How do I get a new Birth Certificate?
Following the final decree of adoption, the new legal parent(s) will want to amend the birth certificate in the state in which the adoptee was born. They will want to obtain a re-registered birth certificate showing themselves as the new legal parents and the adoptees new name if it was changed in the adoption.
What information is needed to re-register a birth certificate?
If the adoptee was born outside of the United State or its territories, the state of Washington will issue a new birth certificate showing the country the child was born in, new name and new legal parents. The decree of adoption must contain some of the information needed to change the birth certificate including the full original name of the adoptee, full name of each petitioner for adoption, whether the petitioners are husband and wife, stepparent or single parent, the full new name of adoptee, the date and place of birth of the adoptee. RCW § 26.33.250.
Besides a certified decree of adoption, an application for re registration of the birth certificate in a form approved by the Department of Health Statics and an adoption data card is submitted with the fee for a new birth certificate. Fees vary by state. The requested fee charged by the state of birth of the child and an adoption data card is submitted to the state re registering the birth certificate. These two forms can be obtained from the Clerk’s Office or from the Washington Department of Health’s website. The Clerk of the Court for the Superior Court in which the adoption was granted will forward this material to the appropriate state. RCW § 70.58.210
