Section 146-2-6 - Methods of Amending CertificatesA. Recording Changes Except as otherwise directed by the state registrar, certificates of birth, marriage, death and fetal death shall be amended in the following manner:
1. Completing the item in any case where the item was left blank on the existing certificate.2. Drawing a single line through the item to be amended and inserting the new data immediately above or to the side thereof. The line drawn through the original entry shall not obliterate the entry.3. Labeling the record as "Amended" unless directed otherwise by sections 3, 4, 8 or 9 of this chapter.B. Annotating the Record 1. Except as provided elsewhere in this chapter, the item or items which have been changed or completed shall be filed with an asterisk.2. A notation indicating the documentation used as evidence for the change or completion and the date the amendment was made shall be entered in the margin of the certificate. Except as specified in section 3 ("Administrative Corrections"), section 4 ("Medical Examiner Cases"), section 8 ("Addition of Given Names on Birth Certificate"), section 9 ("Addition/Deletion of Father's Name on Birth Certificate"), and section 11 ("Legal Change of Sex"), the record shall be marked "Amended" and the marginal notation shall be placed so that it will become part of any copy issued.3. The application for correcting or completing a certificate shall be permanently maintained at the Office of Vital Statistics. Certificates or copies on file in municipal offices shall be handled as specified in subsection D of this section.4. The acknowledgment of paternity shall be permanently maintained at the Office of Vital Statistics. Copies on file in municipal offices shall be handled as specified in subsection D of this section.C. New Certificate Prepared 1. A new birth certificate showing only the new information shall be prepared when a legal change of sex has been established in accordance with section 11 of this chapter.2. The new certificate shall be prepared on the form in use at the time of birth. It shall be given the same State file number as the original record. Signatures appearing on the original record shall be indicated on the new certificate by typing the name and entering "/s/".3. When a new certificate is prepared pursuant to this subsection, the original certificate shall be held confidential and only the registrant or his or her other legal representative shall have access to the original record, except by court order.D. Municipal Records 1. Each custodian of a record for which an amendment has been approved shall record the changes and indicate the evidence supporting the changes as directed in subsections A, B, and C of this section.2. Information already entered on a record shall not be obliterated by erasure, correction fluid, tape, ink, or any other method except as specifically directed by the state registrar in accordance with section 3, subsection F and section 8, subsection C, paragraph 2 of this rule.3. Each custodian of an amended record shall file a copy of the approved application for correcting or completing a certificate, or the acknowledgment of paternity, with the amended record or in some manner which will provide for convenient reference.4. New certificates prepared in accordance with sections 6 and 11 of this chapter shall be handled as directed by the Office of Vital Statistics.10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 6