How Do I Amend My Birth Certificate in New Mexico?

To amend a birth certificate in New Mexico, you submit an application, supporting documents, and the applicable fee to the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. What you send depends on the type of change: minor errors can be fixed with an affidavit, name changes require a certified court order first, and gender designation changes can be made by self-declaration on a notarized form. Most amendments cost between nothing and $20 at Vital Records, plus court costs when a judge’s order is required, and processing runs roughly six to twelve weeks.¹

Correcting an Error

New Mexico’s administrative code splits errors into two categories, and the paperwork depends on which category applies.

Minor Errors

Obvious mistakes such as transposed letters or small omissions can be corrected by the state registrar directly, sometimes without any action from you if the registrar spots them during processing. During the first year after birth, parents, a legal guardian, or a court-ordered custodian can also request correction of minor errors, and the corrected certificate is not marked “amended.”²

Major Corrections

Bigger changes, like correcting a first or middle name, require an affidavit that identifies the certificate, states the incorrect data, and provides the correct information. You also need at least two pieces of supporting documentary evidence created at least five years before you apply. For anyone five years old or younger, the state registrar decides what evidence is acceptable. Changing a last name requires a court order in nearly all circumstances, and no name can be removed from a birth certificate without one.²

Date of birth has its own rules. The day of birth can be corrected with an affidavit and supporting documents, provided the corrected date isn’t after the date the certificate was originally filed. Changes to the month or year are handled at the state registrar’s discretion or by court order. No amendment of any kind can be made after the person named on the certificate has died unless a court orders it.²

Changing Your Name

A name change on the birth certificate is a two-step process. You need a court order first. Then you send that order to the Bureau of Vital Records.

Petitioning the District Court

Any New Mexico resident at least 14 years old can petition the district court in the county where they live to change their name. For children under 14, a parent or legal guardian files the petition, and the court requires notice to all legal parents or guardians. If notifying a parent would put the child or the applicant in danger, the court can waive that notice and seal the records.³

The court grants the change unless someone shows a sufficient reason not to. Civil filing fees in New Mexico district courts run around $132, plus a small fee if you use the court’s self-help packet.⁴

Sending the Order to Vital Records

Once you have a certified copy of the court order, mail it with your amendment request to the Bureau of Vital Records. The state registrar amends the original certificate to show the new name. A name-change amendment results in the certificate being marked “amended.”⁵

Changing Your Gender Designation

Since October 2019, anyone born in New Mexico can update the gender marker on their birth certificate to male, female, or X. The state defines X as a gender other than male or female or an undesignated gender.¹

What the State Asks For

No letter from a doctor or therapist is required. You submit a statement signed under penalty of perjury indicating your gender identity. Applicants 18 and older complete the state’s gender designation change form and sign it before a notary public. If your current legal name differs from what’s on the birth certificate, you also need to provide a certified court order for the name change.⁵

Reissued, Not Amended

A gender designation change causes Vital Records to reissue your birth certificate entirely rather than mark it amended. Nothing on the face of the reissued certificate indicates a change was made. The statute specifically carves gender designation changes out of the marking requirement that applies to other amendments.⁵

One Change Without a Court Order

The administrative code allows one gender designation amendment through the self-declaration process. Changing the same item a second time requires a certified court order.²

Amending a Minor’s Birth Certificate

For name changes, a parent or legal guardian petitions the court on behalf of a child under 14. Children 14 and older can petition on their own behalf.³

For gender designation changes and other amendments, the parent or legal guardian files. When the child is 14 or older, the child must also sign the application or provide notarized consent. The Bureau of Vital Records provides a specific consent form for registrants 14 and older.⁶

For a gender designation change, parents or legal guardians use either the single-parent form or the two-parent signature form provided by the Department of Health, depending on the family situation. If the minor is 14 or older, their consent form must accompany the parent’s request.¹

Fees and Processing Time

What you pay depends on the type of amendment:

Minor corrections are free. Fixing obvious errors, transposed letters, or omissions on birth records (other than the father’s name) costs nothing.⁷
Major corrections and court-ordered changes are $10, which includes one certified copy of the amended record.⁸
Gender designation changes are $20, which also includes a new birth certificate.¹

Those fees only cover the Vital Records side. When your amendment requires a court order, add a district court filing fee of roughly $132, along with any notary fees for forms that need notarization. A straightforward gender designation change might cost $20 plus a small notary fee. A name change that also involves a gender update could run $150 or more once court costs are included.

Processing at the Bureau of Vital Records averages six to twelve weeks. That timeline can stretch during periods of high volume or staffing shortages, so plan ahead if you need the amended certificate for a passport application, school enrollment, or another firm deadline.

Where to Send Your Amendment

Amendment requests go to the Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics by mail:

New Mexico Vital Records and Health Statistics
P.O. Box 26110
Santa Fe, NM 87502⁶

For a gender designation change, submit a Birth Record Search Application along with the gender designation change form and your fee. Any form that requires notarization must be signed before a notary before mailing. Send certified copies of court orders, not originals, unless the Bureau specifically requests them.¹

Updating Federal Records Afterward

An amended New Mexico birth certificate only updates your state record. Federal documents are handled separately, and the rules differ by agency.

To correct or update your name or date of birth with Social Security, you apply for a corrected card. The Social Security Administration has its own documentation requirements, which generally include your amended birth certificate along with proof of identity.⁹

Passport rules have shifted. As of January 2025, the Department of State no longer issues passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad with an X gender marker. Under Executive Order 14168, passports are issued only with an M or F marker matching the applicant’s biological sex at birth.¹⁰

Even though New Mexico issues birth certificates with an X designation, that designation will not carry over to a U.S. passport under current federal policy. A name change reflected on your amended birth certificate can be carried into your passport through the standard renewal or correction process, but the federal gender marker is governed by separate rules that may not match your state record.

1
New Mexico Department of Health. Gender Designation Change
2
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Code 7.2.2.17 – Amendment of Live Birth and Death Certificates
3
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-8-1 – Change of Name; Petition and Order
4
First Judicial District. Fees, Costs and Filing
5
Justia. New Mexico Code 24-14-25 – Correction and Amendment of Vital Records
6
New Mexico Vital Records and Health Statistics. Affidavit for Consent to Amendment of Vital Record by Registrant 14 Years of Age or Over
7
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Code 7.2.2.23 – Fees for Copies, Searches and Other Services
8
Justia. New Mexico Code 24-14-29 – Fees for Copies and Searches
9
Social Security Administration. Help: How Do I Correct or Update My Name or Date of Birth?
10
U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports