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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6549
January Session, 2021
AN ACT CONCERNING AM ENDMENTS TO MARRIAGE
CERTIFICATES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (10) of section 7-36 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2021): 3
(10) "Amendment" means to (A) change or enter new information on 4
a certificate of birth, marriage, death or fetal death, more than one year 5
after the date of the vital event recorded in such certificate, in order to 6
accurately reflect the facts existing at the time of the recording of the 7
event, (B) create a replacement certificate of birth for matters pertaining 8
to parentage and gender change, [or] (C) create a replacement certificate 9
of marriage for matters pertaining to gender change, or (D) reflect a legal 10
name change in accordance with section 19a-42, as amended by this act, 11
or make a modification to a cause of death; 12
Sec. 2. Section 19a-42 of the general statutes is repealed and the 13
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 14
(a) To protect the integrity and accuracy of vital records, a certificate 15
registered under chapter 93 may be amended only in accordance with 16
sections 19a-41 to 19a-45, inclusive, chapter 93, regulations adopted by 17 Substitute Bill No. 6549
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the Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to chapter 54 and uniform 18
procedures prescribed by the commissioner. Only the commissioner 19
may amend birth certificates to reflect changes concerning parentage, or 20
birth or marriage certificates to reflect changes concerning gender 21
change. Amendments related to parentage or gender change shall result 22
in the creation of a replacement certificate that supersedes the original, 23
and shall in no way reveal the original language changed by the 24
amendment. Any amendment to a vital record made by the registrar of 25
vital statistics of the town in which the vital event occurred or by the 26
commissioner shall be in accordance with such regulations and uniform 27
procedures. 28
(b) The commissioner and the registrar of vital statistics shall 29
maintain sufficient documentation, as prescribed by the commissioner, 30
to support amendments and shall ensure the confidentiality of such 31
documentation as required by law. The date of amendment and a 32
summary description of the evidence submitted in support of the 33
amendment shall be endorsed on or made part of the record and the 34
original certificate shall be marked "Amended", except for amendments 35
due to parentage or gender change. When the registrar of the town in 36
which the vital event occurred amends a certificate, such registrar shall, 37
within ten days of making such amendment, forward an amended 38
certificate to the commissioner and to any registrar having a copy of the 39
certificate. When the commissioner amends a birth certificate, including 40
changes due to parentage or gender, the commissioner shall forward an 41
amended certificate to the registrars of vital statistics affected and their 42
records shall be amended accordingly. 43
(c) An amended certificate shall supersede the original certificate that 44
has been changed and shall be marked "Amended", except for 45
amendments due to parentage or gender change. The original certificate 46
in the case of parentage or gender change shall be physically or 47
electronically sealed and kept in a confidential file by the department 48
and the registrar of any town in which the birth was recorded, and may 49
be unsealed for issuance only as provided in section 7-53 with regard to 50 Substitute Bill No. 6549
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an original birth certificate or upon a written order of a court of 51
competent jurisdiction. The amended certificate shall become the official 52
record. 53
(d) (1) Upon receipt of (A) an acknowledgment of paternity executed 54
in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 46b-172 by 55
both parents of a child born out of wedlock, or (B) a certified copy of an 56
order of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the paternity of a 57
child born out of wedlock, the commissioner shall include on or amend, 58
as appropriate, such child's birth certificate to show such paternity if 59
paternity is not already shown on such birth certificate and to change 60
the name of the child under eighteen years of age if so indicated on the 61
acknowledgment of paternity form or within the certified court order as 62
part of the paternity action. If a person who is the subject of a voluntary 63
acknowledgment of paternity, as described in this subdivision, is 64
eighteen years of age or older, the commissioner shall obtain a notarized 65
affidavit from such person affirming that he or she agrees to the 66
commissioner's amendment of such person's birth certificate as such 67
amendment relates to the acknowledgment of paternity. The 68
commissioner shall amend the birth certificate for an adult child to 69
change his or her name only pursuant to a court order. 70
(2) If another father is listed on the birth certificate, the commissioner 71
shall not remove or replace the father's information unless presented 72
with a certified court order that meets the requirements specified in 73
section 7-50, or upon the proper filing of a rescission, in accordance with 74
the provisions of section 46b-172. The commissioner shall thereafter 75
amend such child's birth certificate to remove or change the father's 76
name and to change the name of the child, as requested at the time of 77
the filing of a rescission, in accordance with the provisions of section 78
46b-172. Birth certificates amended under this subsection shall not be 79
marked "Amended". 80
(e) When the parent or parents of a child request the amendment of 81
the child's birth certificate to reflect a new mother's name because the 82
name on the original certificate is fictitious, such parent or parents shall 83 Substitute Bill No. 6549
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obtain an order of a court of competent jurisdiction declaring the 84
putative mother to be the child's mother. Upon receipt of a certified copy 85
of such order, the department shall amend the child's birth certificate to 86
reflect the mother's true name. 87
(f) Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent 88
jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and upon 89
request of such person or such person's parents, guardian, or legal 90
representative, the commissioner or the registrar of vital statistics of the 91
town in which the vital event occurred shall amend the birth certificate 92
to show the new name by a method prescribed by the department. 93
(g) When an applicant submits the documentation required by the 94
regulations to amend a vital record, the commissioner shall hold a 95
hearing, in accordance with chapter 54, if the commissioner has 96
reasonable cause to doubt the validity or adequacy of such 97
documentation. 98
(h) When an amendment under this section involves the changing of 99
existing language on a death certificate due to an error pertaining to the 100
cause of death, the death certificate shall be amended in such a manner 101
that the original language is still visible. A copy of the death certificate 102
shall be made. The original death certificate shall be sealed and kept in 103
a confidential file at the department and only the commissioner may 104
order it unsealed. The copy shall be amended in such a manner that the 105
language to be changed is no longer visible. The copy shall be a public 106
document. 107
(i) The commissioner shall issue a new birth certificate to reflect a 108
gender change upon receipt of the following documents submitted in 109
the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner: (1) A written 110
request from the applicant, signed under penalty of law, for a 111
replacement birth certificate to reflect that the applicant's gender differs 112
from the sex designated on the original birth certificate; (2) a notarized 113
affidavit by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or holding a 114
current license in good standing in another state, an advanced practice 115 Substitute Bill No. 6549
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registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or holding a current 116
license in good standing in another state, or a psychologist licensed 117
pursuant to chapter 383 or holding a current license in good standing in 118
another state, stating that the applicant has undergone surgical, 119
hormonal or other treatment clinically appropriate for the applicant for 120
the purpose of gender transition; and (3) if an applicant is also 121
requesting a change of name listed on the original birth certificate, proof 122
of a legal name change. The new birth certificate shall reflect the new 123
gender identity by way of a change in the sex designation on the original 124
birth certificate and, if applicable, the legal name change. 125
(j) The commissioner shall issue a new marriage certificate to reflect 126
a gender change upon receipt of the following documents submitted in 127
the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner: (1) A written 128
request from the applicant, signed under penalty of law, for a 129
replacement marriage certificate to reflect that the applicant's gender 130
differs from the sex designated on the original marriage certificate, 131
along with an affirmation that the marriage is still legally intact; (2) a 132
notarized statement from the spouse named on the marriage certificate 133
to be amended, consenting to the amendment; (3) a notarized affidavit 134
by a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or holding a current 135
license in good standing in another state, an advanced practice 136
registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or holding a current 137
license in good standing in another state, or a psychologist licensed 138
pursuant to chapter 383 or holding a current license in good standing in 139
another state, stating that the applicant has undergone surgical, 140
hormonal or other treatment clinically appropriate for the applicant for 141
the purpose of gender transition; and (4) if an applicant is also 142
requesting a change of name listed on the original marriage certificate, 143
proof of a legal name change. The new marriage certificate shall reflect 144
the new gender identity by way of a change in the sex designation on 145
the original marriage certificate and, if applicable, the legal name 146
change. 147 Substitute Bill No. 6549
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 7-36(10)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 19a-42
PH Joint Favorable Subst.