2018 Vermont Statutes
Title 18 - Health
Chapter 103 - Birth Records
§ 5073 Amendment of minor errors on birth certificate
§ 5073. Amendment of minor errors on birth certificate
(a) Within six months after the date of birth, amendment of obvious errors, transpositions of letters in words of common knowledge, or omissions, may be made by the town clerk either upon his or her own observation or upon request of a parent, the hospital, the certifying attendant, or the Supervisor of Vital Records Registration. The amended certificate shall be free of any evidence of such correction except that the clerk shall make a notation as to the source of the information, together with his or her name and the date the change was made, on the margin of the certificate. This notation shall not be included on any certified copy of the certificate issued except as specified in subsection (b) of this section. The certificate shall not be marked "Amended."
(b) The town clerk shall send a certified copy of any certificate amended under subsection (a) of this section to the Commissioner and also to the clerk of any town to whom a copy of the original record was sent under the provisions of section 5009 of this title, and shall enclose with that copy, but not endorsed thereon, a notation identifying the copy to be replaced. The copy shall show the notations specified in subsection (a) of this section. The Commissioner shall file this return or copy by attaching the same to the original return or copy. (Amended 1979, No. 56, § 8; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1985, No. 33, § 1.)
[Section 5073 effective July 1, 2019; see also section 5073 effective until July 1, 2019 .]
§ 5073. Birth certificate corrections, completions
(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, within six months after the date of birth, the State Registrar may correct or complete a birth certificate in the Statewide Registration System upon application of a parent, the hospital in which the birth occurred, or the certifying attendant.
(2) At any time after the date of birth, the State Registrar may complete a birth certificate to add the name of a parent only upon request of the registrant or his or her parent or guardian and upon the receipt of:
(A) a properly executed voluntary acknowledgment of parentage; or
(B) a decree of a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction adjudicating parentage.
(3) Within six months after the date of birth, the State Registrar may complete or change the name of a child upon joint application of the parents or upon application of the parent if only one parent is listed on the birth certificate. A court order shall not be required, except for completions or changes of name more than six months after the date of birth.
(b) If the State Registrar determines that a correction or completion requested under this section is unwarranted, he or she may deny an application, in which case the applicant may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court. The court shall review the petition and relevant evidence de novo to determine if the correction or completion is warranted. The court shall transmit a decree ordering a correction or completion to the State Registrar, who shall correct or complete the certificate in accordance with the decree.
(c) A corrected or completed certificate shall be free of any evidence of the change and shall not be marked "Amended." However, the State Registrar shall record and maintain in the Statewide Registration System the source of the information, the nature and content of the change, the identity of the person making the change, and the date the change was made.
(d) If the State Registrar corrects or completes a certificate that was registered prior to July 1, 2019, he or she shall notify the town clerk or clerks with custody of the certificate, who shall replace and dispose of the uncorrected certificate and update indexes as directed by the State Registrar. Corrected or completed originals shall not be marked "Amended." (Amended 1979, No. 56, § 8; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1985, No. 33, § 1; 2017, No. 46, § 22, eff. July 1, 2018; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § I.6, eff. July 1, 2019.)
