§ 23-3-13. Judicial procedure to establish facts of birth.
(a) If any certificate of birth is rejected by the state registrar of vital records, including
a delayed certificate of birth under the provisions of § 23-3-12, the applicant may, in the absence of an order from the family court, acknowledging
or establishing paternity, or change in parentage through adoption, petition the superior
court for an order establishing a record of the date and place of the birth and the
parentage of the person whose birth is to be registered. The superior court shall
have sole jurisdiction over proceedings relating to certificates of birth rejected
by the state registrar of vital records.
(b) The petition shall allege:
(1) That the person for whom a certificate of birth is sought was born in this state;
(2) That no record of birth of the person can be found in the office of the state or local
custodian of birth records;
(3) That the state registrar of vital records has refused to register a delayed certificate
of birth; and
(4) Other allegations as may be required.
(c) The petition shall be accompanied by all documentary evidence which was submitted
to the registration official in support of the registration. The petition shall be
sworn to by the petitioner.
(d) The superior court shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition and shall give
the registrar of vital records ten (10) days notice of the hearing. The registrar
of vital records, or his or her authorized representative, may appear and testify
in the proceeding.
(e) If the superior court from the evidence presented finds that the person for whom a
delayed certificate of birth is sought was born in this state, it shall make findings
as to the place and date of birth, parentage, and any other findings that the case
may require and shall issue an order to establish a record of birth. The superior
court may use a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar of vital records.
This order shall include the birth data to be registered; a description of the evidence
presented in the manner prescribed by § 23-3-12; and the date of the superior court's action.
(f) The clerk of the superior court shall forward each order to establish a record of
birth to the state registrar of vital records not later than the tenth (10th) day
of the calendar month following the month in which it was entered. The order shall
be registered by the state registrar of vital records and shall constitute the record
of birth, from which copies may be issued in accordance with §§ 23-3-24 and 23-3-25.