Birth Certificate
Birth certificates are legal documents issued by the state at the time of a U.S. citizen's birth. It's perhaps one of the most important pieces of paper one will have throughout his or her life, as it's often requested for proof of one's citizenship and identity.
A certificate of birth generally includes the names of one's parents and details pertaining to one's birth, such as the date, city or hospital from which it was issued. Copies of one's certificate of birth are required for a number of important things later in life, most notably job or college applications or when applying for a passport or replacing a lost social security card.
When a child's birth parents either voluntarily or involuntarily terminate their legal parental rights, the certificate with their names on it that was issued at the adoptee's birth is no longer applicable by law. Therefore, an adoptee requires a new certificate of birth identifying his or her adoptive parents as the people with legal parental responsibility. When an adoption is finalized, then, the ruling judge issues an adoption decree to the adoptive family. This functions as a temporary and make-shift certificate and has all of the same information a certificate issued at birth would have, such as the adoptee's birth day. The main difference is it will have the adoptee's adoptive parents' names listed as being his or her parents and legally responsible for the child. When this is issued, an adoptee's original birth certificate is filed away with the state in a sealed adoption record that may be accessed partially or in-full after the child turns 18.
The laws regulating an adoptee's right to access his or her original birth certificate varies from state to state. Some states allow access to these by request with "good cause" and others require mutual, independent consent by the birth parents before opening an adoption record. An adoptee may want to access his or her certificate for the purpose of searching for and contacting his or her birth parents, which is what makes releasing that information controversial and confidential. One's original certificate is essentially powerless, as a new one is issued by a judge when an adoption is finalized.
Category: Adoption
See Also: amended birth certificate, original birth certificate
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Supreme Court to Arizona: No, You Cannot Ask Voters to Prove Citizenship The Supreme court overturned an Arizona law Monday that requires proof of citizenship from people registering to vote. Since 2004, Arizona has not accepted registration forms without a proof of citizenship (e.g. birth certificate, passport, etc.). Even though the state and the federal government...
Paperless and cast aside! An estimated 250,000 Jamaican children have no birth certificate. Many of that number are out of the formal school system because their parents have not taken the time to apply for their birth papers.
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Teen girl and mother win case to change birth cert A teenage girl and her mother have won their High Court case against the State over the refusal of the Registrar General to change her mother's name on her birth certificate.
Video: SCOTUS: States can't require voters to prove citizenship An Arizona law required residents to show a driver's license, birth certificate, passport or other proof of citizenship when they registered to vote. The state said it was necessary to combat fraud, but the Supreme Court ruled Monday that Arizona was asking too much. Jan Crawford reports.
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Passport and delayed birth certificate June 11, 2013, 11:58 am My dd is talking about going on a mission trip to Peru next year. She was adopted at age 10, so her birth certificate is obviously very "delayed." The original is sealed. I look at the requirements for using a delayed certificate and I don't know how a birth certificate would list the documents...
Fake Birth CertificateJune 11, 2013, 12:58 pm My birth certificate shows my adoptive parents as my natural parents.
It is the original. 56 years old.
Was this legal back then?
I know a lawyer handled the adoption.
Could it be an illegal adoption?
Anyone else have adoptive parents on their birth cert?
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Seeking half-bro born January 25, 1947 in Goldsboro NC June 4, 2013, 7:25 am Sister seeks half-brother born January 25, 1947 (1/25/47) in the afternoon in the Goldsboro hospital in Wayne County, NC, possibly placed for adoption by Johnston Co., NC social services. Could have even gone to a military family? Original birth certificate lists white male’s name as McLeod. Mother...
Seeking half-bro born January 25, 1947 in Goldsboro NCJune 4, 2013, 7:30 am Sister seeks half-brother born January 25, 1947 (1/25/47) in the afternoon in the Goldsboro hospital in Wayne County, NC, possibly placed for adoption by Johnston Co., NC social services. Could have even gone to a military family? Original birth certificate lists white male’s name as McLeod. Mother...
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