Section 440. Applications for correction

Part XI. Correction and Amendment

A. After 30 days from the date of filing, no change or alteration in any birth or death certificate on file with the State Registrar or on file in any city or county of this Commonwealth shall be made except upon application to the State Registrar.

1. To change or alter a birth certificate, such application shall be made by the reporting source, one of the parents, guardian, or legal representative of the child, or, if the person whose certificate is involved is 18 years of age or over, by the person himself.

2. To change or alter a death certificate, such application shall be made by the surviving spouse or the next of kin of the deceased, attending funeral service licensee, or other reporting source, such as hospital medical records.

3. Changes or alterations of the medical certification of cause of death may be requested only by the attending physician or by the medical examiner.

B. Within 30 days from the date of filing, missing data or corrected information may be entered on a birth or death certificate by the State Registrar or by the city or county registrar when the original record is in his possession.

1. Applications for changes or alterations may be made by persons outlined in subdivision A 1 or A 2 of this section.

2. Missing or corrected data may be obtained at the initiative of the city or county registrar by personal call, telephone, or query form from the reporting source responsible for filing the birth or death certificate. Data so obtained by the registrar shall not be deemed an amendment.

C. Marriage and divorce or annulment records on file with the State Registrar may be amended only by notification from the clerk of court in which the original record is filed. Such notification to the State Registrar shall indicate what items have been amended on the original record and shall indicate that the State Registrar's copy should be amended accordingly. Evidence required for amending marriage and divorce or annulment records shall be determined by the court in which the original record is filed.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR355-29-100 § 11.1, eff. April 1, 1995; amended, Volume 19, Issue 26, eff. October 8, 2003.

Statutory Authority

§§ 32.1-12 and 32.1-250 of the Code of Virginia.