(a) The
local registrar of the town where a birth occurred or the Department shall
amend a name on a birth certificate when the request for the amendment is
accompanied by a certified copy of a court order granting the legal name
change. The registrar or the Department shall place the new name on the birth
certificate in accordance with the provisions of these regulations, and shall
mark the birth certificate "Amended." The registrar or the Department shall
record on the face of the certificate the original name of the person, the
authority by which such legal name change was granted, and the date of the
amendment.
(b) For up to 30 days
following a registrant's birth, a parent may request that the registrant's name
be changed to correct an obvious typographical or clerical error, by signing
and presenting to the local registrar of the town in which the birth occurred,
the Parent Notice issued by the birthing hospital. After said thirty-day
period, a registrant, if over eighteen years old, or a custodial parent or
legal guardian of the registrant, if the registrant is a minor, may request
that the registrant's name be changed to correct or amend obvious typographical
or clerical errors, by presenting two items of documentary evidence that were
produced during the registrant's early childhood, from birth through age 7. The
following documents are acceptable in their original form:
(1) Newspaper announcement of registrant's
birth;
(2) Computer printout of
registrant's application for a Social Security number;
(3) Early childhood insurance policy
application;
(4) Early childhood
savings bond;
(5) Federal
census;
(6) Certified copy of a
sibling's or parent's birth certificate (last name spelling correction
only);
(7) Certified copy of
parents' marriage certificate (last name spelling correction only);
(8) Official legal document showing mother's
or father's last name, such as a passport, issued no later than the
registrant's date of birth (last name spelling correction only);
(9) Letter from hospital where registrant was
born verifying that a clerical error was made;
(10) Other documents as approved by the State
Registrar of Vital Records.
If a record or document containing proof of the registrant's
correct name exists but the requester is unable to present the document in its
original form, a duly certified copy, or an attested copy signed by the
custodian of the record or document, may be submitted as proof of the
registrant's correct name. The document must have been produced during the
registrant's early childhood, from birth through age 7. This procedure may be
used to submit evidence from the following types of records:
(11) Early childhood baptismal
record;
(12) Early childhood
physician record;
(13) Early
childhood hospital, clinic or nursery record;
(14) Application for day care or
nursery;
(15) Early childhood
elementary school record (kindergarten or 1st
grade);
(16) Early childhood census
record;
(17) Other documents as
approved by the State Registrar of Vital Records.
A local registrar shall contact the Department to obtain
approval to accept a document for proof of evidence for any document not listed
in subdivision (1) through (16) of this section. The Department may grant
approval either verbally or in writing.
(c) Only the commissioner may amend a birth
certificate related to an adoption. The commissioner shall replace the original
birth certificate on receipt of a certified copy of a Record of Adoption
(VS-51) or Out-of-State Record of Adoption (VS-51a), along with a certified
copy of the adoption decree, with a new certificate of birth created in
accordance with sections
7-53-1
to
7-53-3,
inclusive of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. In the case of a
foreign birth adoption, the commissioner shall create a Certificate of Foreign
Birth or Certification of Birth Registration upon the written request of the
adoptive parent, along with a certified copy of a Record of Adoption (VS-51)
for a foreign birth adoption finalized in the United States that names a
Connecticut resident as the adoptive parent or upon receipt of a certified copy
of a Connecticut probate court order authenticating a foreign birth adoption
finalized outside of the United States.
(d) Only the commissioner shall amend a birth
certificate to include or change paternity information on a birth certificate.
Upon receipt of a notarized acknowledgement of paternity form signed by both
parents or a certified copy of an adjudication of paternity, the commissioner
shall create a new birth certificate to show the father's name on the birth
certificate. The new birth certificate shall not be marked "Amended." If
another father is already listed on the original birth certificate, a new birth
certificate may only be prepared when an adjudication of paternity is made by a
court of competent jurisdiction. A new birth certificate shall be created by
entering the new paternity information into the electronic birth registry
system, and by changing the name of the child if so indicated on the
acknowledgement of paternity form or within the certified court order that
establishes paternity. The new certificate shall be used to issue certified
copies. The commissioner shall place the original birth certificate and the
acknowledgement of paternity form or court order in a confidential file. A
certified copy of the amended certificate shall be sent either through mail or
electronically to all local registrars of vital statistics who have the
original certificate on file, along with a letter informing the local registrar
that the original birth certificate has been amended for reasons of paternity,
and instructing the local registrar to place the original birth certificate in
a confidential file. Access to confidential paternity files maintained at the
State and local vital records offices, and the information contained within
such files, shall be restricted to the registrar, designated staff members, or
to other parties upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(e) Only the commissioner shall amend a birth
certificate to reflect a gender change. In order to request a gender change
amendment the following documents shall be submitted to the commissioner:
(1) Affidavit from a licensed psychiatrist,
psychologist or clinical social worker performing a psycho-social evaluation,
attesting to the fact that the registrant is socially, psychologically and
mentally the designated sex;
(2)
Affidavit from the surgeon performing the sex change operation, attesting to
the fact that the surgery was performed;
(3) Court order for legal name change if
applicable.
Upon receipt of the required documentation, the commissioner
shall create a new birth certificate reflecting the newly assigned gender, and
the legal name change if applicable. The new certificate shall not be marked
"Amended" and shall be used to issue certified copies. The original birth
certificate, and the supporting documentation shall be placed in a confidential
file. A certified copy of the amended certificate shall be sent either through
mail or electronically to all local registrars of vital statistics who have the
original certificate on file, along with a letter informing the local registrar
that the original birth certificate has been amended due to gender change, and
instructing the local registrar to place the original birth certificate in a
confidential file. Access to confidential files for gender change amendments
maintained at the State and local vital records offices, and the information
contained within such files, shall be restricted to the registrar, designated
staff members, or to other parties upon an order of a court of competent
jurisdiciton.
(f) To amend the date or time of birth, or
the child's birth weight, an applicant shall provide documentation from the
clinician attending the birth or an administrator of the hospital of which the
birth occurred, supporting the proposed amendment.
