Changing a Name by the Birth Information Specialist
A birth certificate is an extremely important vital record that is required for many events throughout one’s life. It is needed to get a passport, social security card and driver’s license. It may be required to sign up for insurance or to enroll in school sports. The information on the birth certificate must be accurate because even a slight error can cause a multitude of problems for the child or parent(s). If an error occurs, the parent(s) must contact multiple agencies for corrections which can take a great deal of time. Also, each item on the legal record can be amended only once without a court order unless it’s a very minor misspelling. However, the correction is much easier to make if an error is caught before the record is registered.
A Birth Information Specialist can change the child’s or parents’ names on the birth record if the record has not been registered and the mother is still admitted at the facility.
If the parent(s) want to change the child’s name while the mother is still admitted at the facility, the Birth Information Specialist should:
- Locate the worksheet that the parent(s) filled out
- Have the parent(s) line out the name they are changing
- Have the parent(s) write the new or corrected name and initial the change
The Birth Information Specialist can then change the child’s name in OVERS to the new name as requested. Do not change the birth record without updating the worksheet if the information is different.
Once the record has been registered, the parent(s) will need to contact the Center for Health Statistics Vital Records Office to request the appropriate form for any corrections, additions or changes.
If the parent(s) are not sure what name they want to give the child, please tell them the name can be blank when the record is registered. This will limit the usefulness of the legal record and prevent a birth certificate and social security card from being issued. If the parents left the name for the child blank, they can add a name to the birth record up until the child’s first birthday. This is done by completing a Supplemental Report that is available from the Center for Health Statistics Vital Records Office. Once a child turns one (1) year, any corrections, additions or changes requested by the parent may require a court order.
Information about correcting, adding to or changing information on a birth certificate can be found on our website. Parents should be referred to the Amendments Team at CHS.Amendments@dhsoha.state.or.us for information and required forms to make any corrections, additions or changes to their child’s birth record.
Verify that Death Records have all Required Information
Before providing the death record to the county and/or to the State, please verify all information has been collected from the informant and from the medical certifier.
Please take a moment to verify:
- That the record has been signed by a licensed funeral director. (Only directors may sign.)
- If the record had been referred to a Medical Examiner and denied. If so, was it then referred to and signed by a medical certifier?
- That there is a signature and date by a medical certifier.
Double checking a record to make sure it is complete will reduce the delayed registration of a record and instances of invalid certificates issued to a family.
If you have any questions or feel that you could use training, contact Partner Services at CHS.PartnerServices@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Remember to Enter All Information from Order Forms: Part 2 of 2
All information that is written on the order form for a vital record should also be entered into OVERS. This includes the contact information of the applicant (discussed in the county article in the February 2022 article) and all other information that is listed on the order form.
When processing an order, the county will use the Event Search section to enter the exact information from the order form into OVERS. Continue to leave the check boxes currently checked to pull up the correct record from OVERS. Adding additional checked boxes will broaden the search and could end in an event with no matches.
The purpose of the Events Search section goes beyond searching for a record. It also serves as a digital copy of what was written on the order form. This is why it is so important to enter all information provided on the order form in the corresponding field of the Event Search section.
Information from a birth record order form:
- Child’s Full Name (including middle)
- Date of Birth
- Sex
- Place of Birth (City and County)
- Mother/Parent A Legal Name (First, Middle and Last Name at Birth/Maiden)
- Father/Parent B Legal Name (First, Middle and Last Name at Birth)
Information from a death record order form:
- Decedent’s Full Name (Including Middle)
- Date of Death
- Place of Death (City and County)
Entering all the information from the order form exactly how it is written not only helps with certificate replacements and the amendment process, it is also vital to guard against fraud. Following this process gives the state the ability to know what the applicant wrote on their original order form in order to provide the best customer service for their needs.
If the state is contacted by someone, each order associated with their record can be examined to see who made the request and what pieces of information were provided on the order form. If all of the information is not being entered, then the digital copy is incomplete.
During a county’s Triennial Review, Matched Events for past orders are spot-checked to make sure this process is being correctly followed.
Contact Partner Services at CHS.Partner.Services@dhsoha.state.or.us if you have questions about what information is required when entering an order in OVERS.
Training on Triennial Reviews
The Center for Health Statistics is offering a training on Triennial Reviews. We will be covering what triennial reviews are as well as highlighting some of the questions in the review.
The training will be done using Microsoft Teams. There will be two trainings offered. One on March 29 at 9:00 am and the other on March 31 at 2:00 pm. As each session is identical, choose one day and time that works best for you.
If you have any questions about the training, contact the Vital Records Trainer at Kathy.Ellis@dhsoha.state.or.us.
What to Do if a Certifier's Signature is Missing
Counties continue to receive hybrid and fully paper death records from funeral homes. On occasion, the Center for Health Statistics receives one of these records from the county that is missing the certifier’s signature and/or date the record was signed. When this occurs, our office must physically send the record to the medical certifier to be signed and returned, which results in a significant delay of the registration of the record. There is a possibility that a family may be in possession of certificates that were issued from the county that are actually invalid due to the missing signature and/or date.
To avoid this oversight, it is important for the county to verify the record has been signed and dated by a medical certifier.
If the record has not been signed by a medical certifier the county should:
- Not register the record
- Not issue certified copies of the record
- Give the record back to the funeral home to obtain the certifier's signature
If certificates have been issued from records that were missing the date and/or signature of the medical certifier, the county needs to get them back from the applicant.
If you feel that your county could benefit from training about this or any other process, please contact Partner Services at CHS.PartnerServices@dhsoha.state.or.us.
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