(1) Any requested or ordered amendment to a filed vital record must be submitted in writing to the department's office of vital statistics for processing. On receipt of a request or court order, the department shall immediately notify the appropriate county clerk and recorder to suspend certification of the affected record until the department issues a letter of correction.

(2) With the exception noted in (4) , a filed original vital record must be amended by placing a line through the information to be amended and typing the new information above the line. Electronic records must be amended by overlaying the new information on all electronic images of the record used for certified copies. Any certified copy issued in the state after an amendment will be marked "ALTERED".

(3) The documentation that justifies the alteration of a vital record must be made available upon request to any person receiving a certified copy.

(4) In the case of adoption, establishment of paternity or legitimation, a new certificate, which does not indicate that it was altered, will replace the original birth certificate. In order to establish the replacement certificate, the department must be provided with a certified copy of the certificate of adoption, a certified copy of the final order of adoption, a certified copy of the court order establishing paternity, or an acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents and notarized. The child's name, as it appears on the original certificate, the child's date of birth and, if available, the county of birth must also be provided.

(5) Except in the cases cited in (4) , amendment of a registrant's given names or surnames on a birth certificate may be made only if the department receives a certified copy of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction. The court order or request that directs the name change must include the registrant's name as it appears on the certificate, the registrant's date of birth and, if available, the county of birth, parents' names including mother's maiden name and information sufficient to locate and identify the record to be altered. If the order from the court directs the issuance of a new certificate that does not show amendments, the new certificate will not indicate on its face that it was altered.

(6) The sex of a registrant as cited on a certificate may be amended only if the department receives a certified copy of the order of a court of competent jurisdiction indicating that the sex of an individual born in Montana has been changed by surgical procedure. The order must contain sufficient information for the department to locate the record. If the registrant's name is also to be changed, the court order must indicate the full name of the registrant as it appears on the birth certificate and the full name to which it is to be altered. Any certified copy issued after the amendment must indicate it was altered.

(7) In cases other than those cited in (4) through (6) , the department may amend any portion of a vital record if a requestor submits a correction affidavit that includes the following:

(a) the name of the registrant or registrants appearing on the record;

(b) the date and place of birth, death, or fetal death or date and place of marriage or marital termination;

(c) the specific items on the record that are to be changed, including the information as presently shown and the correct information;

(d) the relationship of the affiant to the registrant;

(e) certification by the affiant that all affected parties concur in the changes, and that the affiant assumes the responsibility of supplying irrefutable proof that the changes are correct. If not all parties agree to the changes, an order of a court of competent jurisdiction directing that the changes be made is required;

(f) the names and addresses of the concurring affected parties referred to in (7) (e) ; and

(g) the notary's statement, signature and seal.

(8) Any subsequent change to information previously altered through this process will require an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.