SECTION 181.8. Supplemental Birth Certificates

(a) When a supplemental certificate of birth is prepared and filed based on adoption or paternity determination, a copy of the supplemental birth certificate shall be forwarded to each local registration official in whose office is recorded the original birth record of such child.

(b) Wherever possible, the local registration official shall remove from his or her files the original birth record and:

(1) Shred any paper birth records using a cross cut paper shredder; and

(2) Remove any birth records stored in electronic format from storage media using validated overwriting technologies and methods/tools that clear data using 1-3 overwrites in accordance with National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) "Guidelines for Media Sanitation" (Publication SP-800-88).

(c) Where it is not possible to remove the original birth record, the local registration official shall cancel such record in such manner as to preclude the disclosure of any information contained therein. In its place he or she shall substitute the supplemental certificate of birth.

(d) A certificate of adoption for a child born outside the State of Texas shall, when received by the Vital Statistics Unit be forwarded to the proper registration official of the state or territory in which such birth occurred. (For foreign adoptions, see §181.29 of this title (relating to Foreign Adoptions)).

(e) Where application is made for the filing of a supplemental certificate based on paternity, the applicant shall submit to the Vital Statistics Unit an Application for New Birth Certificate Based on Parentage (VS-166) signed by both parents in the presence of a Notary Public, and:

(1) a certified copy of the certificate of marriage indicating the subsequent marriage of the parents; or

(2) a copy of the Acknowledgment of Paternity (VS-159.1) that has been properly filed by the Vital Statistics Unit; or

(3) a certified copy of the court decree establishing paternity. If a court decree is presented, the Application for New Birth Certificate Based on Parentage only has to be signed by one of the parents in the presence of a Notary Public.

(4) a certified copy of the court decree establishing a gestational agreement. The Application for New Birth Certificate Based on Parentage must be signed by at least one parent in the presence of a Notary Public.

(f) Voluntary Paternity must have a written consent of both parents.

Source Note: The provisions of this §181.8 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; amended to be effective August 9, 1998, 23 TexReg 7809; amended to be effective July 3, 2003, 28 TexReg 4904; amended to be effective July 22, 2004, 29 TexReg 6936; amended to be effective August 11, 2013, 38 TexReg 4896