Sec. 19a-42. (Formerly Sec. 19-15a). Amendment of vital records. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 19a-42. (Formerly Sec. 19-15a). Amendment of vital records. (a) To protect the integrity and accuracy of vital records, a certificate registered under chapter 93 may be amended only in accordance with sections 19a-41 to 19a-45, inclusive, chapter 93, regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to chapter 54 and uniform procedures prescribed by the commissioner. Only the commissioner may amend birth certificates to reflect changes concerning parentage or gender change. Amendments related to parentage or gender change shall result in the creation of a replacement certificate that supersedes the original, and shall in no way reveal the original language changed by the amendment. Any amendment to a vital record made by the registrar of vital statistics of the town in which the vital event occurred or by the commissioner shall be in accordance with such regulations and uniform procedures.

      (b) The commissioner and the registrar of vital statistics shall maintain sufficient documentation, as prescribed by the commissioner, to support amendments and shall ensure the confidentiality of such documentation as required by law. The date of amendment and a summary description of the evidence submitted in support of the amendment shall be endorsed on or made part of the record and the original certificate shall be marked "Amended", except for amendments due to parentage or gender change. When the registrar of the town in which the vital event occurred amends a certificate, such registrar shall, within ten days of making such amendment, forward an amended certificate to the commissioner and to any registrar having a copy of the certificate. When the commissioner amends a birth certificate, including changes due to parentage or gender, the commissioner shall forward an amended certificate to the registrars of vital statistics affected and their records shall be amended accordingly.

      (c) An amended certificate shall supersede the original certificate that has been changed and shall be marked "Amended", except for amendments due to parentage or gender change. The original certificate in the case of parentage or gender change shall be physically or electronically sealed and kept in a confidential file by the department and the registrar of any town in which the birth was recorded, and may be unsealed for viewing or issuance only upon a written order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The amended certificate shall become the public record.

      (d) (1) Upon receipt of (A) an acknowledgment of paternity executed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 46b-172 by both parents of a child born out of wedlock, or (B) a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the paternity of a child born out of wedlock, the commissioner shall include on or amend, as appropriate, such child's birth certificate to show such paternity if paternity is not already shown on such birth certificate and to change the name of the child if so indicated on the acknowledgment of paternity form or within the certified court order as part of the paternity action.

      (2) If another father is listed on the birth certificate, the commissioner shall not remove or replace the father's information unless presented with a certified court order that meets the requirements specified in section 7-50, or upon the proper filing of a rescission, in accordance with the provisions of section 46b-172. The commissioner shall thereafter amend such child's birth certificate to remove or change the father's name and to change the name of the child, as requested at the time of the filing of a rescission, in accordance with the provisions of section 46b-172. Birth certificates amended under this subsection shall not be marked "Amended".

      (3) A fee of twenty-five dollars shall be charged by the department for each amendment to a birth certificate requested pursuant to this subsection which request is not received from a hospital, a state agency or a court of competent jurisdiction.

      (e) When the parent or parents of a child request the amendment of the child's birth certificate to reflect a new mother's name because the name on the original certificate is fictitious, such parent or parents shall obtain an order of a court of competent jurisdiction declaring the putative mother to be the child's mother. Upon receipt of a certified copy of such order, the department shall amend the child's birth certificate to reflect the mother's true name.

      (f) Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and upon request of such person or such person's parents, guardian, or legal representative, the commissioner or the registrar of vital statistics of the town in which the vital event occurred shall amend the birth certificate to show the new name by a method prescribed by the department.

      (g) When an applicant submits the documentation required by the regulations to amend a vital record, the commissioner shall hold a hearing, in accordance with chapter 54, if the commissioner has reasonable cause to doubt the validity or adequacy of such documentation.

      (h) When an amendment under this section involves the changing of existing language on a death certificate due to an error pertaining to the cause of death, the death certificate shall be amended in such a manner that the original language is still visible. A copy of the death certificate shall be made. The original death certificate shall be sealed and kept in a confidential file at the department and only the commissioner may order it unsealed. The copy shall be amended in such a manner that the language to be changed is no longer visible. The copy shall be a public document.

      (P.A. 79-434, S. 11; P.A. 90-168; P.A. 91-252, S. 4; P.A. 93-97, S. 1, 2; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7, S. 12, 38; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, S. 44; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-10, S. 3; P.A. 01-163, S. 32; P.A. 03-19, S. 48; P.A. 04-255, S. 14, 15; 04-257, S. 35.)

      History: Sec. 19-15a transferred to Sec. 19a-42 in 1983; P.A. 90-168 added Subsec. (f) on the amendment of death certificates; P.A. 91-252 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting phrase "except as otherwise provided in this section", adding "on the original" and by adding provisions specifying that original birth, death or marriage certificate shall be sealed and kept in confidential file at department of health services and may be unsealed only upon order of commissioner, that a copy of original shall be made and shall be amended so that changed language is no longer visible and that the copy shall be a public record; P.A. 93-97 amended Subsec. (c) to add a $25 fee for amendment of a birth certificate to show paternity, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7 amended Subsec. (c) by deleting requirement of written request of both parents and adding provision that birth certificate shall include or be amended to include paternity upon receipt of voluntary acknowledgment of paternity or certified court order establishing paternity, removal only upon filing of rescission of paternity or upon court order and by providing for fee of $25 for each amendment to birth certificate, effective July 1, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8 added new Subsec. (e) re specific authority for department to amend birth certificate to reflect gender of a person born with hermaphroditism and redesignated former Subsecs. (e) and (f) accordingly; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-10 deleted changes enacted by June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, except for the addition of a comma following reference to "vital records" in Subsec. (a); P.A. 01-163 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions re uniform procedures prescribed by the commissioner, deleting provision re report of amendment to affected registrars and adding provisions re amendments concerning parentage or gender change and amendments made by registrar, deleted former Subsec. (b), added new Subsecs. (b) and (c), redesignated former Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (d) and amended by deleting "voluntary", changing "surname" to "name", adding provision re father's information and making technical changes in Subdiv. (1), revising provision re filing of rescission, deleting provision re court order and adding provision re changing the name of child and reference to Sec. 7-50 in Subdiv. (2) and making a technical change in Subdiv. (3), added new Subsec. (e), redesignated former Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (f) and amended by adding provisions re registrar of the town in which the vital event occurred and method prescribed by the department and making technical changes, and redesignated former Subsecs. (e) and (f) as Subsecs. (g) and (h) and amended by making technical changes; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes in Subsec. (e), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 04-255 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring commissioner to make amendments in accordance with regulations and uniform procedures and amended Subsec. (d) by replacing provisions in Subdiv. (1) re changing name of child, removal or replacement of father's information and making of certificate, with provision re changing name of child if indicated on form or within order, and by adding provisions in Subdiv. (2) requiring that no father's information be removed without a court order or filing of a rescission and that certificates amended under section not be marked "amended"; P.A. 04-257 made a technical change in Subsec. (c), effective June 14, 2004.

      See Sec. 7-36 for applicable definitions.

      Commissioner may amend parental information contained on birth certificates only when there is an error or omission in such information. 253 C. 570.