This All County Letter provides updated guidance on hospital registration of courtesy birth certificates.
Per Health and Safety Code (HSC) section
102405, a hospital is responsible for registering all births that occur at their facility with the local registrar. A “courtesy birth certificate” is when a hospital prepares a birth certificate for a child when the birth occurs out-of-hospital in the same local registration district, shortly before arrival at the hospital or on the way to the hospital. The hospital preparing these birth certificates does so as a courtesy to the parent(s) and prevents the need for parents to work with the local registrar to register the birth later.
Each hospital and local registration district should consult with their legal counsel to determine whether they wish to register courtesy birth certificates. Otherwise, HSC section
102415 requires the physician or midwife in attendance at the birth, or if none, then one of the parents to register the birth with the local registrar. There is no requirement for a hospital to register an out-of-hospital birth.
If the birth did not occur shortly before arriving at the hospital, it occurred outside the hospital’s local registration district, or if the hospital declines to prepare a birth certificate for an out-of-hospital birth, parents should be advised to contact the local registrar in the district where the birth occurred to register the birth. The hospital is encouraged to provide information to parents that will help with local registration. A list of the local registrars and their contact information is available at the following link:
Signing as a Certifier
HSC section 102405 authorizes the signature of a certifier other than the attendant on a birth certificate when a birth occurs in a hospital or state-licensed alternative birth center. Hospital administrators or their written designees are not authorized to certify out-of-hospital births when an attendant is not available to sign the birth certificate. Therefore, if a hospital chooses to register a courtesy birth certificate, a certifier cannot be used. The Electronic Birth Registration System (EBRS) will be updated to prevent hospital users from certifying out-of-hospital births and changing the jurisdiction of birth in a future update.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact the CDPH-VR Birth and Marriage Registration Unit at (916) 445-8494 or EBRSHelp@cdph.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Original signed by:
Romeo Amian
Romeo Amian
State Registrar
Deputy Director
Vital Records and Statistics Division
California Department of Public Health