2018 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 25 - Public Health and Environment
Vital Statistics
Article 2 - Vital Statistics
§ 25-2-112. Certificates of birth - filing - establishment of paternity

(1) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within ten days after such birth and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States and the child is first removed from the conveyance in Colorado, the birth shall be registered in Colorado, and the place where the child is first removed shall be considered the place of birth. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance while in international air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the child is first removed from the conveyance in Colorado, the birth shall be registered in this state but the certificate shall show the actual place of birth insofar as can be determined. Either of the parents of the child shall verify the accuracy of the personal data entered thereon in time to permit its filing within such ten-day period.

(2) When a birth occurs in an institution, or upon order of any court with proper jurisdiction, the person in charge of the institution or such person's designated representative shall obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, certify the authenticity of the birth registration either by signature or by an approved electronic process, and file it with the state registrar or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within the required ten days; the physician in attendance shall provide the medical information required by the certificate within five days after the birth. When the birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by the physician in attendance at or immediately after birth, or in the absence of such a physician by any person witnessing the birth, or in the absence of any such witness by the father or mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of the mother by the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred. The person who completes and files the certificate shall also be responsible for obtaining the social security account numbers of the parents and delivering those numbers to the state registrar along with the certificate.

(2.5) Repealed.

(2.7) For the purposes of a birth registration, the mother is deemed to be the woman who has given birth to the child, unless otherwise provided by law or determined by a court of competent jurisdiction prior to the filing of the birth certificate. The information about the father shall be entered as provided in subsection (3) of this section.

(3) (a) If the mother was married either at the time of conception or birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child unless:

• (I) Paternity has been determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as so determined shall be entered; or

• (II) The mother and the mother's husband execute joint or separate forms prescribed and furnished by the state registrar reflecting the mother's and the husband's signatures individually witnessed and attesting that the husband is not the father of the child, in which case, information about the father shall be omitted from the certificate; or

• (III) The mother executes a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar attesting that the husband is not the father and that the putative father is the father, the putative father executes a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar attesting that he is the father, and the husband executes a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar attesting that he is not the father. Such forms may be joint or individual or a combination thereof, and each signature shall be individually witnessed. In such event, the putative father shall be shown as the father on the certificate.

• (IV) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined the husband is not the presumed father and the putative father executes a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar which is individually witnessed attesting that he is the father and the mother executes a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar which is individually witnessed that the putative father is the father. In such event the putative father shall be shown as the father on the birth certificate.

  • (b) If the mother was not married at the time of conception or birth, the name of the father shall be entered if, but only if, the mother and the person to be named as the father so request in writing on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar or if paternity has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as so determined shall be entered.

  • (c) For purposes of acknowledging paternity, the form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar shall contain the minimum requirements specified by the secretary of the federal department of health and human services.

(3.5) Upon the birth of a child to an unmarried woman in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or that person's designated representative shall provide an opportunity for the child's mother and natural father to complete a written acknowledgment of paternity on the form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar.

(4) Whoever assumes the custody of a living infant of unknown parentage shall report on a form and in the manner prescribed by the state registrar within ten days to the state registrar or as otherwise directed by the state registrar such information as the state registrar shall require, which report shall constitute the certificate of birth for the infant. The place where the child was found shall be entered as the place of birth, and the date of birth shall be determined by approximation. If the child is identified and a certificate of birth is found or obtained, any report registered under this section shall be sealed and filed and, except as provided in section 25-2-113.5, may be opened only by order of a court of competent jurisdiction or as provided by regulation.

(5) and (6) (Deleted by amendment, L. 93, p. 952, § 1, effective September 1, 1993.)

(7) The state registrar shall revise the birth certificate worksheet form used for the preparation of a certificate of live birth to include a statement that knowingly and intentionally misrepresenting material information on the worksheet form used for the preparation of a birth certificate is a misdemeanor.