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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I

21103272D
SENATE BILL NO. 1121
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health
on January 21, 2021)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Locke)
A BILL to amend and reenact § 32.1-269 of the Code of Virginia, relating to birth certificates; amendments.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 32.1-269 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 32.1-269. Amending vital records; change of name; acknowledgment of paternity.

A. A vital record registered under this chapter, with the exception of a death certificate, may be amended only in accordance with this section and such regulations as may be adopted by the Board to protect the integrity and accuracy of such vital records. Such regulations shall specify the minimum evidence required for a change in any such vital record.

B. Except in the case of an amendment provided for in subsection D, a vital record that is amended under this section shall be marked "amended" and the date of amendment and a summary description of the evidence submitted in support of the amendment shall be endorsed on or made a part of the vital record. The Board shall prescribe by regulation the conditions under which omissions or errors on certificates, including designation of sex, may be corrected within one year after the date of the event without the certificate being marked amended. In a case of hermaphroditism or pseudo-hermaphroditism, the certificate of birth may be corrected at any time without being considered as amended upon presentation to the State Registrar of such medical evidence as the Board may require by regulation.

C. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order changing the name of a person as listed in a vital record and upon request of such person or his parent, guardian, or legal representative or the registrant, the State Registrar shall amend such vital records to reflect the new name.

D. Upon written request of both parents and receipt of a sworn acknowledgment of paternity executed subsequent to the birth and signed by both parents of a child born out of wedlock, the State Registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to show such paternity if paternity is not shown on the birth certificate. Upon request of the parents, the surname of the child shall be changed on the certificate to that of the father.

E. In all other cases, an amendment to a birth certificate shall be evaluated by the State Registrar through an administrative process pursuant to regulations as may be adopted by the Board. The State Registrar shall establish and publicize an internal process for modifying birth certificates that shall include a standard form to amend a birth certificate made available to the public on its website.

E.F. When an applicant does not submit the minimum documentation required by regulation to amend a vital record or when the State Registrar finds reason to question the validity or sufficiency of the evidence, or the change requested requires a judicial order, the vital record shall not be amended and the State Registrar shall so advise the applicant in a written notice that informs the applicant he has the right to petition the court. An aggrieved applicant may petition the circuit court of the county or city in which he resides or the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, Division I, for an order compelling the State Registrar to amend the vital record; an aggrieved applicant who was born in Virginia, but is currently residing out of State, may petition any circuit court in the Commonwealth for such an order. The State Registrar or his authorized representative may appear and testify in such proceeding.