Amended Birth Certificate (Encyclopedia)

An Amended Birth Certificate is issued by almost every court when an adoption is finalized. It shows the adoptive parent(s)' name(s) instead of the biological parents, and in some US jurisdictions, it even changes the place of birth to the location where the adoptive parents live.

The amended birth certificate is the legal birth certificate used by adopted persons all their lives... as identification, to get a passport, etc.

One exception in the U.S. (and there may be others) is the Navajo Nation. When a child is adopted, a certificate of adoption is issued, but there are no changes made to the birth certificate.