Birth Certificates

2025-2026 Bill 5487: Birth Certificates - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5487
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. C. Mitchell
Document Path: LC-0496VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 1, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
Summary: Birth Certificates
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/1/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 8
)

4/1/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 8
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/01/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION
44-63-140
, RELATING TO SUPPLEMENTARY
OR AMENDED BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR ADOPTED PERSONS, SO AS TO ALLOW AN ADOPTED
PERSON EIGHTEEN YEARS OR OLDER TO RECEIVE A COPY OF THE PERSON'S ORIGINAL BIRTH
CERTIFICATE UPON SUBMITTING A WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE STATE REGISTRAR; AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-63-140
(1) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
1)
(
a) For a person born in this State,
the state registrar shall prepare a supplementary Certificate of Birth in the
name of the adoptee, free of any reference to or indication of the fact that
the child was adopted and showing the adoptive parents as the parents, except
that an adoption of an adult must display the words "By Adoption" on the face
of the amended certificate.

(
b)
(
i) The original birth certificate and
the evidence of adoption are not subject to inspection, except upon order of a
court of competent jurisdiction or as provided in this subitem.

(
ii)
A person eighteen years of age or older who was born in the State of South
Carolina and who has had his original certificate of birth sealed due to an
adoption may, upon written request to the state registrar, receive a copy of
his original birth certificate and any evidence of the adoption held with the
original record, regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized
.
, if:

(
A) a biological parent has completed
a form consenting to the release of the original birth certificate or has
provided notarized written consent to the release of the original birth
certificate; or

(
B) the adoptee brings to the
department a certification from the department or an office of vital records in
another jurisdiction certifying that a biological parent is deceased.

This provision
allows adoptees who have reached the age of eighteen to access a copy of their
original birth certificate and accompanying evidence of adoption with the
consent of a biological parent, or if a biological parent is deceased, and
applies retroactively, regardless of the date on which the adoption was
finalized.

(
iii)
The form referenced in subitem (b)(ii) also must allow for a
biological parent to indicate contact preference and to consent to release of
medical history pursuant to item (1)(c).
The copy of the original birth
certificate must be in a form that clearly indicates it is not a certified copy
and that it may not be used for legal purposes. All procedures, fees, and
waiting periods applicable to nonadopted citizens born in the State of South
Carolina seeking copies of certificates of birth apply.

(
iv) Whenever an adoptee who has
reached the age of eighteen applies for a copy of his original birth
certificate and accompanying evidence of adoption, the department shall redact
from the copy all information as to any biological parent that has not given
consent in accordance with this section, unless certified as deceased.

(
c)
The department shall develop a contact preference form and a medical history
form to provide to a biological parent upon request to be completed at his
option. Upon completion, a contact preference form and a medical history form
must be filed with the state registrar and accompany an original sealed birth
certificate issued to an adoptee pursuant to subitem (b).

(
d)
(
i)
The contact preference form must allow the biological
parent to indicate whether he has completed or updated a medical history form
and must allow the biological parent to choose one of the following contact
options and provide contact information as appropriate:

(1)
(
A)
I would like to be
contacted.

(2)
(
B)
I would prefer to be
contacted only through an intermediary.

(3)
(
C)
I prefer not to be
contacted at this time. If I decide later that I would like to be contacted, I
will submit an updated contact preference form to the state registrar.

(
ii)
Only department staff
authorized to process applications made pursuant to subitem (b) may process
contact preference and medical history forms.

(
e)
(
i)
The medical history form and contact preference form
are confidential communications from the biological parent to the person named
on the sealed birth certificate and must be placed in a sealed file upon
receipt from the biological parent in the file containing the sealed original
birth certificate.

(
ii)
The sealed file
containing the contact preference form and medical history form must be
released to an adoptee requesting the adoptee's own original birth certificate
pursuant to subitem (b).

(
iii)
The contact preference
form and medical history form are private communications from the biological
parent to the adoptee named on the sealed birth certificate, and the state
registrar shall retain a copy of the forms upon release to the adoptee.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on April 1, 2026 at 12:10 PM