(a) If a delayed certificate of birth is rejected under § 68-3-308, a petition signed and sworn to by the petitioner may be filed with a court of competent jurisdiction for an order establishing a record of the date and place of the birth and the parentage of the person whose birth is to be registered.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-3-309

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • File: means to present a vital record provided for in this chapter for registration by the office of vital records. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Registration: means the acceptance by the office of vital records and the incorporation of vital records provided for in this chapter into its official records. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Vital records: means certificates or reports of birth, death, marriage, divorce or annulment and other records related thereto. See Tennessee Code 68-3-102
(b) The petition shall allege that:

(1) The person for whom a delayed certificate of birth is sought was born in this state;
(2) No certificate of birth can be found in the office of vital records; and
(3) Diligent efforts by the petitioner have failed to obtain the evidence required in accordance with § 68-3-308 and regulations adopted pursuant to § 68-3-308.
(c) The petition shall be accompanied by a statement of the state registrar made in accordance with § 68-3-308 and all documentary evidence that was submitted to the state registrar in support of registration.
(d) The court shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition and shall give the state registrar twenty-one (21) days’ notice of the time and place for hearing the petition. The state registrar or the state registrar’s authorized representative may appear and testify in the proceeding.
(e) If the court finds, from the evidence presented, that the person for whom a delayed certificate of birth is sought was born in this state, it shall make findings as to the place and date of birth, parentage, and other findings the case may require, and shall issue an order to establish a certificate of birth. This order shall include the birth data to be registered, a description of the evidence presented, and the date of the court’s action.
(f) The clerk of the court shall forward each order to the state registrar no later than forty (40) days from entry of the order. The order shall be registered by the state registrar and shall constitute the authority for placing a delayed certificate of birth on file.
(g) The person for whom the delayed certificate of birth is sought or the person’s parent or legal guardian shall sign the delayed certificate form furnished by the state registrar before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths, unless the registrant is deceased or deemed incompetent.
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