The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18: Health

Chapter 103: Birth Records

• § 5071. Birth certificates; who to make; return

  (a) On or before the fifth business day of each live birth that occurs in this State, the attending physician or designee, naturopathic physician or designee, or midwife or, if no attending physician or designee, naturopathic physician or designee, or midwife is present, a parent of the child or a legal guardian of a mother under 18 years of age shall file with the State Registrar a report of birth in the form and manner prescribed by the State Registrar. The State Registrar shall register the report in the Statewide Registration System if it has been completed properly and filed in accordance with this chapter. The portion of the registered birth report that is not confidential under section 5014 of this title is the birth certificate.

  (b) At the time of the birth of a child, each parent shall furnish the following information to enable completion of the report of birth required under subsection (a) of this section: the parent’s name, address, and Social Security number and the name and date of birth of the child.

  (c)(1) Whoever assumes the custody of a live-born infant of unknown parentage shall file a report of birth with the State Registrar in the form and manner prescribed by the State Registrar.

  (2) If the child is identified and a certificate of birth is found or obtained, the report and any certificate created under this section and copies thereof shall be deposited with the State Registrar and kept confidential, to be opened upon court order only.

  (d) The name of the father shall be included on the report of birth and on any birth certificate of the child of unmarried parents only if the father and mother have signed a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage or a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction has issued an adjudication of parentage.

  (e) When a birth certificate is issued, a parent or parents shall be identified with gender-neutral nomenclature. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 1989, No. 220 (Adj. Sess.), § 26; 1997, No. 63, § 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; 2013, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 46, § 20, eff. July 1, 2019; 2023, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 2b, eff. June 6, 2024.)

• § 5072. Notice to parent for correction or completion

  Within three months after each birth that occurs in the State, except for the birth of a child known to have died or to have been surrendered for adoption, the State Registrar shall send a notice of birth registration to the parents of the child. The notice shall contain the pertinent facts such as the child’s full name, date and place of birth, and the names of the parents, with instructions and a form on which to apply for corrections or additions. (Amended 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2017, No. 46, § 21, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• § 5073. Birth certificate corrections, completions

  (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, within six months after the date of birth, the State Registrar may correct or complete a birth certificate in the Statewide Registration System upon application of a parent, the hospital in which the birth occurred, or the certifying attendant.

  (2) At any time after the date of birth, the State Registrar may complete a birth certificate to add the name of a parent only upon request of the registrant or his or her parent or guardian and upon the receipt of:

  (A) a properly executed voluntary acknowledgment of parentage; or

  (B) a decree of a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction adjudicating parentage.

  (3) Within six months after the date of birth, the State Registrar may complete or change the name of a child upon joint application of the parents or upon application of the parent if only one parent is listed on the birth certificate. A court order shall not be required, except for completions or changes of name more than six months after the date of birth.

  (b) If the State Registrar determines that a correction or completion requested under this section is unwarranted, he or she may deny an application, in which case the applicant may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court. The court shall review the petition and relevant evidence de novo to determine if the correction or completion is warranted. The court shall transmit a decree ordering a correction or completion to the State Registrar, who shall correct or complete the certificate in accordance with the decree.

  (c) A corrected or completed certificate shall be free of any evidence of the change and shall not be marked “Amended.” However, the State Registrar shall record and maintain in the Statewide Registration System the source of the information, the nature and content of the change, the identity of the person making the change, and the date the change was made.

  (d) [Repealed.] (Amended 1979, No. 56, § 8; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 1985, No. 33, § 1; 2017, No. 46, § 22, eff. July 1, 2018; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § I.6, eff. July 1, 2019; 2021, No. 15, § 2.)

• § 5074. Penalty

  A person who fails to comply with a provision of sections 5071-5073 of this title shall be fined $5.00.

• § 5075. Issuance of amended or delayed birth certificate

  (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 5073(a)(2) of this title, after six months from the date of birth, any alteration of the birth certificate of a person born in this State shall be deemed an amendment. Upon application by the registrant, his or her parent or guardian, the hospital in which the birth occurred, or the certifying attendant, setting forth the amendment desired and the reason for it, the State Registrar may amend the birth certificate if the application and relevant evidence, if any, show that the amendment is warranted.

  (b) A person born in this State for whom no certificate of birth was filed during the first year following birth, or his or her parent or guardian, may apply to the State Registrar to determine the facts with respect to the birth and to issue a delayed certificate of birth.

  (c) If the State Registrar denies an application under this section, the applicant may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court, which shall review the application and relevant evidence de novo to determine if the amendment or issuance of a delayed certificate is warranted. The court shall transmit a decree ordering an amendment or issuance of a delayed certificate to the State Registrar, who shall amend or issue the certificate in accordance with the decree.

  (d) The State Registrar shall make any amendment and register any delayed certificate in the Statewide Registration System. Any amended birth certificate issued from the System shall indicate the word “Amended” and the date of amendment, and any delayed certificate issued from the System shall indicate the word “Delayed” and the date of registration. The State Registrar shall record and maintain in the System the identity of the person requesting the amendment or delayed certificate, the nature and content of the change made in the System, the person who made the amendment or registered the delayed certificate in the System, and the date of the amendment or registration.

  (e) [Repealed.] (Added 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; amended 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 64; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2017, No. 46, § 24, eff. July 1, 2018; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § I.7, eff. July 1, 2019; 2021, No. 15, § 3.)

• § 5076. Repealed. 2017, No. 46, § 25, eff. July 1, 2019.

• § 5077. Repealed. 2017, No. 46, § 26, eff. July 1, 2019.

• § 5077a. New birth certificate due to parentage nomenclature on former report of birth form

  (a) If a parent of a person born in this State was unable to be listed as a parent on the person’s birth certificate due to the lack of gender-neutral nomenclature on former report of birth forms provided by the Department of Health, and the person or the person’s parent submits sufficient proof of parentage to the State Registrar, the State Registrar shall complete the birth certificate in the Statewide Registration System. If the State Registrar denies an application under this subsection, the applicant may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court, which shall review the application and relevant evidence de novo to determine if the issuance of a new birth certificate is warranted. If the court issues a decree ordering the issuance of a new birth certificate, the State Registrar shall update the System in accordance with the decree. The State Registrar shall record in the System the identity of the person requesting the new certificate, the nature and content of the change, the person who made the change, and the date of the change. The State Registrar shall issue a new birth certificate from the System that shall not contain the word “Amended” or other special designation, and shall notify the town clerk or clerks with custody of the certificate, who shall replace the original with the new certificate and update indexes as directed by the State Registrar. The town clerk or clerks shall send the original to the State Registrar, who shall keep it confidential.

  (b), (c) [Repealed.] (Added 2013, No. 183 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2017, No. 46, § 27, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• § 5078. Adoption; new and amended birth certificate

  (a) When the State Registrar receives a report of adoption, a report of an amended adoption, or a report that an adoption has been set aside as provided in 15A V.S.A. § 3-801, or a record of adoption prepared and filed in accordance with the laws of another state or foreign country, he or she shall proceed as prescribed in 15A V.S.A. § 3-802.

  (b) If prior to July 1, 2019 a new birth certificate was issued following an adoption that contains a notation that it was issued by authority of this chapter, contains the filing dates of the original and the new birth certificate, or otherwise contains information that facially distinguishes it from an original, the adoptive parent or the adoptee if 14 years of age or older may apply to the State Registrar to issue a replacement birth certificate that does not contain distinguishing information. The State Registrar shall issue the replacement and notify any town clerk with custody of the version that contains distinguishing information, who shall substitute the latter with the replacement birth certificate. The town clerk shall send the version that contains distinguishing information to the State Registrar, who shall keep it confidential.

  (c) [Repealed.]

  (d) [Repealed.]

  (e) [Repealed.]

  (f) [Repealed.] (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 1985, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2017, No. 46, § 30, eff. July 1, 2018; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § I.8, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• § 5078a. Certificate of live birth for a foreign born child adopted in Vermont

  (a) The State Registrar shall establish in the Statewide Registration System a “certificate of live birth for a foreign born child” when he or she receives:

  (1) a written request that the certificate be established:

  (A) from the adopted person if 14 years of age or older; or

  (B) from the adoptive parent or parents if the adopted person is under 14 years of age; and

  (2) a record of adoption issued under 15A V.S.A. § 3-801(a).

  (b) The certificate shall include:

  (1) the true or probable foreign country of birth and true or probable date of birth;

  (2) the adoptive parents as though they were natural parents;

  (3) a notation that it was issued by authority of this chapter;

  (4) a statement that the certificate is not evidence of U.S. citizenship; and

  (5) any other information the State Registrar may prescribe.

  (c) The certificate shall not contain a statement whether the adopted person was illegitimate.

  (d), (e) [Repealed.] (Added 1985, No. 229 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 2017, No. 46, § 31, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• § 5079. Repealed. 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 26.

• § 5080. Effect of new certificate

  A new birth certificate issued under 15A V.S.A. § 3-802 and sections 5077a and 5112 of this title shall have the same force and effect as though registered in accordance with the provisions of section 5071 of this title. (Amended 2017, No. 46, § 32, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• § 5081. Repealed. 2017, No. 46, § 33, eff. July 1, 2019.

• § 5082. Repealed. 2017, No. 46, § 34, eff. July 1, 2019.

• § 5083. Participants in address confidentiality program

  (a) If a participant in the program described in 15 V.S.A. chapter 21, subchapter 3 who is the parent of a child born during the period of program participation notifies the physician or midwife who delivers the child, or the hospital at which the child is delivered, not later than 10 days after the birth of the child, that the participant’s confidential address should not appear on the child’s birth certificate, then the address shall not be maintained in the Statewide Registration System and the State Registrar, town clerks, and any other issuing agent shall ensure the confidentiality of the address during the period of program participation in accordance with measures prescribed by the State Registrar. A participant who fails to provide such notice shall be deemed to have waived the provisions of this section.

  (b) The State Registrar shall notify the Secretary of State that a program participant has given notice under this section.

  (c) The State Registrar shall maintain a confidential record of the parent’s actual mailing address and town of residence, which shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act.

  (d) Upon the expiration, withdrawal, invalidation, or cancellation of program participation of any parent of whom the Secretary of State received notice from the State Registrar, the Secretary of State shall notify the State Registrar.

  (e) Upon notice of the expiration, withdrawal, invalidation, or cancellation of program participation, the State Registrar shall update the Statewide Registration System and take such other steps as may be necessary to ensure that the actual mailing address and town of residence on the birth certificate are available for public inspection and copying in accordance with section 5016 of this title.

  (f) [Repealed.] (Added 1999, No. 134 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2001; amended 2015, No. 23, § 9; 2017, No. 46, § 35, eff. July 1, 2019.)

• §§ 5084-5086. Repealed. 2001, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 30, 2003.

• § 5087. Redesignated. 2017, No. 46, § 37, effective July 1, 2019.

• § 5088. Redesignated. 2017, No. 46, § 37, effective July 1, 2019.

• § 5089. Redesignated. 2017, No. 46, § 37, effective July 1, 2019.