Adoptions

Adoptions can be done by any US Court. If a child has been adopted through an Ohio Probate Court most courts will send our office the required documentation, while some may require the petitioner to do so. For children adopted outside of Ohio our office will need a certified* Final Decree of Adoption along with that states informational form that collects the adoptive parent’s demographic information.

Court-Ordered Correction of Birth Record

Court-Ordered Corrections can be done at any Ohio Probate Court. It can be used to correct any errors and/or mistakes on the original birth record. In some cases it can also add any missing information. Please contact the Probate Court in the county that you reside in for more information. In order to comply with the court decision in Ray v. McCloud, Case # 2:18-cv-00272, the Ohio Department of Health will make changes to the sex marker on a birth certificate with a probate court order.

Birth Affidavit

Birth Affidavits can only be used to correct minor spelling and data entry errors on the original birth record. The birth affidavit form cannot be used to change race, gender, or any names for the child or parents that are already listed on the original birth record. Also, the birth affidavit CANNOT be used along with adoption or paternity paperwork.

Print the birth affidavit.  Once the birth affidavit is completed and notarized, it can be mailed to the address at the bottom of this page.   Once the birth affidavit is accepted by our office, a footnote will appear on the birth record indicating what item or items were added and/or corrected.

Legal Name Change

When a legal name change has been granted to a person whose birth occurred in Ohio our office will accept a certified copy of the court ordered legal name change to update the birth record. The court order must have been granted by a US court.  Some courts may send the certified* copy directly to our office, while some may require the petitioner to do so.

Once the legal name change is accepted by our office, a footnote will appear on the birth record indicating that a legal name change is on file. In addition, the new name as exactly listed on the court order is the name that will be reflected in the updated birth record.

Things to Consider

*A certified copy is defined as a court order that contains a raised seal of the court and/or an original ink signature of the judge. Photocopies of any of the above listed documents will not be accepted by our office.

All changes may take 4-6 weeks to be processed. All documentation should be sent to:

Ohio Department of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
P.O. Box 15098
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Our customer service team can answer any questions that you may have in regard to the above topics. Call 614-466-2531 or email VitalStat@odh.ohio.gov