§60. Handling of delayed or altered certificate

A.(1) Certificates accepted for filing more than six months after the time prescribed for their filing and certificates, other than birth certificates, which have been altered after being filed with the state registrar shall contain the date of the delayed filing or the date of the alteration and be marked distinctly "delayed" or "altered".

(2) All alterations of birth certificates shall be accomplished by preparation of a new birth certificate on which the altered information is entered. The new certificate shall have the original file number and be annotated at the top of the document with the word "Amended". The original birth certificate shall indicate such alterations by the interlinear method of drawing a line through the old information and entering the new information. The line shall not obscure the original information. Thereafter, the certificate shall be distinctly marked "altered". Thereafter, when a verified certification of birth is issued, it shall be based upon the new certificate, except when an order of a court of competent jurisdiction shall require the issuance of a verified transcript or certification based upon the original record of birth.

B. After a certificate has been accepted for delayed filing or after a certificate on file has been altered, the state registrar shall note on the certificate a summary statement of the evidence submitted in support of the acceptance for delayed filing or the alteration, together with the alteration made.

C. Evidence affecting delayed certificates or affecting the alteration of a certificate after it has been filed with the state registrar shall be kept in a special permanent file.

D. Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and upon request of such person or, if a minor, of both his parents, guardian, or legal representative, the state registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate on which the new information is entered and which shall have the original file number and be annotated at the top of the document with the word "Amended". The registrar shall then amend the certificate of birth to show the new name on the original certificate as provided in rules and regulations promulgated by the department.

E.(1) When an applicant does not submit the minimum documentation required in the regulations for amending a vital record or when the state registrar has reasonable cause to question the validity or adequacy of the applicant's sworn statements or the documentary evidence, and if the deficiencies are not corrected, the state registrar shall not amend the vital record and shall advise that applicant of the reason for this action and shall further advise the applicant of the right to seek a court order in a contradictory proceeding against the state registrar of vital records brought in a Louisiana court of competent jurisdiction at the domicile of the vital records registry.

(2) The petitioner's burden of proof in such proceedings shall be to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the vital record on file with the vital records registry is incorrect or contains inaccurate information and that such vital record should be altered to show the correct or accurate information.

F. To protect the integrity of vital records and to prevent the fraudulent use of birth certificates of deceased persons, the state registrar is hereby authorized to match birth and death certificates, in accordance with written standards promulgated by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the fact of death, and to stamp "deceased" and date the appropriate birth certificate. Copies issued from birth certificates marked deceased shall be similarly marked.

Acts 1979, No. 776, §1. Acts 1983, No. 624, §1; Acts 1986, No. 876, §1; Acts 1991, No. 597, §1, eff. July 1, 1992.