The judge or clerk must send certified adoption judgment copies within 10 days, and Vital Statistics must create and protect new birth records after adoption.
(a) Within 10 days of the final judgment being entered, the judge or the clerk of the court shall send a copy of the certified final judgment of adoption to the State Department of Human Resources electronically or by United States mail and shall send a copy of the certified final judgment of adoption to the Office of Vital Statistics electronically or by United States mail with the report of adoption in the format developed by the Office of Vital Statistics. (b) Upon receipt of a copy of a certified final judgment of adoption from the judge or the clerk of the court for an individual born in this state, the Office of Vital Statistics shall prepare a new record of birth reflecting the registrant’s new name and the name of each adoptive parent as contained in the final judgment and report of adoption. The Office of Vital Statistics shall then place the evidence of adoption along with the original certificate of birth in a sealed file. A Certificate of Foreign Birth and sealed file, upon request, shall be created for a foreign-born individual adopted in a court in this state as provided in Section 22-9A-12(i). (c) The new certificate of birth shall be prepared on the form or in the format prescribed by the Office of Vital Statistics following the requirements in Section 22-9A-12, Section 22-9A-19, and Title 420 of the Alabama Administrative Code, or any other rule adopted by the State Board of Health. (d) There shall be no more than two parents listed on a new or amended birth certificate. If two parents are designated in the final judgment of adoption, those individuals are required to be married to each other at the time the final judgment of adoption is entered. (e) A new certificate of birth shall be prepared by the Office of Vital Statistics in accordance with the current laws and rules of this state following a final judgment of adoption being entered in another state, the District of Columbia, a territory of the United States, or a foreign country. (f) Except as otherwise provided by Section 22-9A-12(c), after the new birth certificate has been filed, the original birth certificate and the evidence of adoption are not subject to inspection except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction for good cause shown.