How to Complete and Submit California Form VS 21: Parts, Documents, and Fees

The California Form VS 21, Amendment of Parentage, is the state form you file to add, remove, or replace a parent on a California birth certificate. You complete it, attach the required supporting documents, and mail it with a $26 fee to the California Department of Public Health – Vital Records (CDPH-VR). A complete submission takes roughly nine to eleven weeks to process, and the fee includes one certified copy of the new birth certificate.

When VS 21 Is the Right Form

VS 21 handles legal parentage changes after a birth certificate has already been filed: adding a second parent to a record that lists only one, replacing a parent’s name after a court judgment, or removing a parent following a legal rescission. The State Registrar’s authority to issue a new certificate on these grounds comes from California Health and Safety Code Sections 102725 through 102735.¹

You do not need a court order to add a second parent if all three of these are true:

The parent field you are filling is currently blank on the birth certificate.
The parent or parents are available and willing to sign Part 4 of the VS 21.
The birth parent either filed a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP) with the Department of Child Support Services, or is married to or in a State Registered Domestic Partnership with the genetic or intended parent being added.

An intended parent — a non-genetic parent of a child born through assisted reproduction — qualifies under these rules the same way a genetic parent does.²

You do need a certified court order if you are removing or replacing a parent already listed, if a parent is unavailable or unwilling to sign, or if a court has independently established the parent-child relationship.²

VS 21 is not the form for clerical fixes like a misspelled name or a wrong date of birth. Those go on a different CDPH amendment form.

Filling Out the Four Parts

Keep a copy of the child’s current birth certificate in front of you. Use black ink, and print or type every entry clearly.

Part 1: Current Record Information

Enter the child’s first name, middle name, last name, date of birth, city of birth, and county of birth exactly as they appear on the existing certificate. If any of those fields have already been amended, use the amended version, not the original. CDPH uses this section to locate your file, so a single wrong letter can get the whole package returned.³

Part 2: Parentage Option

The checkbox you select in Part 2 controls which documents you attach and who signs Part 4. You can select more than one if, for example, a court order both establishes parentage and changes the child’s name.

Adding a parent through marriage or domestic partnership: check the first box and enter the county, state, and date of the marriage or State Registered Domestic Partnership. Both parents sign Part 4.
Adding a parent through a filed VDOP: check the second box and attach a certified copy of the DCSS 0909 form. At least one parent signs Part 4.
Parentage established by court order with the child’s name unchanged: check the third box and attach a certified copy of the court order. No Part 4 signatures required.
Court order that also changes the child’s name: check the fourth box, attach the certified order, and write the child’s new name in the fields provided. Signatures depend on how parentage was established.²

Part 3: New Parent Information

Enter the parent’s full name, place of birth, and other identifying details as they should appear on the new certificate. If a court order is involved, this information must match the court’s decree exactly. Accuracy matters more here than anywhere else on the form, because Part 3 is what generates the new record.³

Part 4: Signatures

Signatures follow the Part 2 checkbox. Both parents sign for a marriage- or domestic-partnership–based addition. At least one parent signs for a VDOP-based addition. No signatures are needed when parentage is established by a court order and the child’s name is not changing.²

Documents You Have to Include

Every VS 21 needs a small set of standard attachments. Missing one item can hold the request up for months.

Notarized Sworn Statement (VS 20). This is a separate CDPH form declaring, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to receive a certified copy of the amended certificate. You sign it in front of a notary public, who stamps and signs it. Authorized signers include the parent, legal guardian, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, sibling, or child of the person named on the certificate, along with attorneys and court-appointed individuals.⁴
Certified copy of the VDOP (DCSS 0909), if parentage is based on a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage.
Certified court order, if applicable. The order must include the child’s name and date of birth as they appear on the current certificate, clearly identify the parent-child relationship and the changes to be made, and carry the original court certification stamp and seal with the clerk’s signature and the judge’s signature or signature stamp. A non-English order needs a certified English translation.
Marriage certificate or domestic partnership declaration. A photocopy is fine when you are adding a parent through marriage or a State Registered Domestic Partnership.²

CDPH does not return supporting documents once the amendment is registered. Keep your own copies, especially of the court order and VDOP, which are slow to replace.

Where to Send It and What to Pay

CDPH-VR accepts VS 21 requests by mail only. There is no online portal and no in-person submission for this form.⁵

CDPH – Vital Records
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, CA 95899-7410

Check the VS 21 form itself for the current mail stop (MS) code, since CDPH uses different codes for different amendment types.

The fee is $26 and includes one certified copy of the new birth certificate. Additional certified copies are $31 each. Pay by check or money order in U.S. dollars, made payable to “CDPH Vital Records.” Do not send cash. Use a traceable mailing method so you have proof of delivery; if the envelope disappears, you would need to reassemble the entire set of certified documents.

How Long It Takes

A complete VS 21 request takes about nine to eleven weeks from the date CDPH receives it. If the submission is incomplete, expect roughly twelve to fourteen weeks before CDPH sends a letter identifying what is missing, then another eight to ten weeks after they receive the missing items.⁶

Once the State Registrar approves the change, CDPH issues the new birth certificate and mails it to the address you provided. The new certificate replaces the original for all legal and identification purposes. The original record and supporting documents become confidential and are accessible only by court order.⁷

Mistakes That Get Applications Sent Back

Most delays trace to a handful of preventable errors. The most common is a Part 1 entry that does not match the current birth certificate character for character; even a small spelling difference triggers a return. Other frequent problems:

Forgetting to have the VS 20 sworn statement notarized.
Submitting a photocopy of a court order instead of a certified copy with the court seal.
Selecting the wrong Part 2 checkbox for the situation.
Sending the wrong payment amount or paying with cash.

Working through the checklist printed in the VS 21 pamphlet before you seal the envelope is the cheapest way to avoid adding months to the timeline.

Updating Social Security After the Amendment

A new birth certificate does not automatically update your child’s other records. If the child has a Social Security number, you can update the parents’ names in the Social Security Administration’s records by bringing the amended birth certificate to a local SSA field office. SSA requires original or agency-certified documents and will not accept photocopies or notarized copies. The corrected parent information appears in SSA’s internal records but not on the child’s Social Security card itself.⁸

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code 102725
2
California Department of Public Health. Amendment of Parentage
3
California Department of Public Health. California Code – Amendment of Parentage (VS 21)
4
California Department of Public Health. Sworn Statement Instructions
5
California Department of Public Health. Amending a California Birth Record
6
California Department of Public Health. Vital Records Processing Times
7
California Legislative Information. California Code Health and Safety Code 102730
8
Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card