Amending an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

In-person customer assistance to change vital records is not available.

OAR 333-011-0277 Application and Documentation in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth Record, allows adopted individuals who are 21 years of age and older and have had their original birth records unsealed to amend that birth record to add the name of a biological parent if parentage is confirmed by DNA testing.

Although this amendment will be recorded by the Center for Health Statistics, it does not confer any new rights or responsibilities upon any of the named parties.

Amending an Original Record of Live Birth Prior to Adoption

A person may request a biological parent name be added to or changed on the original birth record prior to an adoption. The applicant is the person requesting to have their biological parent name be added or changed.

Amendment/Amend:

Amending a record is changing or correcting information on a record.

Applicant:

The eligible person submitting the application to change the registrant's record.

Birth Record/Birth Certificate:

The birth record is the information of live birth that is registered with the state. The birth certificate is the printed version of the birth record.

Certified:

A document with an official stamp or signature attesting that it is authentic.

Court of Competent Jurisdiction:

A U.S. Court with the authority to make legal decisions and judgments over the subject matter and parties involved.

Court Order/Judgment:

The final decision of a court case that determines the rights and obligations of the people involved. Both terms are considered to mean the same thing for the purposes of this web page and usually refer to a printed version of the final decision.

Preadopt Birth Record:

The original birth record that contains an individual's birth information before an adoption.

Registrant/Adoptee:

The person who is being adopted. This may also be called “person on record," “child on record," or “child."

Sealed File:

File that is kept confidential and not available to the public. Typically, even the person named on the record (registrant) must get a court order to access the file.

Checklist to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

Meet Eligibility Requirement to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption and, if Necessary, Provide Proof of Eligibility.

The Applicant Must Be:

The person whose current record of live birth after adoption is filed with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics;
The person who is listed on the original record of live birth prior to adoption;

Age 21 or older; and

The person who has a court order to open the sealed file under ORS 432.250 or has a copy of their original record of live birth issued under ORS 432.228.

Provide Application to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption Order Form - English

Acceptable Proof of ID

Provide a copy of acceptable proof of ID with your order form.

Important:

Words must be legible and photo must be clear.
Expired documents are not acceptable.

Any ONE of the following documents are acceptable:

Current, valid driver's license, permit, or ID card.
Current, valid passport or passport card with photo.
Tribal Membership or ID card with photo and address (without photo accepted as one of three pieces of ID).
U.S. Armed Services ID Card with photo.
Current student body card with name and photo (high school students only).
Consulate Card (Matrícula Consular) with photo and address.
Citizen ID with photo.
Permanent Resident Card with photo.
Employment Authorization Document/Card (EAD) with photo.
State or federal government ID badge with photo.

OR...

Any THREE of the following documents, as long as at least one shows your current address:

Selective Service Card or military discharge paper (must be original).
U.S. Immigration or naturalization papers.
Concealed weapon permit with photo.
Official papers issued by courts of record which include date of birth.
Official corrections department or parole papers showing date of birth and full name.
Vehicle registration or title.
Personalized check or savings account passbook.
Monthly banking or mortgage account statement
(Document must be no more than 30 days old).
Pistol or firearms permit.
State hunting or fishing license.
Recent utility or other bill with current address (Document must be no more than 30 days old).
Recent paycheck stub or paycheck (official company type only). (Document must be no more than 30 days old.)
Company identification card.
Voter registration card issued by a county elections department.
Valid food stamp, welfare, or unemployment identification.
Medical or hospital insurance card.
Tax statements – W-2 forms, etc.
Auto insurance policy.
Union membership card.
Rental agreement that displays the rental property header/logo, is the current property of residence, is signed by the property manager, and shows that ID verification has taken place.

If there are differences between information provided and information on the record, or questions about the validity of any document, staff are authorized to request additional information or documents.

A printable version of the identifying documents list is available in both English and Spanish.

Provide a Copy of the Court Order Used to Open the Sealed File Containing the Original Record of Live Birth Prior to Adoption, if Applicable.

Provide a Notarized Affidavit in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth.

Notarized Affidavit in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth if Parent is Deceased
-OR-
Notarized Affidavit in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth is Parent is Living

Evidence that the parent to be added is the biological parent, including but not limited to:

A DNA test identifying that the person whose name is to be entered as the biological parent is the biological parent of the applicant;
A copy of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction identifying that the person whose name is to be entered as the biological parent is the biological parent of the applicant;

-or-
Other official documents acceptable to the state registrar.

Fee to Amend Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption: $4

Payment:

No cash. Make payment by check or money order.

Make payment out to: OHA/Vital Records

Submit the Amendment Application and Materials

Application in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth Prior to Adoption
Copy of the court order used to open the sealed file containing the original record of live birth prior to adoption, if applicable.
Evidence that the Parent to be Added is the Biological Parent
Copy of Current Photo ID
$4 Fee to Amend the Record

Payment:

No cash. Make payment by money order or check.

Make payment out to: OHA/Vital Records

Please do not staple payments or documents to each other or to the order form.

Place all materials in one sealed envelope and submit to Oregon Vital records by:

Mail:

Oregon Vital Records
Amendments Unit
PO Box 14050
Portland OR 97293

-or-

Drop Box:

Oregon Vital Records
Amendments Unit
800 NE Oregon Street
Portland OR 97232

The bright blue box is located at the entrance by the west door (located in the parking lot).

The box is checked several times a day during regular business hours.

Please make sure that the items you drop off are in a sealed envelope, and “Oregon Vital Record Amendment Unit” is clearly written on the outside. If you are submitting documents to a specific amendment specialist, please include their name on the envelope. If you are submitting additional documents for an existing or pending order, please reference that order number on the envelope.

The checklist of all required documents and fees is also available as an Information Sheet.

Additional Information

After submitting your amendment request materials and fee, the date your check or money order is cashed represents the verification your materials were received.

We are unable to provide status updates for individual orders at this time due to high workload and staffing availability.

Requests are reviewed and processed in the order they were received. If there are any issues with your request, you will be contacted at that time by secure email, mail, or by phone. Please check your junk email folder for any messages from us that may get caught in a filter.

The following may cause delays with processing the order:

Inaccurate or incomplete information was submitted
Missing ID and/or documents that are required for the amendment
Missing fees or partial payment received
The applicant who submitted the order is not eligible

If you require a faster delivery method for the photocopy of the record to be sent, you must provide all materials required by your chosen delivery service, including prepaid envelope and completed mailing label (for example, FedEx or UPS).

Completed Amendment Requests

Once an amendment request has been reviewed, one of the following will happen:

If the amendment was completed, the record will be updated with the correct information.

If a new photocopy of the updated record was requested and payment was received, it will be mailed to the address that was provided.

Any original evidence or court document(s) provided for the amendment will be returned to the applicant via certified mail with the exception of documents required to be retained in a permanent sealed file.

Note:

Although this amendment will be recorded by the Center for Health Statistics, it does not confer any new rights or responsibilities upon any of the named parties. The applicant will receive a photocopy of the updated preadoption record. It is NOT a legal document.

If the amendment was unable to be completed, the applicant will receive an email or letter explaining why and what steps need to happen to continue the amendment process.

If you call or email an amendment specialist about an adoption, please leave one complete message and include:

Your first and last name (Please spell if leaving a message.)
Telephone number
Email address
The name of the child before and after adoption, date of birth, and place of birth;
The approximate date the court approved the adoption and/or the date you submitted the documents and the fees to our office;
Questions you have about the amendment/adoption.
Order number, if there is one assigned
Whether you received any correspondence from our office or submitted any additional fees or documents in separate mailings.

Providing this level of detail allows our staff to find your information if it has already been submitted and make sure we are as prepared as possible before responding to your communication.

Email: CHS.Amendments@oha.oregon.gov

Phone: 971-673-1147

This phone line is exclusively for voicemails and won't be answered by a person.

Amending an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

In-person customer assistance to change vital records is not available.

Although this amendment will be recorded by the Center for Health Statistics, it does not confer any new rights or responsibilities upon any of the named parties.

Amending an Original Record of Live Birth Prior to Adoption

A person may request a biological parent name be added to or changed on the original birth record prior to an adoption. The applicant is the person requesting to have their biological parent name be added or changed.

Definitions

Amendment/Amend:

Amending a record is changing or correcting information on a record.

Applicant:

The eligible person submitting the application to change the registrant's record.

Birth Record/Birth Certificate:

The birth record is the information of live birth that is registered with the state. The birth certificate is the printed version of the birth record.

Certified:

A document with an official stamp or signature attesting that it is authentic.

​Court of Competent Jurisdiction:

A U.S. Court with the authority to make legal decisions and judgments over the subject matter and parties involved.

Court Order/Judgment:

The final decision of a court case that determines the rights and obligations of the people involved. Both terms are considered to mean the same thing for the purposes of this web page and usually refer to a printed version of the final decision.

Pread​opt Birth Record:

The original birth record that contains an individual's birth information before an adoption.

Registrant/Adoptee:

The person who is being adopted. This may also be called “person on record," “child on record," or “child."

Sealed File:

File that is kept confidential and not available to the public. Typically, even ​the person named on the record (registrant) must get a court order to access the file.

Checklist to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

Meet Eligibility Requirement to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption and, if Necessary, Provide Proof of Eligibility.

The Applicant Must Be:

The person whose current record of live birth after adoption is filed with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics;The person who is listed on the original record of live birth prior to adoption;

Age 21 or older; and

The person who has a court order to open the sealed file under ORS 432.250 or has a copy of their original record of live birth issued under ORS 432.228.

Provide Application to Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption

Amend an Original Birth Record Prior to Adoption Order Form - English

Provide Copy of Current, Photo ID

​Acceptable Proof of ID​

Provide a copy of acceptable proof of ID with your order form.

​Important:​​

​ Words must be legible and photo must be clear.

Expired documents are not acceptable.

Any ​ONE ​of the following documents are acceptable:

​

​Current, valid driver's license, permit, or ID card.

Current, valid passport or passport card with photo.

Tribal Membership or ID card with photo and address (without photo accepted as one of three pieces of ID).​​

U.S. Armed Services ID Card with photo.

Current student body card with name and photo (high school students only).

Consulate Card (Matrícula Consular) with photo and address.

Citizen ID with photo.

Permanent Resident Card with photo.

Employment Authorization Document/Card (EAD) with photo.

​State or federal government ID badge with pho​to.

OR...​

Any THREE of the following documents, as long as at least one shows your current​ address:

​​Selective Service Card or military discharge paper ​(must be original).

U.S. Immigration or naturalization papers.

Concealed weapon permit with photo.

Official papers issued by courts of record which include date of birth.

Official corrections department or parole papers showing date of birth and full name.

Vehicle registration or title.

Personalized check or savings account passbook.

Monthly banking or mortgage account statement

(Document must be no more than 30 days old).

Pistol or firearms permit.

State hunting or fishing license.

Recent utility or other bill with current address (Document must be no more than 30 days old).

Recent paycheck stub or paycheck (official company type only). (Document must be no more than 30 days old.)

Company identification card.

Voter registration card issued by a county elections department.

Valid food stamp, welfare, or unemployment identification.

Medical or hospital insurance​ card.

Tax statements – W-2 forms, etc.

Auto insurance policy.

Union membership card.

Rental agreement that displays the rental property header/logo, is the current property of residence, is signed by the property manager, and shows that ID verification has taken place.​

If​ there are differences between information provided and information on the record, or questions about the validity of any document, staff are authorized to request additional information or documents.

A printable version of the identifying documents list is available in both ​​English​ ​and ​Spanish​.​​

Provide a Copy of the Court Order Used to Open the Sealed File Containing the Original Record of Live Birth Prior to Adoption, if Applicable.

Provide a Notarized Affidavit in Support of Amending an Original Record of Live Birth.

Provide Evidence that the Parent to be Added is the Biological Parent

​Evidence that the parent to be added is the biological parent, including but not limited to:

​A DNA test identifying that the person whose name is to be entered as the biological parent is the biological parent of the applicant;

Court of Competent Jurisdiction:

Preadopt Birth Record:

File that is kept confidential and not available to the public. Typically, even the person named on the record (registrant) must get a court order to access the file.

The person whose current record of live birth after adoption is filed with the Oregon Center for Health Statistics;
The person who is listed on the original record of live birth prior to adoption;

Acceptable Proof of ID

Important:

Words must be legible and photo must be clear.

Any ONE of the following documents are acceptable:

Current, valid driver's license, permit, or ID card.

Tribal Membership or ID card with photo and address (without photo accepted as one of three pieces of ID).

State or federal government ID badge with photo.

OR...

Any THREE of the following documents, as long as at least one shows your current address:

Selective Service Card or military discharge paper (must be original).

Medical or hospital insurance card.

Rental agreement that displays the rental property header/logo, is the current property of residence, is signed by the property manager, and shows that ID verification has taken place.

If there are differences between information provided and information on the record, or questions about the validity of any document, staff are authorized to request additional information or documents.

A printable version of the identifying documents list is available in both English and Spanish.

Evidence that the parent to be added is the biological parent, including but not limited to:

A DNA test identifying that the person whose name is to be entered as the biological parent is the biological parent of the applicant;

A copy of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction identifying that the person whose name is to be entered as the biological parent is the biological parent of the applicant;

-or-

Other official documents acceptable to the state registrar.

$4 Fee to Amend the Record

Oregon Vital Records

Portland OR 97232