• Birth Certificates are required to obtain a passport.birth marriage and death image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
  
  Our names identify who we are and the spelling of our name on certain documents should be accurate. Sometimes an error can occur when filling out a birth certificate, but this can be corrected by submitting a form addressing the problem. In some states, you do not have the legal right to change your name, so check with your state for its requirements before making an application for a name change.
  
  

Certification of Birth

• Also called Birth Certificate Correction or Petition for Name Change in different states, this is the form used to indicate what information you need changed on the birth certificate. At the present time, the form may be downloaded from the Department of Health's website, Vital Records Division.
  
  

Certification of Civil Status

• This form is necessary in cases where the father's name was not shown on the birth certificate because the mother was unmarried at the time of her child's birth. If she gets married and the child is still a minor and she wants to change the name on her child's certificate, the form is required to be signed by both parents in the presence of a notary.
  
  

Certified Copy of a Court Order

• If you are in a common law relationship and would like to have your name changed on your birth certificate to reflect your partner's name, you need to provide a certified copy of a Court Order. This form requires the signature of a judge along with a raised seal of the court.
  
  

Application Based on Parentage

• This form is required when a name change is requested based on parentage. If the courts determine through DNA testing that an individual is the father of a child, then the mother can have the name on her child's birth certificate changed to indicate the name of the father.