Amending a California Birth Certificate : Intro and Overview

This is an introduction only to the procedure for amending a California birth certificate of a child or adult. It is not intended to be a comprehensive resource. Additional research may be necessary. If you require further assistance, please consult a reference librarian.

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Overview

Amending a birth certificate will allow you to correct errors or add information that was previously left blank. However, amendments cannot be used to make more substantial changes.

The following changes cannot be changed by amendment, and require a court order:

• Complete changes to first, middle, or last name
• Transposition of the first and middle name
• Adding or deleting the first, middle, or last name
• Translating a name into another language

To pursue a court order for a name change, review the Name Change information from the California Court website.

Correcting Clerical Errors

Minor clerical errors may be fixed on the birth certificate, such as misspelling the child’s name, adding the child’s middle name, or correcting the parents’ information. In these circumstances, the amendment is attached to the original birth certificate and becomes part of the official birth record. See California Health and Safety Code §103225 - §103255.

To amend a birth certificate, submit the following documents:

• A completed Affidavit to Amend Record: Form VS 24.
• Fee made payable to CDPH Vital Records.
• Notarized sworn statement. This is only if you are requesting a certified copy of the amended record.
• Hospital document - only if clerical error was due to a hospital error.
• Photocopy of parent’s birth certificates - only if the parents' information is being changed on the birth certificate.
• Photocopy of the birth certificate that you are amending (helpful, but not required).

Note: There are generally no fees to amend or correct a birth certificate within one year of the date of birth. After a year, the California Department of Public Health charges a fee to amend the birth certificate.