You can request a birth certificate correction or change by mail.

Cost

There's a non-refundable $40 application processing fee to make most corrections. If you requested that multiple items be corrected, and those types of corrections have fees, you only have to pay a total of $40.

Payment Methods

You must pay by check or money order payable to "NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene."

Address

Mail your completed application to:

Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
125 Worth Street, Room 133
New York, NY 10013

Application

Online

Download a Birth Certificate Correction Application.

By Mail

Request by phone that a paper copy be mailed to you.

Due to COVID-19 in-person ordering of birth certificates is suspended until further notice.

You can check the status of a birth certificate correction or change if you submitted your request more than one month ago. If the hospital submitted the correction for you, the status will be available immediately.

Before you can change the name on your birth certificate, you have to change your legal name with the courts.

To learn how to change your name, go to the Name Change page.

After you've made a legal name change, you can ask the Department of Health to update your birth certificate by completing and submitting a Birth Certificate Correction Application.

With your application, you must submit a certified court order that includes:

• Your old name
• Your new legal name
• Date of birth
• Place of birth

Download a Birth Certificate Correction Application.

The process for adding the name of another parent to a birth certificate (typically the father) depends on the marital status of the mother. Married same-sex parents can also add their names to the birth certificate.

Marriage records and other documents must be submitted. In cases where the parent has been married more than once, you must also submit divorce records.

You can get information about specific situations on the Birth Certificate Correction Application.

Download a Birth Certificate Correction Application.

Acknowledgment of Paternity

After a baby is born, an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) form is given to unmarried birth mothers at the hospital if they want to add the father's name to the newborn's birth certificate. If the form is completed in the hospital at the time of birth, the father's name will appear on the baby's birth certificate.

If you aren't married to the father of your baby and you didn't complete the form at the hospital, you can still add the father's name to the certificate up until the child's 21st birthday by submitting the AOP form by mail to the Vital Records Office.

How to File

You can mail the form at:

Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
125 Worth Street, Room 133
New York, NY 10013

Processing

You will receive a copy of the AOP within two weeks.

Cost

There is no fee for this service.

Form

Online

Download an Acknowledgment of Paternity Form.

By Mail

You can change the gender marker on your birth certificate by completing a Birth Certificate Correction Application and providing a statement from a medical provider or other health official.

Download a Birth Certificate Correction Application.

If you have any questions, send an email to correctionsunit2@health.nyc.gov.