Change a Birth Record

Accurate birth records are a priority for the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Records sometimes need to be changed to correct errors, reflect changes such as adoptions, or provide missing information. All changes require a formal request and time for review.

Official birth certificates show the following information about the person who was born, if the information was provided. (Certificates for births before 2011 do not show all the listed items.):

• First, middle, last name and suffix
• Date and time of birth
• Plurality (single, twin, triplet, etc.)
• Sex
• Place of birth (name of hospital or facility, city, county, state)
• Full names of up to two parents
• Parents' names at birth
• Parents' dates and places of birth

The information is printed in all capital letters. (NOTE: Changing the all-caps format is not a valid reason to request an amendment.) Birth records may be changed with a correction, amendment, or replacement. 

To add or change a legal parent on a birth record, see Birth Records and Parentage.

Corrections

The birth record information listed above may be changed at no cost before the child’s first birthday and before a birth certificate is issued. Once the child turns one year old or a birth certificate is purchased (whichever comes first), any changes must be made through an amendment. To request a correction, contact the facility where your child was born or your county’s vital records office.

In addition, counties send out notices to parents for children born in the county that show information that will appear on the birth certificate. Parents can review the information for accuracy and use the form to request corrections and order birth certificates.   

Amendments

If you need to change a birth certificate after one has been purchased, or the subject of the record is more than a year old, you must request an amendment. Amendments require a completed application, a $40 fee, and supporting documents; see Supporting Documents for Amendments for more information. Birth record amendments must be requested through MDH; county offices do not handle them. 

After an amendment is completed, the birth certificate will include a sentence noting that information has changed: “Data items other than the registrant’s name or date of birth were amended [date of amendment].” Registrant name and date of birth changes are called out specifically.

Only specific people can request birth record amendments: 

• Subject of the record, if they are 18 or older. If the subject is seeking a court-ordered name change and is 18 or older, they (not a parent) must request the amendment.
• Parents named on the subject’s current birth record.
• Subject’s legal guardian or legal representative: Their status must be verified by a certified court order that is submitted with the application.

If the subject of the record is deceased, only the subject’s parents can request an amendment.

The Birth Record Amendment Packet (PDF) includes the application form, detailed instructions, and information about the required supporting documents. The Birth Amendment Request (PDF) form is also available without the attached instructions. Requesters must sign the application in front of a notary public. The application also allows you to order a birth certificate with the new, amended information for $26. 

Changing names

To change a name on a birth record, you must supply a certified court order or acceptable documentation along with the amendment application. Subjects 18 years and older must request court-ordered name change amendments for themselves; if the subject is a minor, a parent must submit the request. A parent, guardian, or legal representative may request the name change amendment if the subject is incapacitated.

The amended name must meet Minnesota’s standards to ensure it fits on the birth certificate and that U.S. public services and programs will accept it.

Use:

• Letters from the Modern English alphabet (A-Z) to spell the name; including spaces, hyphens (-) and apostrophes (‘) (e.g. GARCIA-OLSON, O’GARA)
• Up to 50 characters for each of the first, middle, and last names

Do not use special characters (e.g., @, *, $, numbers, symbols), other than hyphens and apostrophes.

When a name is changed with an amendment, the birth certificate will include a sentence noting what part of the name was changed, the date of amendment, and which supporting document was provided. 

Changing parent names

Parents may also request that their full names on the birth record be changed with a court order. The court order must spell out the parent’s name before and after the name change and specifically direct the birth record to be amended in the “it is ordered” section. If the parent’s name will be changed on more than one child’s birth record, each child’s name must be listed in the court order.

Changing sex/gender indicators

You can amend a birth certificate to change the sex/gender indicator. On the amendment request form, indicate “sex” as the item you want to amend.

People requesting amendments for changing gender must provide either a letter from a physician certifying that they are receiving treatment for gender transition or a court order directing a change to the birth record. Learn more on the Supporting Documents for Amendments page.

If you are changing your name as part of gender transition, you may want to request that the court order for your name change include the gender change as well. If the court order directs MDH to replace the birth record, the original record will be sealed as described below. Changing gender with an amendment request without a court order doesn’t replace the birth record; instead birth certificates issued after the amendment will include this sentence: “Data items other than the registrant’s name or date of birth were amended [date of amendment]”

Replacements

MDH replaces original birth records with new records after adoptions, parentage adjudications, and certain court orders. The original record and all correspondence pertaining to it are sealed, making it confidential and only released according to Minnesota law. The new birth certificate doesn’t indicate that the record has been changed. Replacement requests require a $40 fee and the appropriate (court-issued) documents. Learn more on the Birth Records and Adoption page.

MDH also replaces original birth records when a Minnesota Voluntary Recognition of Parentage (PDF) form is submitted after a birth has been registered. There is no cost for filing the ROP form. Learn more about adding parents to birth records on the Birth Records and Parentage page. 

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