THEAITORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

Dr. W. A. Davis, State Registrar 

Bureau of Vital Statirtlcs 

Texas State Board of Health 

Austin 2, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-7001 

Re: Birth certificate8 for 

adopted children. 

Your request for our opinion on the above question reads a8 follows: 

"I am enclosing a photostatic copy of a letter received from 

Hon. Leland M. Johnson, Attorney at Law, Dallas, Texas, and also a 

copy of my reply, and a photoatatic copy of the birth certificate 

which was filed for the adopted child. 

"May I ask you to look over them carefully, and if I am in error In declining to falsify the birth certificate of this child by 

giving the place of adoption as the place of birth, will you please 

call my attention to it immediately." 

The letter to you from Honorable Leland M. Johnson reads as follows: 

"Please mail me a Birth Certificate for Darla Jan Clayton. 

"I recently wrote requesting a Certificate but apparently made 

the mistake of calling for a photostatic copy of a certificate which 

I had enclosed in my letter on the occasion, and you.responded by 

sending me a photostatic copy of a certificate which is of no use 

and benefit to my clients, the adopting parties. a,~ 

"You will find enclosed a photostatic copy for,which I wish 

to make this inquiry: 

"1. The adopting parents desire that the birth certificate 

show the child to be born in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, 

rather than Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. 18 that 

request met on the after-adoption certificate? 

"2, You will note on the photostatic copy enclosed that 

Items 20 and 21 are not answered, and should not the afteradoption certificate of birth show an answer of one (1) child? 
Dr. W. A. Davis, page 2 (0-7001,j 

"I herewith enclose my check for $0.50 for the Birth Certificate above requested. Piease mal,l same~to the writer." 

Your reply to said letter i,s as follows: 

"I have your letter of December 11. 

"You returned with that letter a photostatic copy of the 

birth record of Darla Jar: Clayton, the adopted child of Archie 

Davis Clayton and his wife. The certifi,cate shows that she was 

born March 18, 194,s in Louieville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. 

You also enclose your check No. ,331 for fifty cents, on the 

Texas Bank and Trust Compan,y, and state that the adopting parents desire the birth certificate to show that the child was 

born in Dallas, Dallas Cour.ty, Texas, where adopted, rather 

than in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, where the child 

was born. 

"Further, you ask that item 20 'number of children born to 

this mother including this birth' be shown as 1, and item 21 

'number of children born to this mother and now living' as 1. 

"The State Regi.strar was not preeent at either the birth 

or the adoption of this child a:nd can know nothing except what 

the records show. Upon the receipt of the adoption decree, the 

birth certificate for the adopted child is written so as to show 

the facts stated in the adoption decree, the report of adoption, 

and the information furnished relative to the adopting parente. 

"I cannot comply with the request of your clients and change 

the record so as to show ,the place of adoption as the place of 

birth, for that would be contradictory to all 3 of the documents 

previously filed. I cannot show that this was the first child 

born to this mother unless the statement furnished by the adopting parents carried .that information. 

"If this child is the natural child of either Mr. Clayton or 

Mrs. Clayton, then the form upon which the information was furnished relative to the adopting parents should have been changed 

so as to show that fact. This could have been done by etriking 

out the words 'by adoption' in the proper place. 

"As to items 20 and 21, if Darla Jan Clayton was born to 

Mrlr. Clayton, then items 20 and 21 should be filled out according to the facts. 

"I am sure that your clients after thinking the matter over 

will not insist that I substitute on the birth certificate the 

place of adoption for the place of birth, for such is not the 

case unless the other records are in error. 
Dr. W. A. Davis, page 3 (o-7001) 

“Since I cannot comply with your request, I am returning 

the fifty cents with this letter, and also the photostatic copy 

of the record issued December 6, 1945.” 

The photostatic copy of the birth certificate of the child referred 

to shows that said child w&a born in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. 

In our opinion, you were not in error in declining to give the place 

of adoption a8 the place of birth of said child, for the following reasons: 

Art. 46a, Sec. 1, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Statutes, provides in 

part as followB: 

“Any adult resident of thia State may petition the District 

Court in the Dietrict of his residence or In the District of the 

residence of the child to be adopted for leave to adopt a minor 

child; such petition shall set forth the facts relevant to petitioner and child, and be verified by the affidavit of the petitioner. * * *’ 

One of the facts relevant to the child that should be set forth In 

said petition is the place of birth of said child. 

Art. 4477, Rule 47a, Subdivision 26, is in p&t 88 follows: 

“Provided further upon entry of final order of adoption the 

Judge or Clerk of Court shall notify the Registrar of vital etatlstics in State Department of Health of action taken, giving the 

names and addreeses of the natural parents if known or of the 

child’s next kin, the date bf birth and name of such child before 

and after adoption and the name and addreaees ‘of foster parents. 

* * * Upon receipt of copy of any final order of adoption the 

State Registrar of Vital Statletics shall cause to be made a record of the birth in the new name or namea of the adopting parent8 

or parent.” 

Said Rule 47a’also providea a8 follows: 

“That the certificate of birth shall contain the following 

items, which are hereby declared nec~eseary for the legal, social, 

and sanitary purposes subserved by registration records; 

“(1) Place of birth, including State, county, precinct, 

town, or city. If in a city, the ward,’ street, @nd,houae number; 

if in a hoepital or other Institution, the name of the Bame to be 

given, instead of the etreet and house numb&.” 

We think it ie clear from the above provisions of the >statuteB that 

the actual place of birth of aatd child ir required to be stated in said certificate of tirth. There is no Buthority for eubstituting for the place of 
. ,. 

Dr. W. A. Davis, page 4 (o-7001) 

birth the place of adoption. This is tmJe for the additional reason that such 

change might interfere with the identificatl,on of such child and prevent said 

child from inheriting from its natural parents, though Section 9 of Art. 46a 

specifically provides tha% nothing in said law shall prevent an adopted child 

from inheriting from i,ta natural parents, and that all adopted children shall 

inherit from the adopted.as well aB its natural parenta. 

APPROVED JAN 22, 1946 

/a/ Carlo6 C. Ashley 

'FIIIST ASSISTAiQ 

ATTORNEY GENERAL ' 

Yom-e very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS 

By /B/ Jas. W. Baeaett 

Jas. W. Baesett 

Aselstant 

JWB:LJ:LM 

APPROVED 

OPINION 

COMMI!J.TEE 

BY /B/ EUE 

CHAIRMAN