or elsewhere) of a person born in Illinois;
1) Upon receipt of a Certificate of Adoption
or a certified copy of the order of adoption pertaining to a single parent
adoption, the Certificate of Live Birth shall reflect the following:
A) Mother adopts a child or an adult. The
State Registrar shall enter in the item designation for father, "Single Parent
Adoption," or "Single Parent," or leave this space blank.
B) Father adopts a child or an adult. The
State Registrar shall enter in the item designation for mother, "Single Parent
Adoption," or "Single Parent," or leave this space blank.
2) When alterations or discrepancies appear
on the Certificate of Adoption regarding the name of the child (after adoption)
or the adoptive parents' names, the State Registrar may review a certified copy
of the adoption decree to determine the correct names. The State Registrar may,
as an alternative, be presented with an amended Certificate of Adoption
certified by the clerk of the court, showing no alterations. The State
Registrar may require additional information and/or documentation in order to
verify other alterations and/or discrepancies found on the Certificate of
Adoption.
3) Discrepancies in the
date of birth between the natural birth record and the Certificate of Adoption
shall be resolved by utilizing the date shown on the natural birth record,
unless otherwise specified in the court decree, or other documentation. If in
the judgment of the State Registrar, changing the date of birth to that of the
natural birth record could reveal the adoptive status to the adoptee, the State
Registrar may show the date of birth as indicated on the Certificate of
Adoption.
4) In addition to the
Certificate of Adoption, a certified copy of the adoption decree must be
submitted to the State Registrar if it has been discovered that an adoptive
parent was deceased at the time of adoption. The State Registrar will determine
if there is legal authority to show that parent on the new birth record. If the
certified copy of the adoption decree does not indicate the name of the
deceased parent, the State Registrar shall require an amended decree of
adoption.
5) In the absence of an
original birth record on file, the State Registrar may prepare a birth record
using the adoption decree which must establish the date of birth, place of
birth, and parentage. The file date shall be shown as the date the decree was
granted.
6) If the adoption decree
failed to establish the date of birth, place of birth and parentage, a Delayed
Record of Birth shall be filed. The file date on the new Certificate of Live
Birth shall be shown as the date the decree was granted.
7) During the preparation of the new
certificate, the State Registrar may verify from the adoptive parent(s), if
necessary, how the informant's name is to be shown on the
certificate.
8) The new birth
certificate shall parallel an original certificate and by legal fiction purport
in the case of an adoption, that the adoptive parents are the natural
parents.
b)
Intermarriage of the natural parents after the child's birth or birth
registration;
1) Prior to preparing a new
Certificate of Live Birth for a child whose natural parents married subsequent
to his/her birth, the State Registrar shall require the following:
A) Affidavits completed by the mother and
natural father, properly signed and notarized.
B) A certified copy of the marriage
record.
2) When one or
both of the parents are deceased, a certified copy of the death record along
with a notarized statement from a member of the decedent's family, in lieu of
the required affidavit, is needed. If a statement from the family is not
obtainable, a copy of the deceased parent's obituary notice, insurance policy,
will or letters of estate administrator may be substituted.
3) When the natural birth certificate lists a
disputed father and the applicant requests the State Registrar to establish a
new Certificate of Live Birth, based upon the legitimation provision of the
Vital Records Act, the State Registrar shall review the divorce decree of that
previously dissolved marriage. This is necessary in order to determine if there
is administrative authority to remove the name of the father listed on the
natural birth record. If there is sufficient evidence to remove the name of the
previous husband, the State Registrar shall establish a new Certificate of Live
Birth based upon affidavits of mother and natural father and their certified
copy of marriage.
4) If this
paternity issue cannot be established through administrative authority, the
decision of paternity would first require court determination prior to
establishing a new Certificate of Live Birth.
5) The State Registrar's authority to prepare
birth certificates does not permit a determination of an issue or question of
paternity of a child on mere affidavits.
6) During the preparation of the new
certificate, the State Registrar may verify from the parents, if necessary, how
the informant's name is to be shown on the certificate.
c) Determination of paternity by a court of
competent jurisdiction;
During the preparation of the new certificate, the State
Registrar may verify from the parents, if necessary, how the informant's name
is to be listed on the certificate. The informant's name should never be shown
as a name different than the facts relevant to the preparation of the new
record.
d) Change of sex
designation following surgery by a physician;
1) For cases pertaining to adoption,
legitimation, paternity or sex designation changes, the original birth
certificate and copies of the original certificate from the local custodians'
files shall be impounded and placed in a sealed file with related
correspondence and documents. The new birth certificate shall be placed in the
official State files, and copies of it shall be sent to the local custodians
for their files. Thereafter, any certifications or certified copies issued
shall be of the new certificate.
2)
In the event that a new Certificate of Live Birth is established by the
Department based upon legal adoption, legitimation, paternity, or sex
designation changes and the Department is thereafter presented with proper
evidence that the Certificate of Live Birth may have been incorrectly withdrawn
from the official State files and impounded, the Department shall open the
impounded file and inspect its contents. If the Department determines from the
contents of the impounded file and from the evidence presented that a mistake
occurred with respect to the identity of the original record, the Department
may restore the Certificate of Live Birth to the official State file and return
copies to the local custodians for filing. In such cases, the new Certificate
of Live Birth prepared upon the basis of legal adoption, legitimation,
paternity or sex designation changes shall remain in the official State file.
However, the Department shall use the appropriate State file number on the new
Certificate of Live Birth.
3) If a
court of competent jurisdiction enters a decree or order in which it finds that
it is in the best interest of a person for whom a new birth certificate has
been established, that the original birth certificate be restored, the State
Registrar, upon receipt of a certified copy of such order or decree, shall
restore the original Certificate of Live Birth to its place in the files, and
the new certificate and evidence shall not be subject to inspection or
certification, except upon order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
4) The copies of the
original birth certificate shall be returned by the State Registrar to the
custodians of local records who shall replace them in their official files and
surrender the copy of the newly prepared birth record to the State Registrar to
be sealed from inspection.