South Carolina H 4515: Birth Certificates

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4515 Text of Previous Version (May. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4515

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTIONS 44-63-20, 44-63-100, 44-63-150, AND 63-3-530, ALL RELATING IN PART TO 
CHANGES TO CERTIFICATES OF BIRTH, SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, 
CORRECTION, OR OTHER CHANGES TO THE GENDER OF INDIVIDUALS AS IT APPEARS ON THE 
ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH, WITH EXCEPTIONS; BY ADDING SECTION 44-63-155 SO 
AS TO ALLOW CERTAIN CORRECTIONS TO BE MADE TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES BY FILING A 
COURT PETITION REQUESTING AN APPROPRIATE COURT ORDER; BY AMENDING SECTION 
63-7-20, RELATING TO TERMS DEFINED IN THE CHILDREN'S CODE, SO AS TO CHANGE THE 
DEFINITION OF "CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT"; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 44-63-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
44-63-20. The Department of Public Health and Environmental Control shall establish a bureau of 
vital statistics and provide an adequate system for the registration and 
certification of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces by formulating, 
promulgating, and enforcing regulations prescribing the method and form of 
making the registration and certification. Notwithstanding 
another provision of law to the contrary, an individual's gender listed on an 
original certificate of birth cannot be amended, modified, corrected, or 
otherwise changed.

SECTION 2. Section 44-63-100 (A) and (D) of the S.C. Code is 
amended to read:

 (A) A petition may be filed in the 
South Carolina family court of petitioner's residence, or if petitioner no 
longer resides in South Carolina, in a court of competent jurisdiction in the 
state of petitioner's residence, for an order establishing a record of the name 
at birth, subsequent name changes, gender at birth, gender 
changes, date of birth, county of birth, and the full name of the mother 
prior to any marriages, and the full name of the biological father of the 
person whose birth is sought to be registered by way of a Delayed Certificate 
of Birth Established by Court Order.

 (D) 
The court shall determine, and the order must include, the registrant's name at 
birth, subsequent name changes, gender at birth, gender 
changes, the date of birth, the county of birth, the full name of the 
mother prior to any marriages, the full name of the biological father, and 
additional findings as the court considers necessary. The order also must 
include a description of the evidence presented to the court. The order must be 
forwarded by the clerk of court to the State Registrar no later than thirty 
days following the month in which the order was entered by the court.

SECTION 3. Section 44-63-150 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
44-63-150. (A) Correction of mistakes in birth and death certificates 
may be made by the state registrar upon written application duly verified and 
sworn to by the appropriate person as required by regulation and upon receipt 
of supporting evidence when required by regulation. Certificates corrected more 
than one year after the event must be marked "amended.". The state registrar shall certify the corrected 
certificate is the true certificate. Supporting affidavits of fact must be 
attached to the certificate corrected more than one year after the date of the 
event.

 (B) An individual's gender listed on 
an original certificate of birth may not be changed as a correction made 
pursuant to this section; provided, however, a clerical error made at the time 
of birth regarding a newborn's gender may be corrected within thirty days after 
issuance of the birth certificate.

SECTION 4. Chapter 63, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
44-63-155. A person may file a petition in the South Carolina family court of 
petitioner's residence, or if petitioner no longer resides in South Carolina, 
in a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of petitioner's residence, 
for an order establishing a record of a valid medical condition present at 
birth that is relevant to the record of birth, such as an anatomical condition 
where an individual is born with intersex traits.

SECTION 5. Section 63-3-530(A)(9) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (9) to hear and determine actions for 
the correction of birth records; provided, however, the 
court may not hear or determine actions to correct, amend, modify, or otherwise 
change the gender of an individual as listed on an original certificate of 
birth;

SECTION 6. Section 63-7-20(6)(a)(vi) and (vii) of the S.C. Code is 
amended to read:

 (vi) commits or allows to be committed 
against the child female genital mutilation as defined in Section 16-3-