§ 40:60 — Handling of delayed or altered certificate

§60. Handling of delayed or altered certificate
A.(1) Certificates accepted for filing more than six months after the
time prescribed for their filing and certificates, other than birth certificates,
which have been altered after being filed with the state registrar shall contain
the date of the delayed filing or the date of the alteration and be marked
distinctly "delayed" or "altered".
(2) All alterations of birth certificates shall be accomplished by
preparation of a new birth certificate on which the altered information is
entered. The new certificate shall have the original file number and be
annotated at the top of the document with the word "Amended". The original
birth certificate shall indicate such alterations by the interlinear method of
drawing a line through the old information and entering the new information.
The line shall not obscure the original information. Thereafter, the certificate
shall be distinctly marked "altered". Thereafter, when a verified certification
of birth is issued, it shall be based upon the new certificate, except when an
order of a court of competent jurisdiction shall require the issuance of a
verified transcript or certification based upon the original record of birth.
B. After a certificate has been accepted for delayed filing or after a
certificate on file has been altered, the state registrar shall note on the
certificate a summary statement of the evidence submitted in support of the
acceptance for delayed filing or the alteration, together with the alteration
made.
C. Evidence affecting delayed certificates or affecting the alteration of
a certificate after it has been filed with the state registrar shall be kept in a
special permanent file.
D. Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction changing the name of a person born in this state and upon request
of such person or, if a minor, of both his parents, guardian, or legal
representative, the state registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate on which
the new information is entered and which shall have the original file number
and be annotated at the top of the document with the word "Amended". The
registrar shall then amend the certificate of birth to show the new name on the
original certificate as provided in rules and regulations promulgated by the
department.
E.(1) When an applicant does not submit the minimum documentation
required in the regulations for amending a vital record or when the state
registrar has reasonable cause to question the validity or adequacy of the
applicant's sworn statements or the documentary evidence, and if the
deficiencies are not corrected, the state registrar shall not amend the vital
record and shall advise that applicant of the reason for this action and shall
further advise the applicant of the right to seek a court order in a contradictory
proceeding against the state registrar of vital records brought in a Louisiana
court of competent jurisdiction at the domicile of the vital records registry.
(2) The petitioner's burden of proof in such proceedings shall be to
show by a preponderance of the evidence that the vital record on file with the
vital records registry is incorrect or contains inaccurate information and that
such vital record should be altered to show the correct or accurate information.
F. To protect the integrity of vital records and to prevent the fraudulent
use of birth certificates of deceased persons, the state registrar is hereby
authorized to match birth and death certificates, in accordance with written
standards promulgated by the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health
to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the fact of death, and to stamp "deceased"
and date the appropriate birth certificate. Copies issued from birth certificates
marked deceased shall be similarly marked.

Legislative History

Acts 1979, No. 776, §1. Acts 1983, No. 624, §1; Acts 1986, No. 876, §1; Acts 1991, No. 597, §1, eff. July 1, 1992.