Alabama Birth Certificate Laws: Ordering, Corrections, and Amendments

An Alabama birth certificate is issued and maintained by the Center for Health Statistics, a division of the Alabama Department of Public Health, under Title 22, Chapter 9A of the Alabama Code. A certified copy costs $15, access is restricted to the person named and a short list of close relatives for 125 years after the date of birth, and any change to the record requires either supporting documentation filed with the Center or a certified court order.

Who Can Order a Copy and What It Costs

Alabama treats birth records as confidential for 125 years from the date of birth.¹ During that window, only certain people qualify to request a certified copy:

The person named on the certificate, if they are at least 14 or legally emancipated.
A parent listed on the certificate, an adult sibling, an adult child, or a spouse.
A grandparent who states in writing that they have physical custody of the minor child.
An attorney or other representative with documented legal authority to act for an eligible person.
A government agency representative needing the record for official purposes.

An eligible person can authorize someone else in writing to pick up the copy for them.² Fathers whose names do not appear on the certificate face an additional requirement: they must show physical custody, payment of child support, or documentation establishing paternity before the state will release a copy.

The search fee and first certified copy cost $15. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time is $6.³ If you pay and the office later finds you were not authorized to make the request, your fee is returned. If you simply fail to submit required documents, it is not.

How to Place the Order

You can order by mail, online, or in person at the ADPH office in Montgomery or at a county health department. Your request needs the full name on the certificate, the date and place of birth, and the parents’ names.

Identification is mandatory. One primary ID will do, such as a driver’s license, passport, or military ID. If you can’t produce a primary ID, two forms of secondary ID work instead — for example, a voter identification card together with a utility bill dated within the last six months.⁴

Fixing Errors and Changing a Name

Alabama draws a line between corrections and amendments. Corrections fix factual errors in the original record, such as a misspelled name or a wrong date. Amendments are more substantive changes, such as a legal name change or a parentage update. Both are handled under Alabama Code 22-9A-19.⁵

Simple corrections are usually supported by hospital records, an affidavit from a parent, or other documentation that existed near the time of birth.⁶ The amendment fee is $20, which covers the corrected certificate and one certified copy.⁷

A legal name change requires a certified court order. Once the Center for Health Statistics receives the order, it amends the certificate to show the new name.⁵ When a father petitions to change a child’s name and the mother objects, the probate court appoints a guardian ad litem to represent the child’s interests.⁸

Adding or Changing a Parent

For unmarried parents, there are two routes to getting a father’s name on the certificate: an acknowledgment of paternity or a court order. Alabama’s acknowledgment is a signed, notarized statement filed with the Office of Vital Statistics by both the mother and the man claiming paternity, and it must confirm that the child has no other presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father.⁹ Hospitals often provide the form at the time of birth, but it can be completed later.

Adding a father’s name after the initial registration requires a separate application to the Center for Health Statistics with supporting documentation. Depending on the situation, that may be a certified marriage certificate, a court order establishing paternity, or a custody order. The fee is $25, which covers the new certificate and one certified copy.¹⁰ Valid applicant ID is required, and the Center will reach out if more documentation or court action is needed.

When paternity is disputed, either parent or the child can file a civil proceeding under the Alabama Uniform Parentage Act. DNA testing is the primary evidence courts rely on, and a court order directing the Center for Health Statistics to amend the certificate is binding.¹¹

Changing the Sex Designation

Alabama’s rule for changing the sex designation on a birth certificate is one of the strictest in the country. The statute requires a certified court order stating that the individual’s sex “has been changed by surgical procedure,” and the same order must also reflect a name change.⁵ There is no administrative pathway. A physician’s letter or self-attestation will not substitute for the court order, and the court must be satisfied that a surgical procedure has occurred.

This area is actively litigated. The Eleventh Circuit addressed related issues in Corbitt v. Taylor (2024), upholding Alabama’s authority to impose the requirement. Anyone pursuing a gender marker amendment should consult an attorney familiar with the current state of the case law.

Getting the Original Record After an Adoption

When an adoption is finalized, the State Registrar creates a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents, and the original certificate plus all evidence of the adoption are placed in a sealed file.¹² The fee for preparing the new certificate is $25, including one certified copy.⁷

A common misconception is that only a court order can unlock the sealed file. Alabama changed this in 2000. An adoptee who is at least 19, was born in Alabama, and had their original birth certificate removed from the files due to adoption, legitimation, or paternity determination can request a non-certified copy of the original record by mail. The fee is $25, and the request must bear the applicant’s original signature. Online orders are not accepted for sealed records. No court order is needed, and no other family member can make the request on the adoptee’s behalf.¹³

Registering a Birth That Was Never Filed

If a birth was never registered or was registered late, the process depends on how much time has passed. A birth registered within one year uses the standard form and is not marked as delayed.¹⁴

Between one and five years after the birth, the certificate is filed on the standard form but stamped “DELAYED REGISTRATION.” It must be signed by the physician, midwife, or person in charge of the institution where the birth occurred. If that person is unavailable, a parent can sign with a notarized explanation.
Five or more years after the birth, the evidentiary bar rises. You must first confirm with the State Registrar that no certificate is on file. Then you submit a notarized affidavit of the facts of birth together with at least three pieces of documentary evidence from independent sources (only one can be an affidavit of personal knowledge). The documents generally must have been created at least five years before the application or before the individual’s tenth birthday.¹⁵

Delayed registration certificates are filed with the Center for Health Statistics and carry the $20 filing fee that applies to other amendments.

Using the Certificate Abroad

If you need to use an Alabama birth certificate in another country, you’ll likely need an apostille or a certification from the Alabama Secretary of State. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention accept an apostille; countries outside it require a certification instead.

Both authentications cost $5 per document. The certificate must bear the current State Registrar’s original signature and an embossed or ink-stamped seal. Download the authentication submittal form from the Secretary of State’s website, complete it, and mail it with your document and fee. If the authenticated document needs to go to a third party such as a foreign consulate, include a pre-addressed, prepaid carrier envelope.¹⁶ Foreign-language documents must include a notarized English translation.

Penalties for False Information

Providing false information on a birth certificate, application, or vital record is a Class C felony in Alabama, punishable by one to ten years in prison.¹⁷ A separate statute covers vital records identity fraud, which includes counterfeiting, altering, or using a fraudulent certified copy. That offense is also a Class C felony.¹⁸

Hospitals and midwives must file birth certificates within five days of a birth.¹⁹ Failing to comply or refusing to provide information required under the vital records chapter is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of $100 to $500 per violation.¹⁷

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-21 – Disclosure of Information from Vital Records
2
Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code 420-7-1-.22 – Who May Obtain Certified Copies of Vital Records
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-23 – Fees
4
Alabama Department of Public Health. ID Requirements
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-19 – Amendment of Vital Records
6
Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code 420-7-1-.16 – Amendment or Correction of Birth Certificates
7
Alabama Department of Public Health. Alabama Vital Records Application for Certified Copy
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-11-3 – Procedure for Change of Name of Child Upon Petition by Father Generally
9
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-17-302 – Execution of Acknowledgment
10
Alabama Department of Public Health. Application to Add Father to Child’s Alabama Birth Certificate
11
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-17-601 – Proceeding Authorized
12
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-12 – New Birth Certificate Upon Adoption, Legitimation, or Paternity Determination
13
Alabama Department of Public Health. Adoptee Seeking Original Birth Information
14
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-9 – Delayed Registration of Birth
15
Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code 420-7-1-.08 – Delayed Registration of Birth Five or More Years After the Date of Birth
16
Alabama Secretary of State. Authentications
17
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-26 – Penalty for Violation of Chapter or Rules of the State Board of Health
18
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 31-13-14 – Dealing in False Identification Documents; Vital Records Identity Fraud
19
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-7 – Registration of Births