Article 5. Amendment Of Birth Certificate To Delete Racial Slurs of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 102. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 11. >> Article 5.

The purpose of this article is to provide a remedy for correction of birth certificates that contain entries regarding race or color that, in the opinion of the registrant, constitute racial slurs or are otherwise offensive.

Any person who was born in this state and whose birth is registered in this state may apply to the State Registrar for the establishment and issuance of a new birth certificate and the sealing of the original if the person certifies that the entry or entries in the original birth certificate regarding race or color contain a term or terms that in the opinion of the registrant, constitute racial slurs or are otherwise offensive. The application shall identify the offensive terms to be deleted and indicate the proper entries for race or color to be substituted. The determination as to whether the entries to be deleted are offensive shall be left to the judgment of the applicant and the State Registrar shall give deference to that determination.

Upon receipt of the application and payment of the required fee, the State Registrar shall establish a new birth certificate for the person.

The entry for race or color in the new certificate shall be as indicated in the application. No reference shall be made in the new birth certificate that it is not the original birth certificate of the registrant. The new birth certificate shall supplant any birth certificate previously registered for the registrant and shall be the only birth certificate open to public inspection.

The State Registrar shall transmit a certified copy of a birth certificate newly established under this article to the registrant without additional charge.

When a new birth certificate is established pursuant to this article, the State Registrar shall inform the local registrar and the county recorder whose records contain copies of the original certificate, who shall forward the copies to the State Registrar for filing with the original certificate, if it is practical for him or her to do so. If it is impractical for him or her to forward the copy to the State Registrar, he or she shall effectually seal a cover over the copy in a manner as not to deface or destroy the copy and forward a verified statement of his or her action to the State Registrar.