(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 5073(a)(2) of this title, after six months from the date of birth, any alteration of the birth certificate of a person born in this State shall be deemed an amendment. Upon application by the registrant, his or her parent or guardian, the hospital in which the birth occurred, or the certifying attendant, setting forth the amendment desired and the reason for it, the State Registrar may amend the birth certificate if the application and relevant evidence, if any, show that the amendment is warranted.

(b) A person born in this State for whom no certificate of birth was filed during the first year following birth, or his or her parent or guardian, may apply to the State Registrar to determine the facts with respect to the birth and to issue a delayed certificate of birth.

(c) If the State Registrar denies an application under this section, the applicant may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court, which shall review the application and relevant evidence de novo to determine if the amendment or issuance of a delayed certificate is warranted. The court shall transmit a decree ordering an amendment or issuance of a delayed certificate to the State Registrar, who shall amend or issue the certificate in accordance with the decree.

(d) The State Registrar shall make any amendment and register any delayed certificate in the Statewide Registration System. Any amended birth certificate issued from the System shall indicate the word "Amended" and the date of amendment, and any delayed certificate issued from the System shall indicate the word "Delayed" and the date of registration. The State Registrar shall record and maintain in the System the identity of the person requesting the amendment or delayed certificate, the nature and content of the change made in the System, the person who made the amendment or registered the delayed certificate in the System, and the date of the amendment or registration.

(e) If the State Registrar amends a certificate that was registered prior to July 1, 2019, he or she shall notify the town clerk or clerks with custody of the certificate, who shall replace and dispose of the unamended certificate and update indexes as directed by the State Registrar. (Added 1979, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; amended 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 64; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2017, No. 46, § 24, eff. July 1, 2018; 2018, No. 11 (Sp. Sess.), § I.7, eff. July 1, 2019.)