Iowa Code § 144.13 — IA Code / Title IV / Chapter 144 / Section 144.13
Birth certificates.
Status: in_force

(1) Certificates of births shall be filed as follows:

(1) (a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed as directed by the state registrar within seven days after the birth and shall be registered by the county registrar if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this chapter.

(1) (b) When a birth occurs in an institution or en route to an institution, the person in charge of the institution or the person’s designated representative, shall obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, and file the certificate as directed by the state registrar. The physician in attendance or the person in charge of the institution or the person’s designee shall certify to the facts of birth either by signature or as otherwise authorized by rule and provide the medical information required by the certificate within seven days after the birth.

(1) (c) When a birth occurs outside an institution and not en route to an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:

(1) (c) The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth.

(1) (c) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth.

(1) (c) The father or the mother.

(1) (c) The person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred. The state registrar shall establish by rule the evidence required to establish the facts of birth.

(1) (d) The state registrar may share information from birth certificates for the sole purpose of identifying those children in need of immunizations.

(1) (e) If an affidavit of paternity is obtained directly from the county registrar and is filed pursuant to section 252A.3A the county registrar shall forward the original affidavit to the state registrar.

(2) If the mother was married at the time of conception, birth, or at any time during the period between conception and birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as determined by the court shall be entered by the department.

(3) If the mother was not married at the time of conception, birth, and at any time during the period between conception and birth, the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of birth, unless a determination of paternity has been made pursuant to section 252A.3, in which case the name of the father as established shall be entered by the department. If the father is not named on the certificate of birth, no other information about the father shall be entered on the certificate.

(4) The state registrar shall make all of the following available to child support services, upon request:

(4) (a) A copy of a child’s birth certificate.

(4) (b) The social security numbers of the mother and the father.

(4) (c) A copy of the affidavit of paternity if filed pursuant to section 252A.3A and any subsequent rescission form which rescinds the affidavit.

(4) (d) Information, other than information for medical and health use only, identified on a child’s birth certificate or on an affidavit of paternity filed pursuant to section 252A.3A. The information may be provided as mutually agreed upon by the state registrar and child support services, including by automated exchange.

(5) A certificate of birth filed under this section shall include a designation of the sex of the person. “Sex” for purposes of this chapter means the same as defined in section 4.1A. If the sex of the child cannot be determined at birth, the time period for filing a certificate of birth shall be extended for a period of no more than six months to allow the parents to obtain any diagnosis or testing from a health care provider as defined in section 144.29A, subsection 7, paragraph “a”, that is necessary to determine the child’s sex.

[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §2397, 2398, 2399, 2400, 2401; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §144.12 – 144.16; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §144.13]88 Acts, ch 1158, §36; 90 Acts, ch 1052, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1097, §2; 93 Acts, ch 79, §9; 93 Acts, ch 116, §1; 94 Acts, ch 1171, §2, 3; 95 Acts, ch 94, §1; 97 Acts, ch 159, §10 – 12; 97 Acts, ch 175, §223 – 225; 99 Acts, ch 141, §16; 2017 Acts, ch 54, §76; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §251; 2025 Acts, ch 1, §3