South Carolina H 3095: Birth Certificates

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3095 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3095

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 CHANGE TO THE GENDER OF AN INDIVIDUAL AS IT APPEARS ON THE 
ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH.

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. 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. An individual's 
gender listed on an original certificate of birth may not be corrected pursuant 
to this section 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.

SECTION 4. 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 5. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 10:01 AM