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PROBATE COURT OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO

NEW CASE GUIDELINES – E-FILE CORRECTION OF BIRTH RECORD

Documents Required with Your E-Filing

Application:

Application for Correction of Birth Record (CCPC_HEA 2783) (MUST be typed complete with ink signatures, notarized and ink-signed by notary)

Certified copy of an Ohio birth record (preferred) or Birth Certificate

Affidavits Supporting Application (submitted in place of Affiant’s testimony at Court):

Two (2) Supporting Affidavits (CCPC_HEA 2783A) of attending physician (at time of birth), AND/OR

persons, relatives, or non-relatives having personal knowledge of the facts stated in the attached application.

• If only one (1) Affidavit can be obtained, then Applicant must submit at least three (3) documents supporting

the facts claimed in the Application.

• If no Affidavit can be obtained, then at least four (4) documents supporting the facts are required.

All affidavits must be ink-signed by Affiant, and ink-signed by notary.

*Applicants who submit documents notarized by an out-of-state notary MUST also submit a notary’s Certificate of Authenticity attached to the Affidavit.

Documents Supporting Facts Stated in the Application:

Two (2) Supplemental Documents in support of Application (in addition to Supporting Affidavits) The Court will accept items from the following list of documents as evidence of the place and date of birth, and the

parentage of the applicant (or minor child of the applicant), and any other facts alleged on the Application:

• Attending physician’s or midwife’s certificate of record at time of birth

• Baptismal Record showing date, place of birth, parents’ names

• Certificate of birth, or death, of a sibling child of Applicant (to verify a parent’s name for correction)

• Certified Marriage Application (not the marriage license) listing place and date of birth and parentage

• Copy of Applicant’s parent’s birth certificate (to verify a parent’s name for correction)

• For a minor child, Hospital or Medical Records (e.g. Immunization Records) verifying vital information

• Letterhead statement from Hospital where applicant or minor was born, listing vital information—and that the hospital made an error on the original birth record

• To correct the sex designation on the birth record of a minor (or an adult, prior to any sexual reassignment procedures) the applicant must present a letterhead statement from a hospital or physician indicating an error was made by the hospital or physician at the time of birth

• Honorable Discharge or Certificate of Release from Active Duty U.S. Armed Forces (DD 214)

• Naturalization record of Applicant’s parents

• School records or transcripts, with an original signature from the records secretary indicating date of birth or age at given time (obtained from the Board of Education)

• Copy of Social Security form SS-5 (microfilm printout of your original Application) Copy of Social Security Numident (computer extract of your SS Application) For more information, contact your local Social Security office, or https://www.ssa.gov/foia/request.html

For questions about forms of evidence, please contact the Probate Court Marriage department at (216) 443-8921.

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Information about Your Hearing:

If a Hearing is scheduled:

• You MUST bring the Original Paper Documents to your Hearing

• Applicants who reside in Ohio MUST appear in person at Court Filing Status Notifications:

• If the filing is accepted, you will receive notification by email

• If a hearing is scheduled, you will receive a Notice of Hearing by regular mail within 3 - 5 business days

• If the filing is NOT accepted, you will receive notification of the reason for rejection by email Corrected filings may be resubmitted within 72 hours. After 72 hours, you must file a new case

Quick Steps for Filing:

1. Review the Filing Guide for Correction of Birth Record.

2. Create a Probate Court E-File Account at the E-File Account Registration page.

3. Login to your Probate Court E-File Account.

4. Download, complete, sign, and save to your PC all required E-File forms. (Application and Supporting Affidavits)

5. Scan to your PC each separate document of Evidence Supporting the Application (Attach the Birth Certificate using the designated docket code.) (Separate and attach each additional supporting document as a Supplemental Document.)

6. Submit the filing to receive a confirmation number. Please keep this confirmation for your records.

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Go to the Electronic Filing Home Page. Read the Terms of Use, the Policies and Procedures, and the

E-File User’s Guide.

Select E-File Forms and find the Application for Correction of Birth Record (CCPC_HEA 2783).

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Complete the Application for Correction of Birth Record (CCPC_HEA 2783) and supporting Affidavits (CCPC_HEA2783A) and save them to your PC to upload later. All facts must be given as of time of birth (Affidavits should be printed in order to be ink-signed and notarized, then scanned to your PC for attachment in later steps.) Documents must be TYPED. Handwritten documents will be rejected.

Once the signed Application and other E-File Forms are saved to your PC, return to the Electronic Filing Home Page. If you have a registered E-File Account, Login at the E-File Gateway and continue to page 7. If you do not have an E-File Account, select E-File Registration and complete all required fields as shown on page 5.

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Create An E-File Account. Your request will be reviewed within 72 hours. Notice of account approval will be sent to your email.

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Go to the E-File Gateway and Login to your E-File Account.

Login using your Login ID (email address) and your Password.

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Go to the E-Filing Tab>File A New Case

For Case Category select CIVIL/MISCELLANEOUS. For Type of Filing select CORRECTION OF BIRTH RECORD. In the Case Title field, enter the full current name of the adult or minor for whom the Correction of Birth Record is sought. Note to Clerk is an optional field for brief notes or questions for the E-File clerk. (DO NOT use this field to present facts or questions relevant to your hearing.)

Selecting Save will retain the filing with an Incomplete status and assigns an active Confirmation number. (Use this option if you wish to stop here and complete your filing at a later time.)

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Selecting Save and Proceed retains the filing, assigns an active Confirmation number, and advances you to the ADD PARTY MEMBERS screen. Complete ADD PARTY MEMBERS and click Save Party for each Case Party Role. For Correction of Birth Record filings, the following roles are available:

Applicant/Registrant signing application Party Role for Applicant/Registrant

Adult (seeking own corrected certificate) Applicant also identified as “CHILD” on HEA2783

Applicant as Parent of Minor Party Role for Applicant/Registrant

Related adult who identifies as parent of minor Applicant Biological Father Biological Mother

“CHILD” as appears on form HEA2783 Minor

Applicant as Non-Relative of Minor or Adult Party Role for Applicant/Registrant

Non-Relative/Agency/Appointed Guardian Applicant

“CHILD” as appears on form HEA2783 Minor

Non-Relative/Agency/Guardian parties MUST identify as “Applicant”; then add a “Minor” case party role no matter the age of the party whose birth record needs correcting. Application form (CCPC_HEA 2783) must identify a “CHILD” (even when it is an adult seeking correction of his/her own birth certificate). When typing data into the E-File system Party Role fields, the Applicant, Biological Father, Biological Mother, and Minor Case Party Role information MUST match the information as typed on the form Application for Correction of Birth Record (CCPC_HEA 2783).

Please enter all names complete without abbreviations or initials.

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Users filing without an attorney (Pro Se) may skip this section and proceed to page 10. Attorneys must check the box labeled I am representing this party member for each Case Party Role represented.

Review the Party Role information before selecting Save and Proceed.

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After you ADD PARTY MEMBERS, you must ADD DOCUMENTS for the filing. REQUIRED (Refer to Page 1 of this guide for details):

- Application for Correction of Birth Record (CCPC_HEA 2783) - Copy of the Birth Certificate or birth record - Two (2) Supporting Affidavits (CCPC_HEA 2783A) - Two (2) Supplemental Documents supporting the facts claimed in the Application (Refer to Page 1 of this guide for a list of required and acceptable documents).

Select Browse and locate on your PC each of the PDF files to be used for the filing. Highlight the document and select Open. Enter the Number of Pages. Then select Add This Document. (Only PDF documents will be allowed.)

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Added document(s) will display in the DOCUMENT REVIEW area.

(Refer to Page 1 of this guide for a list of required and acceptable documents).

Select Save and Proceed to continue.

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After the documents have been attached, Review all the information.

Select Edit to make corrections. If all information is correct, select Save and Proceed to continue. Payment is REQUIRED. Only Credit or Debit Cards are accepted through the E-File Gateway.

Payment is authorized at the time of submission. Your Credit or Debit Card will be charged only AFTER your E-Filing has been accepted by the Court.

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Fill out the information for the Credit or Debit Card that will be charged, Review your information, then select Submit. The name on the credit/debit card MUST match the Registered Account Name. Third party payments will NOT be accepted.

Once submitted, a Filing Confirmation page displays with your confirmation number, the Case, Party,

and Payment information. (See example on Page 14.)

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Print a copy of the FILING CONFIRMATION for your records.

You will receive an email from the Court indicating whether your filing has been Accepted or Rejected. Your submitted E-Filing now has a status of Received and cannot be edited while under review. It can, however, be Canceled or Removed from the E-File System through the My Filings tab. For assistance with the E-File process, contact the E-File Department Help Desk at (216) 443-8948.

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Information about Your Hearing: Once your filing has been Accepted, you will receive a hearing notice with the date and time to appear at the Probate Court. Please arrive at least 20 minutes before your scheduled hearing.

• You MUST bring the Original Paper Documents to your Hearing

• Applicants who reside in Ohio must appear in person at Court with proper photo identification

• Out-of-State Applicants may call the Probate Court Marriage Department for additional instructions - (216) 443-8921

The Probate Court is located at 1 Lakeside Avenue, West, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. If you have a scheduling conflict, please call 216-443-8979. The Court will make every effort to accommodate a convenient date and time for all parties concerned.