How do I change/correct a birth certificate?
- I heard that there is no charge for correcting a birth certificate for a child under a year-old. Is that true?
- Examples of corrections:
- My child's name was misspelled
- A parent's name was misspelled
- The sex of the child is incorrect
- Change child's surname following the determination of parentage from Family Court
- Change the child's surname following the marriage of the mother and father after birth when an Acknowledgment of Paternity was completed
- Other situations as they arise
Answer
- CourtHelp provides a brief description of correcting a birth certificate and directs additional inquiries to the appropriate Health Department.
- Birth certificates are corrected because of typographical errors.
- Birth certificates are amended when there is a legal name change, adoption, etc.
- Birth certificates are not amended when spouses take on new names. The birth certificate reflects the birth name of the individual.
- Changing or Correcting a Birth Certificate in New York City
- The NYC Dept of Health Certificate Corrections page has this helpful information:
If your child is under 12 months of age, the fastest way to correct a birth certificate is to bring the original certificate and a completed correction application (PDF) |Español| to the hospital where your child was born. You cannot correct a birth certificate online.
If the hospital where your child was born made a mistake on the birth certificate, you must submit your application and the newborn certificate you received to the hospital.
People have many reasons for correcting a birth certificate, often because they haven't decided on a name when the child is born. Answers to basic questions about the correction process below are followed by instructions for specific kinds of common corrections. These instructions also are included with the application.
- New York City, N.Y., Rules, Tit. 24, Health Code, § 207.01, New York City, N.Y., Rules, Tit. 24, Health Code, § 207.01 Correction of records; application and approval; accompanying documents
- New York City, N.Y., Rules, Tit. 24, Health Code, § 207.05, New York City, N.Y., Rules, Tit. 24, Health Code, § 207.05 Correction of records; filing of new birth certificates states rule of changes/amendments within one year of birth
- Laws of the City of New York
- The NYC Dept of Health Certificate Corrections page has this helpful information:
- Changing or Correcting a Birth Certificate in New York State (other than New York City)
- The Dept of Health page on Birth Certificates in the Birth Certificate Corrections section has a posted an eight-page pamphlet titled Birth Record Corrections/Amendments explaining the circumstances that require a corrected birth certificate and the appropriate correction forms.
- Changing or Correcting a Birth Certificate registered outside of New York State
- Birth certificates registered in one of the 50 states must be corrected through the state Health or Vital Records Department
- Find state agencies through the USA.gov directory of State, Local, and Tribal Governments
- Should the NYC Health Department deny a request for correction, the NY County Help Center has created this guide.