Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
Post Reply
User avatar
ericataylor22
Rookie
Rookie
Posts: 38
Joined: 05 Sep 2010, 00:39

Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Post by ericataylor22 »

So back in 1911 the State of PA royally screwed up my grandfather's birth certificate and gave him, and his parents the incorrect last name, but everything else is correct. I now need to correct this information and it requires a court order.

How do I go about getting a court order in the State of PA? Also mind you, I don't live there.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this is the last and most important document needed for my consulate meeting in Feb. 2012!!!!!
alm
Rookie
Rookie
Posts: 49
Joined: 12 Jun 2011, 23:25

Re: Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Post by alm »

I have the exact same problem and went to the office of vital records in Harrisburg today and asked how to correct it. They told me the only way to change a birth certificate of a deceased person is with a court order.

So it doesn't look good for my case either. Although in my case I'm applying F-GF and it's my grandmother's name that's wrong, not GF's.
JJ313
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 159
Joined: 07 Aug 2011, 06:25

Re: Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Post by JJ313 »

Take a look at the following post on another forum for amending documents via a court order.

http://expatsinitaly.com/phpbbforum/vie ... f=7&t=9203
User avatar
corrado
Elite
Elite
Posts: 382
Joined: 12 Dec 2006, 00:00
Location: Queens NY

Re: Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Post by corrado »

wow JJ that is very usefull. For us do-it-yourself types.
846newyorker
Rookie
Rookie
Posts: 50
Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 22:16

Re: Birth Certificate name change - HELP!

Post by 846newyorker »

I am also about to go through the process of having a Pennsylvania birth certificate changed. According to other responders on this site in earlier posts, you need to petition a court in the county of your grandfather's birth. The steps I am about to go through in the coming weeks (with any luck) but have not started, so I can't provide more insight:
- Get a lawyer in the county of my grandfather's birth
- Have lawyer submit a petition to change the birth certificate explaining all the proof, along with a proposed court order actually changing the certificate (which the judge will then sign or not).
- Send the signed court order to Vital Records to process the change.

I will be submitting the following documents as proof: baptism record, social security application, military record, passport application, marriage certificate, death certificate.

(On a side note of pure speculation, I strongly suspect that the problems in PA are often caused by sloppy transcription errors from the originals to the computer extract. And since Vital Records will not allow you to see the original hand/typewritten copy without a court order, or so they told me, there's no way of verifying this without going to a judge.)
Post Reply