Handbook on Birth Registration

Contents

General Information—Chapter 1
Purpose 5
Registration Requirements 5
Confidentiality 6
Penalties 7
Hospital Responsibilities 7
Midwife Responsibilities 8
Responsibility for Non-institutional Births 8
Paternity 9
Surrogacy 15
Worksheets 15

Instructions for Completing a Certificate of Birth—Chapter 2
Upper Legal Portion of the Birth Certificate 17
Confidential Information 18
Item-by-Item Instructions 18
Medical Information—Check Boxes [38a–38g] 35

Correcting or Amending Birth Records—Chapter 3
Corrections to Birth Certificate Records 55
Duplicate Records Filed For Correction 57
Amendments to Birth Records after Filing with Local and State Registrars 59
General Information 59
Procedures for Amending Certificate of Birth 59
Instructions for Completing the Application to Amend Certificate of Birth, VS-170 60
Instructions for Completing the Application for Amended Birth Certificate Based on Paternity, VS-166 65

Filing Certificates of Birth—Chapter 4
Institutional Births 67
Non-institutional Births 67
   Definitions 67
   Birth Certificate Filings by Documented Midwives 68
   Birth Certificate Filings by Certified Nurse-midwives 69
   Birth Certificate Filings by Other Registered, Certified, or Documented Health Care Providers for Births
     Occurring Outside an Institution 69
   Birth Certificate Filings by All Other Persons 69
   Persons and/or Records Not Meeting Requirements for Filing 72
Administrative Filing of Birth Records 73
Delayed Filing of Birth Records 74
Instructions for Filing Delayed Certificates of Birth 74
   Registration by State Registrar 74
   Registration by Judicial Order (Births) 78

For more information about birth certificates, click on DSHS, Texas Vital Statistics.

Send comments and suggestions to emsinfo@dshs.state.tx.us.