Can you have your name changed on your birth certificate?
December 29, 2016 6:28 AM Subscribe
Or does the original name stay on there? This is in reference to legally changing one's name as an adult NOT via marriage.
If states matter I was born in New York and live in Queens. I legally changed both my first and last name for personal reasons. Hated my legal name so much that I literally refused any job or paper trail that would require my real documentation and refused to open financial accounts or credit cards (except for my first card which I threw away soon after because I couldn't stand having to use a card with that name). I also cut all ties to anyone in earlier school years who knew me by the birth name. And yes also family (but I had only two relatives that weren't very supportive so cutting away from them was the easiest part.) The more you have a paper trail in a name the harder it is to not use it so I just lived off the grid for a few years as that way I could just use my assumed name. Even though legally you can take on an assumed name, employers and payroll will still sporadically bring up your legalized name and treat you differently for not using it, so I quit those jobs and made arrangements with companies to get paid under the table instead. Living off the grid I never had to worry about presenting any documents or ID but of course options for work and building a life are limited. Eventually I realized I could legally change my name and live ON the radar without having to worry about presenting documents in a hated name anymore- Not worry about having to go into a spiel anymore with the dozens of personal questions people ask about why you don't like your birth name- Not worry about employers or payroll asking you repeatedly about why you use a different name than what's on their records and immediately thinking you're some kind of fugitive. I could finally live life on the radar, pay taxes, get cards etc.
All my ID's are changed now, but I still haven't changed my name on my birth certificate. I'd like to know what to expect with this.
I know Vital Records keeps both the old and new name on THEIR records obviously... but do they leave your printed birth certificate as it always was? Or Do they put both names down on your certificate? Or do they replace the old name entirely?
In other words will I have to go into a spiel explaining a different name on my birth certificate every time I have to present it to a school, employer, insurance etc?
Someone told me that the answer to this depends on whether your name change was via marriage or not and whether you are trans or not. I'm not sure how accurate what they said was, but if it does make a difference- my name change was NOT via marriage and I am not trans either.
If states matter I was born in New York and live in Queens. I legally changed both my first and last name for personal reasons. Hated my legal name so much that I literally refused any job or paper trail that would require my real documentation and refused to open financial accounts or credit cards (except for my first card which I threw away soon after because I couldn't stand having to use a card with that name). I also cut all ties to anyone in earlier school years who knew me by the birth name. And yes also family (but I had only two relatives that weren't very supportive so cutting away from them was the easiest part.) The more you have a paper trail in a name the harder it is to not use it so I just lived off the grid for a few years as that way I could just use my assumed name. Even though legally you can take on an assumed name, employers and payroll will still sporadically bring up your legalized name and treat you differently for not using it, so I quit those jobs and made arrangements with companies to get paid under the table instead. Living off the grid I never had to worry about presenting any documents or ID but of course options for work and building a life are limited. Eventually I realized I could legally change my name and live ON the radar without having to worry about presenting documents in a hated name anymore- Not worry about having to go into a spiel anymore with the dozens of personal questions people ask about why you don't like your birth name- Not worry about employers or payroll asking you repeatedly about why you use a different name than what's on their records and immediately thinking you're some kind of fugitive. I could finally live life on the radar, pay taxes, get cards etc.
All my ID's are changed now, but I still haven't changed my name on my birth certificate. I'd like to know what to expect with this.
I know Vital Records keeps both the old and new name on THEIR records obviously... but do they leave your printed birth certificate as it always was? Or Do they put both names down on your certificate? Or do they replace the old name entirely?
In other words will I have to go into a spiel explaining a different name on my birth certificate every time I have to present it to a school, employer, insurance etc?
Someone told me that the answer to this depends on whether your name change was via marriage or not and whether you are trans or not. I'm not sure how accurate what they said was, but if it does make a difference- my name change was NOT via marriage and I am not trans either.
I changed my name legally. You get a document showing the change of name, and you would include that whenever you need to show your birth certificate.
posted by emkelley at 6:45 AM on December 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by emkelley at 6:45 AM on December 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
It appears to me that in New York State, you can change the name on your birth certificate with a court order, which you have.
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project has instructions for how to update your birth certificate once you have a court order if you were born in New York City, or if you were born in some other county in New York State. You will need a certified copy of your name change order (you get that from the court for a fee).
posted by muddgirl at 6:46 AM on December 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project has instructions for how to update your birth certificate once you have a court order if you were born in New York City, or if you were born in some other county in New York State. You will need a certified copy of your name change order (you get that from the court for a fee).
posted by muddgirl at 6:46 AM on December 29, 2016 [7 favorites]
Legalzoom how-to as a staring place to edit a vital record.
posted by French Fry at 6:47 AM on December 29, 2016
I'm not a lawyer, but I've changed my name four times- twice through marriage, once through the common use method, and once through going to the courts.
No, changing your name legally does not change your birth certificate. There are no addendums or anything like that.
My last name change was through the courts, and now I have my real true name. It feels so amazing to see it on my id. So I get it.
I havent had to use my birth certificate at all. That is a doc you use when starting to get your other IDs like state ID or passport. When I got my new passport, I didn't show my birth certificate since I had shown that years earlier- I just had to show court documents.
I don't know the process to change a birth certificate, but I'm not sure it is worth your time.
The only other time I have to use my former names is when I fill out a background check.
Congrats on the new name.
On preview, my experience is different from French Fry- my Social Security card had only my current name, and same with my passport.
posted by Monday at 6:49 AM on December 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
No, changing your name legally does not change your birth certificate. There are no addendums or anything like that.
My last name change was through the courts, and now I have my real true name. It feels so amazing to see it on my id. So I get it.
I havent had to use my birth certificate at all. That is a doc you use when starting to get your other IDs like state ID or passport. When I got my new passport, I didn't show my birth certificate since I had shown that years earlier- I just had to show court documents.
I don't know the process to change a birth certificate, but I'm not sure it is worth your time.
The only other time I have to use my former names is when I fill out a background check.
Congrats on the new name.
On preview, my experience is different from French Fry- my Social Security card had only my current name, and same with my passport.
posted by Monday at 6:49 AM on December 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
FYI, the laws on this issue vary pretty widely by the state which issued your birth certificate. New York State appears to allow this.
posted by muddgirl at 6:58 AM on December 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 6:58 AM on December 29, 2016 [4 favorites]
I did this. When I was 8, my mother's husband adopted me and my last name was changed. My birth certificate now bears the name it was changed to, not my birth name. So yep, you can have it changed. I'm also from NYC.
posted by holborne at 7:06 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by holborne at 7:06 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
We changed our child's name two days after birth. Even that close to birth, his birth certificate will always have his original name. No changing that.
posted by TinWhistle at 7:21 AM on December 29, 2016
posted by TinWhistle at 7:21 AM on December 29, 2016
Right, this will depend on the state which issued the birth certificate. Most states permit a birth certificate to be corrected (if a name is spelled incorrectly, for instance) or re-issued to show paternity (if a father's name was not originally included). Some allow re-issue for gender changes or upon adoption. Most states--in my understanding--will not reissue a birth certificate to change a name in the event that an adult changes her name for any reason other than changing gender (e.g. marriage or because she has chosen a new name).
But self-help legal resources are pretty good with name changes and should cover the issue of whether your state permits corrections or changes to birth certificates under the circumstances which you've changed your name.
The issue of having to declare prior names, however, would not be eliminated with a corrected birth certificate because even with a corrected birth certificate, you were at one time known by the other name. Practically speaking, however, it may be irrelevant if the only records under the former name are irrelevant in the adult world, like grade school.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:24 AM on December 29, 2016
But self-help legal resources are pretty good with name changes and should cover the issue of whether your state permits corrections or changes to birth certificates under the circumstances which you've changed your name.
The issue of having to declare prior names, however, would not be eliminated with a corrected birth certificate because even with a corrected birth certificate, you were at one time known by the other name. Practically speaking, however, it may be irrelevant if the only records under the former name are irrelevant in the adult world, like grade school.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:24 AM on December 29, 2016
The reason states don't re-issue birth certificates with an adult name change--although they will re-issue for a corrected gender, to correct misspelling or to add a later-established parent--is because it is a record of the birth and that is the name you were given at birth and not in error, no matter how much regret there is later.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:33 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by crush-onastick at 7:33 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I had a tenant whose birth certificate had his new name on it. His credit screen revealed his prior name though. The cert may have had a note that it was an amended cert . This is in Oregon.
posted by vespabelle at 7:40 AM on December 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by vespabelle at 7:40 AM on December 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Get a passport. You will then never need to show your birth certificate to anyone ever again.
posted by metasarah at 7:53 AM on December 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 7:53 AM on December 29, 2016 [5 favorites]
muddgirl got it. If you were born in NY state, you have to go through the NY state birth certificate amendment process. Follow the link to the SLRP; it is the most thorough description of the process I have seen. You need not be trans to use their information-- people who just don't like their names use the exact same process.
California issues a new birth certificate-- you can't tell that it was changed. Some states do not and there will be a FKA listing with your old name. It depends on where you are born. I can't speak to New York, but here's a link to the DPH which has a phone number and email for someone who works there and can answer that question directly, and probably walk you through the process. I am pretty sure you get a new birth certificate in New York state, but not certain.
A court order is the best way to get all states and all agencies to change your name on your records. I have worked with all the major credit cards and credit check big three, and some require a photocopy of a certified court order to change (some will just take your word for it, which is weird.) Social Security will accept any legal name change, but a court order is the easiest way to do it. Some states will allow for a non-court-order/common law/change by use name change, but most don't since 9/11 made everyone more concerned about security-- NY may or may not, you would need to ask the DPH what is required to change your birth certificate. If you can get a court order, it is the last word on getting people to respect your name change. A court order is the easiest way to get a name on your passport that does not match your birth certificate, if you are unable to change your birth certificate for some reason.
If you get a background check or need a security clearance, your old name must be disclosed. You should expect your old name to pop up on credit checks for the next several years if you have ever used it for a bank account or any other financial instrument. Most people will leave the topic alone if you just tell them "Yeah, I changed my name because I hated it and nobody has called me that for several years." Most HR professionals are, well, professional, and will let it go if they are certain your documents are not fraudulent-- the people who won't, as you may have discovered, are people who have trouble understanding what is and is not their business. Your old name will pop up in public records periodically (I still show up under my old name at the address where I grew up in some genealogy records at Ancestry.com, and will in the census until 2020.)
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:01 AM on December 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
California issues a new birth certificate-- you can't tell that it was changed. Some states do not and there will be a FKA listing with your old name. It depends on where you are born. I can't speak to New York, but here's a link to the DPH which has a phone number and email for someone who works there and can answer that question directly, and probably walk you through the process. I am pretty sure you get a new birth certificate in New York state, but not certain.
A court order is the best way to get all states and all agencies to change your name on your records. I have worked with all the major credit cards and credit check big three, and some require a photocopy of a certified court order to change (some will just take your word for it, which is weird.) Social Security will accept any legal name change, but a court order is the easiest way to do it. Some states will allow for a non-court-order/common law/change by use name change, but most don't since 9/11 made everyone more concerned about security-- NY may or may not, you would need to ask the DPH what is required to change your birth certificate. If you can get a court order, it is the last word on getting people to respect your name change. A court order is the easiest way to get a name on your passport that does not match your birth certificate, if you are unable to change your birth certificate for some reason.
If you get a background check or need a security clearance, your old name must be disclosed. You should expect your old name to pop up on credit checks for the next several years if you have ever used it for a bank account or any other financial instrument. Most people will leave the topic alone if you just tell them "Yeah, I changed my name because I hated it and nobody has called me that for several years." Most HR professionals are, well, professional, and will let it go if they are certain your documents are not fraudulent-- the people who won't, as you may have discovered, are people who have trouble understanding what is and is not their business. Your old name will pop up in public records periodically (I still show up under my old name at the address where I grew up in some genealogy records at Ancestry.com, and will in the census until 2020.)
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:01 AM on December 29, 2016 [3 favorites]
I legally changed my first name when I was 18. Since I have always had a picture ID and my social security card, and now a passport, I've never had to produce a birth certificate to an employer. When I have had to produce a birth certificate (for a passport, for example), I provided my birth certificate with my birth name and the name change certificate. As far as I know, in MA, there is no way to have your birth certificate changed. When I fill out applications, I include my original first name when it asks for any other names or aliases because it could come up in a background check and concealing that is unnecessary and would look shadier than disclosing it. No one has ever demanded an explanation. Also, for what it's worth, no one, including employers, ever knows the story of my name unless I tell them.
posted by katemcd at 8:02 AM on December 29, 2016
posted by katemcd at 8:02 AM on December 29, 2016
What metasarah said. I haven't shown anyone my birth certificate, well, ever as far as I know. I don't even know where mine is and I doubt I have a copy. I once had a certified letter from the registrar at the city where I was born saying that they had checked their records and found such-and-such information. I also only have the original Social Security card my parents got me shortly after I was born, which says something like "not to be used for identification" on it in big red letters. The point is that I've never had to use either of these documents because I've always had a passport.
French Fry's experience of having documents with both named strikes me as highly unusual, and I wonder if there is some special circumstance there. Mrs. slkinsey has changed her name twice (marriage, in the courts post-divorce) and may decide to take my family name on our tenth anniversary. None of her usual documents show any of her past names, and she has never been asked to show her birth certificate.
If you want to change your birth certificate for highly personal reasons and it's possible in the jurisdiction where you were born, that's legitimate. But there really is no reason you need be showing it to people.
posted by slkinsey at 8:09 AM on December 29, 2016
French Fry's experience of having documents with both named strikes me as highly unusual, and I wonder if there is some special circumstance there. Mrs. slkinsey has changed her name twice (marriage, in the courts post-divorce) and may decide to take my family name on our tenth anniversary. None of her usual documents show any of her past names, and she has never been asked to show her birth certificate.
If you want to change your birth certificate for highly personal reasons and it's possible in the jurisdiction where you were born, that's legitimate. But there really is no reason you need be showing it to people.
posted by slkinsey at 8:09 AM on December 29, 2016
Wow I wrote a muddy sentence!
My New Social Security card has my new name. But any official use of it as a number, like credit checks or background checks or taxes will find both names, is the point I was making. MY passport caring my previous name as an alias has more to do with work visas and ITAR stuff. But outside that no one would know my birth name even if it is still on my certificate.
posted by French Fry at 9:49 AM on December 29, 2016
My New Social Security card has my new name. But any official use of it as a number, like credit checks or background checks or taxes will find both names, is the point I was making. MY passport caring my previous name as an alias has more to do with work visas and ITAR stuff. But outside that no one would know my birth name even if it is still on my certificate.
posted by French Fry at 9:49 AM on December 29, 2016
I am adopted and have an amended birth certificate. It is dated as issued at a later date than my birth, maybe you could grt your OBC amended but keep in mind the issuance will be now while your birth date remains the same and in your case I'm sure your parents would remain on it also.
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 10:00 AM on December 29, 2016
posted by RichardHenryYarbo at 10:00 AM on December 29, 2016
I am also adopted and have an amended birth certificate. My name on the original is "Baby Girl Doe", which was always an embarrassment when I had to show it to sign up for youth sports, etc. It was amended when I was in my teens (showing my real name, plus my adoptive parents in the Mom and Dad sections), but nobody has asked to look at it in forever. I use my passport or Social Security card or Drivers Licence for work/bank/etc purposes.
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:35 AM on December 29, 2016
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:35 AM on December 29, 2016
Whether or not you're transgender, this info will help you and is specific to NY.
posted by AFABulous at 11:01 AM on December 29, 2016
posted by AFABulous at 11:01 AM on December 29, 2016
Get a passport. You will then never need to show your birth certificate to anyone ever again.
You need a birth certificate in order to get a passport.
posted by AFABulous at 11:03 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
You need a birth certificate in order to get a passport.
posted by AFABulous at 11:03 AM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
You need a birth certificate in order to get a passport.
Right, but then you don't have to show it anymore. It is a more simple process than going to court.
posted by Monday at 1:39 PM on December 29, 2016
Right, but then you don't have to show it anymore. It is a more simple process than going to court.
posted by Monday at 1:39 PM on December 29, 2016
Each state will be totally different. Mr. Freedom got his birth certificate changed when he was just a baby to reflect his father's surname. No copy of the original certificate exists. This was in Michigan.
My father was adopted at 9 months and got a whole new birth certificate, but someone at the DC Vital Records department didn't do their job and he ended up with both birth certificates. It was a lucky break, actually, because it gave us our first clue to find his birth family, but it would be pretty crazy if he had to show his original birth certificate with a name he has literally never used (and they are quite different - think like his current name is John Jacob Smith and his birth name was Viktor Dmitry Timoshenko).
Theoretically if DadFreedom never knew he was adopted or who his birth family was, he would never know he was once called Viktor, because the birth certificate is legally completely gone.
So, depends on where you were born.
posted by chainsofreedom at 1:43 PM on December 29, 2016
My father was adopted at 9 months and got a whole new birth certificate, but someone at the DC Vital Records department didn't do their job and he ended up with both birth certificates. It was a lucky break, actually, because it gave us our first clue to find his birth family, but it would be pretty crazy if he had to show his original birth certificate with a name he has literally never used (and they are quite different - think like his current name is John Jacob Smith and his birth name was Viktor Dmitry Timoshenko).
Theoretically if DadFreedom never knew he was adopted or who his birth family was, he would never know he was once called Viktor, because the birth certificate is legally completely gone.
So, depends on where you were born.
posted by chainsofreedom at 1:43 PM on December 29, 2016
I'm in Virginia and when we adopted our daughter her original birth certificate was sealed and a new one was issued saying I gave birth to her. It is indistinguishable from her original one, it just replaces her mom and dad's info with mine and my husband's.
posted by orsonet at 2:12 PM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by orsonet at 2:12 PM on December 29, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'd assume that this is something that varies from one jurisdiction to another. People have said they were unable to get their child's birth certificate changed following an adoption, but I was adopted as a two year old in Canada and my birth certificate has my adoptive familys surname on it.
posted by peppermind at 4:48 PM on December 29, 2016
posted by peppermind at 4:48 PM on December 29, 2016
My amended birth certificate is a brand new birth certificate that does not say my original name on it at all. I also changed my name as an adult, not through marriage, and not in tandem with a gender marker change.
I've very rarely had to show it to anyone - I think I used it when I lost my ID, and while doing age verification for camming.
posted by Juliet Banana at 12:16 AM on December 30, 2016
I've very rarely had to show it to anyone - I think I used it when I lost my ID, and while doing age verification for camming.
posted by Juliet Banana at 12:16 AM on December 30, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Even though legally you can take on an assumed name, employers and payroll will still sporadically bring up your legalized name and treat you differently for not using it, so I quit those jobs and made arrangements with companies to get paid under the table instead.
I'm a bit confused as to what context this is? If you have a new set of IDs, bank accounts and a new social security card you'll almost never need to disclose your birth name. I know after changing my name I was very self conscious about it, but in time learned that nobody cared. Now-a-days nobody even knows and those who do really don't care. I know for me, most of that was in my head.
RE: Birth certificate... If this is something you want to pursue maybe one of mefi's friendly lawyers can point you in the right direction.
posted by French Fry at 6:45 AM on December 29, 2016 [9 favorites]