Birth Registration Information
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The Vital Records Act, Minnesota Statutes, sections 144.211 to 144.227, and Minnesota Rules, chapter 4601, define requirements related to birth registration and fetal death reporting in Minnesota. The following is a description of requirements by selected topic.
Adding the Father to a Birth Record
Births and Fetal Deaths that Occur in a Moving Conveyance
Birth Registration - Filing Requirements
Birth Registration - Hospital Responsibility
Birth Registration - Information Required
Correcting or Amending a Birth Record
Correcting or Amending a Fetal Death Report
Fetal Death Reporting
Safe Place Newborn
Intentionally False Statements - Birth Registration or Fetal Death Report
Social Security Numbers in the Birth Registration Process
Adding the Birth Father to a Birth Record
If the parents are married or were married within 280 days of the birth, there is a presumption of paternity according to Minnesota Statutes, section 257.55 and the husband is added as the birth father on the birth record.
If the parents are not married and there is no presumption of paternity according to Minnesota Statutes, section 257.55, Minnesota Statutes, section 144.215, subdivision 3, and Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0600, subpart 5, require a court order, recognition of parentage or declaration of parentage to add the birth father's information to the birth record. This process establishes the last name of the child.
According to Minnesota Statutes, section 257.75, if the mother is married but not to the birth father, the husband may complete a Husband's Non-Paternity Statement and the birth father and mother may complete a Recognition of Parentage.
Births and Fetal Deaths that Occur in a Moving Conveyance
According to Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0700, when a birth occurs in a moving conveyance and the child is first removed from the conveyance in Minnesota, the birth must be registered in Minnesota and the place where the child is first removed is considered the place of birth to be reported on the birth record.
According to part 4601.2200, subpart 2, when a fetus is delivered in a moving conveyance and the fetus is first removed from the conveyance in Minnesota, the place of delivery to be reported on the fetal death report is the place where the fetus is first removed.
Birth Registration - Filing Requirements
Minnesota Statutes, section 144.215, subdivision 1, require that a birth record be filed with the state registrar for each live birth within five days after the birth.
According to Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0900, if a birth record is filed more than one year after the birth, the hospital administrator or the administrator's designee must submit a completed documentation of birth form and a notarized statement substantiating the fact of birth and documenting the reason for the delay in filing the birth record.
Birth Registration - Hospital Responsibility
Minnesota Statutes, section 144.215, subdivision 5, and Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0600, subpart 1, assign the responsibility to file the birth record to the hospital administrator or the administrator's designee if the birth occurs in or en route to the hospital.
Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0600, subpart 2, require that a physician or certified nurse midwife present at or immediately after the birth file the birth record for a birth that did not occur in the hospital.
Birth Registration - Information Required
Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0600, subpart 4, require the information prescribed on the Documentation of Birth form to be filed for each birth.
The state registrar may waive a birth information requirement if the person filing the birth record can demonstrate that:
"(1) the information is not available through reasonable inquiries;
(2) providing the information endangers the safety of the mother or child;
(3) the mother of the child refuses to provide the information; or
(4) the services of a health care provider were not used for prenatal care or delivery."
The following information must be provided:
"(1) date and county of birth;
(2) child's sex;
(3) birth order if multiple birth; and
(4) first name, middle name, and maiden surname of mother."
Correcting or Amending a Birth Record
According to Minnesota Statutes, section 144.226, paragraph (d), the fee for processing a request for the amendment of any vital record is $40. The fee is payable at the time of application and is nonrefundable. No fee shall be charged for a correction requested before issuance and within one year of the birth.
Health information on the birth record may be corrected at any time if requested by the person who filed the record. There is no fee to correct health information.
Correcting or Amending a Fetal Death Report
According to Minnesota Rules, part 4601.2200, subpart 4, the person who filed the fetal death report may submit a request to the state registrar to correct information on a fetal death report. The State Registrar waives the fee to correct a fetal death report.
Fetal Death Reporting
Minnesota Statutes, section 144.222, subdivision 1, require that each fetal death be reported within five days to the state registrar as prescribed by rule.
Subdivision 1 also requires 1)the hospital administrator or that person's authorized designee to file a fetal death report for the death of a fetus for whom 20 or more weeks of gestation have elapsed if a fetus is delivered in or en route to the hospital; and 2) that a physician or certified nurse midwife present at or immediately after the fetal death file the fetal death report for a fetal death that did not occur in the hospital.
Induced terminations of pregnancy must be reported according to Minnesota Statutes, section 145.4131, and are not to be reported as fetal deaths.
Safe Place Newborn
A hospital, urgent care medical services provider or an ambulance service is a ‘safe place’ according to Minnesota Statutes, section 145.902. An unharmed newborn given up to a safe place by a mother or a person with the mother’s permission is a ‘safe place newborn.’ Hospital staff may ask about the medical histories of the mother and newborn; but not the identity of the mother or the person leaving the newborn. The mother or person leaving the newborn is not required to provide any information.
A hospital caring for a safe place newborn must complete the Birth Registration Information for Safe Place Newborns or Foundlings (PDF) form along with the Worksheet for creating your child’s birth record (PDF) and the Birth Record Medical Information (PDF) usually completed for births in the hospital. Fax all three forms to the Office of Vital Records. The hospital must not enter any information into Minnesota Registration & Certification (MR&C). The Office of Vital Records will determine the newborn’s birth registration status and register the birth if necessary.
The hospital must notify the responsible social service agency within 24 hours of receiving the safe place newborn.
Making an Intentionally False Statement - Birth Registration or Fetal Death Report
According to Minnesota Statutes, section 144.227, a person who intentionally makes a false statement in a fetal death report is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who intentionally makes a false statement in a birth registration or who intentionally supplies false information for a birth registration is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
Social Security Numbers in the Birth Registration Process
Minnesota Statutes, section 144.215, subdivision 4, require parents to provide their social security numbers at the time the birth is registered. The social security numbers may be used for the establishment of parentage and the enforcement of child support obligations by the Department of Human Services.
Parents' social security numbers are also requested if the parents wish to request a social security number for their child through the birth registration process (i.e., the Social Security Administration's Enumeration at Birth program). If "Request SSN" is answered yes in MR&C, a social security number is automatically requested for the child when the birth record is filed.