When does the adoptive family receive the childs birth certificate?
The birth certificate is not processed by the court which finalizes the adoption. Instead, as soon as the adoption is finalized, the court sends a written notice to the vital statistics department of the state of the child’s birth. The notice confirms that the adoption has been completed and requests the issuance of a revised birth certificate showing the adoptive child’s “new” name, if applicable, and also showing the adoptive parent(s) as the legal parent(s). The birth certificate is oftentimes mailed directly to the adoptive family within 30–90 days after finalization. If the child was born in New York, there will be no charge for a certified copy of the amended birth record. However, in certain cases the birth certificate is not generated automatically: • Birth certificate of a child not born in New York state: As noted above, the vital statistics department of the state of the child’s birth is notified and makes the appropriate changes to the birth record. However, in most cases,
