Occasionally, you may need to make changes to your birth certificate. Sometimes, a biological parent’s name is spelled wrong or if you weren’t born in a hospital, your date of birth might be incorrect. In extreme cases, you may be trans-age and actually be a 30 year old in a 60 year old’s body. In Virginia, changes to vital records occur through the courts and by petition. If you need vital records changes in Virginia, please find a Civil Law Attorney who can help you if you live near Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington and Prince William counties.

To qualify for a vital records petition, you must have first been born in Virginia. If you were not born in Virginia, you must follow the procedure of where you were born. You must also have evidence that you have asked the vital records office to change the requested information and they have refused to do so. You finally need proof of the requested change such as a DNA test or an affidavit of birth.

Hearing

At a hearing shortly after filing, a court will determine whether or not your vital records should be changed. What the court is looking for beyond evidence that there is a mistake is a compelling reason to correct that mistake. For instance, if your rights over your child are not recognized because you are not on their birth certificate, the court will likely grant the change. However, if you want only to say you are 30 instead of 60 for the purpose of dating apps, the court will be unwilling to compel the vital records office to make the requested change.