1999 Minnesota Statutes

     144.215 Birth registration. 

    Subdivision 1.    When and where to file.  A certificate 
 of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be 
 filed with the state registrar or the local registrar of the 
 district in which the birth occurred, within five days after the 
 birth. 

    Subd. 2.    Rules governing birth registration.  The 
 commissioner shall establish by rule an orderly mechanism for 
 the registration of births including at least a designation for 
 who must file the birth certificate, a procedure for registering 
 births which occur in moving conveyances, and a provision 
 governing the names of the parent or parents to be entered on 
 the birth certificate. 

    Subd. 3.    Father's name; child's name.  In any case in 
 which paternity of a child is determined by a court of competent 
 jurisdiction, a declaration of parentage is executed under 
 section 257.34, or a recognition of parentage is executed under 
 section 257.75, the name of the father shall be entered on the 
 birth certificate.  If the order of the court declares the name 
 of the child, it shall also be entered on the birth 
 certificate.  If the order of the court does not declare the 
 name of the child, or there is no court order, then upon the 
 request of both parents in writing, the surname of the child 
 shall be that of the father. 

    Subd. 4.    Social security number registration.  (a) 
 Parents of a child born within this state shall give their 
 social security numbers to the office of vital statistics at the 
 time of filing the birth certificate, but the numbers shall not 
 appear on the certificate. 

    (b) The social security numbers are classified as private 
 data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12, on 
 individuals, but the office of vital statistics shall provide 
 the social security number to the public authority responsible 
 for child support services upon request by the public authority 
 for use in the establishment of parentage and the enforcement of 
 child support obligations. 

    Subd. 5.    Births occurring in an institution.  When a 
 birth occurs in an institution or en route to an institution, 
 the person in charge of the institution or that person's 
 authorized designee shall obtain the personal data required 
 under this section and shall prepare the certificate of birth.  
 For purposes of this section, "institution" means a hospital or 
 other facility that provides childbirth services. 

    Subd. 6.    Births occurring outside an institution.  
 When a birth occurs outside of an institution as defined in 
 subdivision 5, the certificate of birth shall be prepared and 
 filed by one of the following persons, in the indicated order of 
 preference: 

    (1) the physician present at the time of the birth or 
 immediately thereafter; 

    (2) in the absence of a physician, a person present at the 
 time of the birth or immediately thereafter; 

    (3) the father or mother of the child; or 

    (4) in the absence of the father and if the mother is 
 unable, the person with primary responsibility for the premises 
 where the child was born. 

    Subd. 7.    Evidence required to register a noninstitution 
 birth within the first year of birth.  When a birth occurs in 
 this state outside of an institution, as defined in subdivision 
 5, and the birth certificate is filed before the first birthday, 
 evidence in support of the facts of birth shall be required when 
 neither the state nor local registrar has personal knowledge 
 regarding the facts of birth.  Evidence shall be presented by 
 the individual responsible for filing the certificate under 
 subdivision 6.  Evidence shall consist of proof that the child 
 was born alive, proof of pregnancy, or evidence of the mother's 
 presence in this state on the date of the birth.  If the 
 evidence is not acceptable, the state registrar shall advise the 
 applicant of the reason for not filing a birth certificate and 
 shall further advise the applicant of the right of appeal to a 
 court of competent jurisdiction. 

    HIST: 1978 c 699 s 5; 1980 c 589 s 28; 1Sp1993 c 1 art 6 s 
 1,2; 1997 c 205 s 20; 1997 c 228 s 6-8