Amended Birth Certificate Process
We are still waiting on some more adoption paperwork (the story of our lives). Right now we are specifically waiting for Baby MPB’s amended birth certificate from the state Baby MPB was born in.
As an aside, the amended birth certificate is very weird in my mind. Mr. MPB and I truly don’t care about an amended birth certificate. Baby MPB’s original birth certificate has his name on it just as the name we chose with his birth mother, including our last name. This was his birth mother’s choice and I still think it was a an unbelievably amazing thing she chose to do. Because of this, there is no name change required for Baby MPB. And, we just find it kind of odd that his original birth certificate will be forever sealed and a new one will be created with our names on it as his parents. We really don’t know how our names on his birth certificate will be necessary for him or for us in the future? But nonetheless, it’s a legal requirement and we don’t have a choice in the matter.
The one and only thing we know we’ve been told we need the amended birth certificate for is USA Social Security. Evidently we could get it with his original birth certificate but then we’d have to send in more paperwork in the future for that department to note the birth certificate change. I just don’t see the point on doing things twice, so we’ll just wait.
Anyways, we just got a notice from the State Baby MPB’s adoption was finalized in that they sent the request to the state Baby MPB was born in to amend his birth certificate. So, I thought hey, maybe I should call them and find out how long it takes to process an amended birth certificate request. I always want an estimate of what the process will be, but by now I really should be smart enough to just not even ask. My innocent question was promptly answered:
24 weeks, minimum when the request comes from another State.
But, if you want to pay, send in the certified adoption order which will never be returned, then we will process it within 10 business days.
Oh, wonderful.
The cost isn’t an issue – it’s a $60 USD fee. Which is pretty inconsequential at this point in our adoption costs.
But, giving up our only court certified adoption order just doesn’t seem like a good idea! And no, a notarized copy will not be sufficient, I asked.
So, we wont give it up. Which means, now we wait 24 weeks.
I am starting to wonder how old Baby MPB will be by the time we actually have all this paperwork sorted out??
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I can sympathize with you. I am also waiting for the birth certificate from my adoption. Exact same deal. Only one certified copy and the records are sealed. It will take 6 months to get the amended birth certificate. It is really important for all the documents to be correct because years later it can cause Baby MPB tons of issues if the birth certificate doesn’t match up to his other documents. We definitely need the name change since our baby wasn’t named so it just says “Infant Doe” on her birth certificate so we really can’t get any other legal documents until she gets the birth certificate sorted out.
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Yes, we absolutely can sympathize with each other! It’s quite the process, eh? I am amazed at the timelines to get the amended birth certificate!
Even though Baby MPB doesn’t have a name change, we have been told how important it is for us to get the amended birth certificate so we wont stop until we have it. I just hope for both our sakes that our timelines don’t end up doubling! Or tripling !
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If you travel to South Africa you need the birth certificate with both parents names as proof that you are not trafficking your child! It’s ridiculous and has caused so much trouble but nevertheless, it is what it is… one more reason to have it, lol!
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Oh, that’s great to know because South Africa is absolutely on my dream vacation list!! In fact, we are waiting until Baby MPB will be old enough to remember the trip to go because I think he’d have such a great time seeing all the animals. 🙂
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you know what, you should collate all these adoption hassles, including the costs and all the loops and hoops you jumped through and the potential heartbreak that happens sometimes and make a post and maybe publish in every “fertile journal” on why you should never tell your infertile friend to just adopt..
Its not like going to a rescue center and picking up a dog(i know example in very poor taste).
On the lighter side, I hope the adoption guardians / legal people/ blahblah, get their act together before baby MPB turns 18 🙂
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If only I could find the time to collate all the adoption hassles. Especially the unexpected ones….oh, never mind, they’ve all basically been unexpected because no-one can tell us what to actually expect! Haha!
I think your dog reference is actually kind of appropriate, because people do think adoption is easy and yet I can absolutely say it’s the hardest thing we’ve ever done. Nothing like what people, ourselves included, naively assume!
And yes, I’m hoping this is all sorted by the time Baby MPB turns 18! Truthfully, my goal is to have it all sorted by his 2nd birthday. 🙂
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They sure don’t make it easy, do they? We’re in the process of trying to file a second parent adoption for Charlotte. Supposedly, California has made the process “easy.” Hah. Easy my ass. And that’s just to adopt OUR OWN CHILD. I can’t even fathom your years of legal BS. 24 weeks for a birth certificate? I mean, PLEASE.
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I still despise that the laws require you and catch to adopt your own child!!! Truly, it’s not okay!!
And yes, 24 weeks is insane. Not to mention it took over 10 weeks for the finalization state to send the request to the birth state. So really it’s more like 34+ weeks!
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Would the state be willing to issue a second certified copy to you if you contacted them?
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This is a great idea! I just asked our lawyer to see if we can get another certified copy. Thanks so much for the suggestion!
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I work within the court system and I know that new documents are reissued all the time. I hope they can do that in whatever state you’re dealing with.
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I mean seriously!?!?!? 24 weeks seems incredibly ridiculous! Did you ask why in the world it will take that long?? I will say though…they told us for C’s birth certificate and Social Security card I believe 8-10 weeks for each, but we got them both within I think 2 weeks. Hopefully it will be quick to get your paperwork as well!
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That’s so crazy! I’m glad my attorney made sure that we had three certified copies of our paperwork. I didn’t appreciate it then, but with a situation like this, it would be useful. I don’t even know why they wouldn’t want to send it back. That’s just ridiculous.
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I didn’t even think to ask for more then 1 copy!! You are a smart women! 🙂
And yes, I have no idea why the state needs to keep it. Or why a notarized copy wouldn’t be good enough! Either way, I realized very quickly the state wasn’t about to negotiate with me, so there was no point on arguing.
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Wow, a lot of waiting. So glad you have your beautiful baby though.
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I was just reading about the amended birth certificates (we will have to apply for one, too). I read somewhere that you can somehow get a copy of the original birth certificate saved… In cases where the child has First Nations heritage, for instance, they would need it to be able to join a tribe in their future if they wanted. So there must be a way of keeping it. Just probably not worth the battle!!
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Not in the usa, it’s virtually impossible to get it saved. I think in extreme circumstances (i.e. medical knowleege) you can petition to have it unsealed through the court system.
But i will add that we did get our lawyers to get us an original birth certificate when he was born and before the adoption was finalized, so we do have one for him should he ever want it. 😊
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I am a birthmother and I can say when I received my son I placed birth certificate in the mail it had VIOD all in the background! It killed me and sent me into pure grief. The word VIOD felt like he never existed…I personally wish they never sent it with my TPR papers.
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Oh my gosh, it honestly never crossed my mind that this could happen! I’m so sorry you received that. And I’m mortified that our sons birth mother could also receive that!
I am beyond thankful our lawyer got us an original so that our son can always have an original without having to fight to get it unsealed.
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I wonder if they received his original too now. I will have to ask as we communicate a lot. Btw I love your Blog!!!
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