2006 Code of Virginia § 32.1-257 - Filing birth certificates; from whom required; signatures of parents

32.1-257. Filing birth certificates; from whom required; signatures ofparents.

A. A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in thisCommonwealth shall be filed with the State Registrar within seven days aftersuch birth. The certificate of birth shall be registered by the StateRegistrar if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section.

B. When a birth occurs in an institution or en route thereto, the person incharge of such institution or an authorized designee shall obtain thepersonal data, and prepare the certificate either on forms furnished by theState Registrar or by an electronic process as approved by the Board. Suchperson or designee shall, if submitting a form, secure the signaturesrequired by the certificate. The physician or other person in attendanceshall provide the medical information required by the certificate within fivedays after the birth. The person in charge of the institution or anauthorized designee shall certify to the authenticity of the birthregistration either by affixing his signature to the certificate or by anelectronic process approved by the Board, and shall file the certificate ofbirth with the State Registrar within seven days after such birth.

C. When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall beprepared on forms furnished by the State Registrar and filed by one of thefollowing in the indicated order of priority, in accordance with theregulations of the Board:

1. The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in theabsence of such physician,

2. Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or inthe absence of such a person,

3. The father, the mother, or, in the absence of the father and the inabilityof the mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.

C1. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States ofAmerica and the child is first removed from the conveyance in thisCommonwealth, the birth shall be registered in this Commonwealth and theplace where the child is first removed from the conveyance shall beconsidered the place of birth. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyancewhile in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its airspace and the child is first removed from the conveyance in thisCommonwealth, the birth shall be registered in this Commonwealth although thecertificate shall indicate the actual place of birth insofar as can bedetermined.

D. If the mother of a child is not married to the natural father of the childat the time of birth or was not married to the natural father at any timeduring the ten months next preceding such birth, the name of the father shallnot be entered on the certificate of birth without a sworn acknowledgment ofpaternity, executed subsequent to the birth of the child, of both the motherand of the person to be named as the father. In any case in which a finaldetermination of the paternity of a child has been made by a court ofcompetent jurisdiction pursuant to 20-49.8, from which no appeal has beentaken and for which the time allowed to perfect an appeal has expired, thename of the father and the surname of the child shall be entered on thecertificate of birth in accordance with the finding and order of the court.

Children born of marriages prohibited by law, deemed null or void ordissolved by a court shall nevertheless be legitimate and the birthcertificate for such children shall contain full information concerning thefather.

For the purpose of birth registration in the case of a child resulting fromassisted conception, pursuant to Chapter 9 ( 20-156 et seq.) of Title 20,the birth certificate of such child shall contain full information concerningthe mother's husband as the father of the child and the gestational mother asthe mother of the child. Donors of sperm or ova shall not have any parentalrights or duties for any such child.

In the event any person desires to have the name of the father entered on thecertificate of birth based upon the judgment of paternity of a court ofanother state, such person shall apply to an appropriate court of theCommonwealth for an order reflecting that such court has reviewed suchjudgment of paternity and has determined that such judgment of paternity wasamply supported in evidence and legitimate for the purposes of Article IV,Section 1 of the United States Constitution.

If the order of paternity should be appealed, the registrar shall not enterthe name of the alleged father on the certificate of birth during thependency of such appeal. If the father is not named on the certificate ofbirth, no other information concerning the father shall be entered on thecertificate.

E. Either of the parents of the child shall verify the accuracy of thepersonal data to be entered on the certificate of birth in time to permit thefiling within the seven days prescribed above.

(Code 1950, 32-353.15; 1960, c. 451; 1979, c. 711; 1983, c. 240; 1984, c.189; 1991, c. 611; 1994, cc. 796, 919.)