If you’re reading this and were born in the United States, you likely have a birth certificate. Created by the U.S. government, this vital document serves to record every live birth in the United States. Additionally, this vital paper is a requirement for important life-related tasks, such as getting a driver’s license, going to school, or obtaining a passport.
Civilizations were officially recording birth numbers long before the United States officially adopted a nationwide system for creating and issuing birth certificates in the 1930s. In modern times, the U.S. relies on information obtained from birth certificates for census, tax, and military-related purposes.
But what should you do if your birth certificate contains incorrect or otherwise unwanted information? Keep reading to learn why people amend birth certificates and the steps required to do it.
The Main Reasons Why People Amend Birth Certificates
Due to a variety of situations, many people find themselves needing to amend their birth certificates. After all, a lot can change in the span of someone’s life. Here’s a closer look at the main reasons people edit the information on their birth certificates or ones belonging to those someone cares for.
Correcting Errors
Birth certificate mistakes can happen to anyone, even celebrities. You may recall learning that Elvis Presley and Oprah Winfrey both had mistakes on their birth certificates.
Understandably, you probably don’t want errors to go uncorrected on such an important document. Thankfully, you can amend a birth certificate to easily correct any errors it may contain.
Thinking of birth certificate errors will invoke most people to imagine a misspelled name. However, that’s not the only part of your birth certificate where errors may occur. You may also need to add or edit details about your birth certificate’s location, time, date, named parents, or other information.
Changing Your Gender Marker
A gender marker is a way to recognize and identify someone’s gender. In the past few decades, many transgender and nonbinary individuals and groups have worked to ensure equal representation for themselves concerning birth certificate-related amendments they could make.
After putting in the time and effort required to complete gender-affirming treatments, certain states legally allow a person to change how they identify from a gender perspective.
However, states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, and others require you to present proof of gender reassignment surgery, an altered birth certificate, or a court order to use the “X” distinction on birth certificates.
Currently, four states, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Montana, do not allow residents to amend gender markers on their birth certificates, regardless of proof.
Making Parental-Related Adjustments
It’s vital to note that you may not need to amend your own birth certificate. Instead, you may need to amend the birth certificate of someone you adopt. After you adopt a child, the state you live in should issue an amended birth certificate for this young individual.
In this case, an amended birth certificate would remove the names of this child’s biological parents and replace them with the names of their adoptive parents. If renaming an adopted child, this is also the time to complete those amendments.
However, adoption isn’t the only reason to amend a birth certificate. An adult couple might find themselves dealing with paternity issues. Typically, paternity-related dilemmas require adding or removing a parent’s name from their child’s birth certificate.
Completing Voluntary Name Changes
Sometimes, people amend their birth certificates because they want a new name. You have the right to change any part of your name, including your first name or surname.
A similar reason warranting a birth certificate amendment would be after a marriage or divorce. In the case of a marriage, you may want a birth certificate to reflect your new surname. You also have the option to change your surname back to its original one after a divorce.
How to Amend Your Birth Certificate
You now know why people typically need to alter the information on their birth certificates. It’s now time to learn how to amend this crucial legal document.
1. Check State and Federal Guidelines
Before filling out documents and gathering supplementary evidence, knowing what birth certificate amendments your state allows and prohibits is vital. Thankfully, modern technology makes this data relatively easy to obtain.
Most government organizations have websites with digital copies of their guidelines that list birth certificate amendment requirements. If that information isn’t available online, you may need to contact your local government office by phone or through an in-person visit.
2. Confirm Your Eligibility
After knowing what you want to change on your birth certificate, you must also ensure you’re a person allowed to make amendments. Of course, in most cases, you have the right to amend your birth certificate. However, in most cases, you must be at least 18 years old to make these changes.
Other situations exist where you have the authority to amend another individual’s birth certificate. The most common example is a parent or otherwise named legal guardian amending a child's birth certificate.
Additionally, someone named as another's legal guardian can have the power to amend the birth certificate of whom they’re appointed to watch over. Some jurisdictions also allow other closely related family members, such as grandparents or siblings, to alter another’s birth-related documents.
3. Obtain Any Necessary Supporting Information
As you work to complete your amendments, you’ll likely need to present supporting evidence. What you need can depend on who requires an amended birth certificate. You may need to obtain and present your full name, date of birth, where you were born, or your parents’ full names.
If changing another's birth certificate, you must present proof of who you are and that you qualify to complete document-related amendments.
Typical forms of identification needed to complete this step may include your:
● Driver’s license
● Passport
● State-issued IDs
4. Complete and Submit Your Forms
With your documents and supporting information gathered, you should be ready to complete the forms required to amend your birth certificate. During this step, keep a watchful eye to ensure you fill out all information accurately. Adding incorrect information or accidentally skipping a field will only delay the amendments you need to make.
Typically, you’ll have options for how you want to submit your application form. Most jurisdictions allow residents to submit forms online through official government websites. If that’s not an option or impossible, you should also be able to submit forms by mail or through an in-person visit to your local government office.
5. Pay All Required Fees
You’ll need to pay any required fees before amending your birth certificate. As fees can (and often do) vary from state to state, ensure you take note of your state’s exact expenses.
Additionally, your overall expenses can vary based on whether you need a certified birth certificate copy or an informational copy. The difference between these documents is that a certified birth certificate can establish someone’s identity - informational copies can’t be used for this purpose.
You can also potentially qualify for reduced or waived fees. However, this benefit may require additional paperwork and supporting information to verify your financial situation.
6. Receive the Amended Birth Certificate
After submitting your completed application and paying any required expenses, all that’s left to do is wait for your amended certificate in certified or informational form. As you can imagine, there’s no way to give a to-the-minute prediction of when your certificate amendments will be complete.
In some cases, you can pay additional costs to have your amendment request expedited. However, this may not always be an available option. Generally speaking, expect to wait anywhere from a few days to several weeks for the amendment process to be over.
Additionally, some birth certificate providers may provide tracking information. Having a tracking number or similar multi-character combination can provide you with peace of mind, especially if you need an amended birth certificate as fast as possible.
At this point, your requested amendments should be complete. However, it’s always advisable to double-check an amended birth certificate to make sure it reflects all requested changes.
While it may seem daunting, amending a birth certificate is a relatively straightforward process. Keeping your paperwork and supporting information organized can help ensure a birth certificate amendment happens as quickly as possible. Once this process is complete, you can avoid the perils associated with presenting an incorrect or outdated birth certificate.
About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.
Jordan McDowell is a frequent guest contributor covering the latest developments in state and national legislation.
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