Processing A Vital Record Amendment In The State of New Jersey

Step 1: The Form

The form required to make amendments is Form 34. While this form is locked behind a password on the State’s website, the form is available by asking the local registrar’s offices. Some municipalities host it on their website, like Bloomsbury and Prospect Park (note: these are State forms, so it doesn’t matter where you get the form, as long as it is for New Jersey – I just picked these two for I know not everyone is trying to make a way to get to their local Registrar’s office).

Step 2: Documents You Need

To modify a Vital Record, you will generally need a Vital Record. The easiest way to make an amendment is to make a copy (The State Will Accept A Copy For Amendments) of the Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, or Divorced Record, which will be paired with your application as proof.

Other items that can be used are Baptismal Records (as long as the person was baptized before they turned 7), school enrollment documents (prior to them turning 7), a court order, naturalization documents, petition for a name change, census records, hospital records from their time of birth and facility of birth, and their immunization records from before they were 7.

Again, the easiest to obtain will likely be a Birth, Marriage, or Divorce Certificate. I’ve found baptismal records can make things easier in international situations.

Step 3: Filling Out The Form

First, you check off what you want to modify.

You fill in the information as it is currently shown on the record. So, if the name on the record says Amaris Hallah, even though it should be Amari Allah, in section 1, you would put Amaris Hallah. Alongside that, you’d put the “Date of Event,” which would be the date of birth, death, marriage, etc. Lastly, you put in the county and then the municipality.

So, the field to be amended would be based on what you are looking to change. Often, it is that someone’s name was spelled wrong, so you would put, like, if it was a marriage license, “13a: Full Name of Applicant A” or “Applicant A Name” if it was for a marriage license modification.

The idea here is to make things as simple for the State as possible so they have no reason to reject or delay the application.

Following noting the field you are changing, you will write what is in that field in the next column now. Which may make you wonder what to put if the field is blank? Just a simple line like “—” will suffice. If the State sees a blank space, it can potentially be seen as a mistake or missing information and get rejected (this is how the State operates across most departments).

After that, you would put in the last column what you want the information changed to, which should exactly match the document you made a copy of to be sent with your application.

In section 3, who signs what depends on the situation. 3A is the person requesting the change, whether it is a Registrar, a Funeral Director, a Physician, or an Officiant. 3B is for witnesses to the change, and if a notary is being used for 3C, then you’ll need 3B. Also, if you are having someone translate, I believe (the State didn’t say this), they should sign 3B.

Lastly, either a Registrar or Notary should handle 3C.

Section 4 is you noting what of the acceptable files are attached to provide evidence there should be a change.

Step 4: Where To Send & How Much?

So, you can handle this one of two ways. If the Registrar sends the application, there is no fee as it will be treated as an error that was made that just needs the State to update their system. This process is noted as quicker and can take a month. However, the requestor for the change would need to call the State (609-292-4087 | Option 4) to see if the modification was done and if they would like a certified amended copy, that is the method they would need to go.

The other option is for the applicant to send it on their own. This process is longer, up to two months, as it would receive more scrutiny. But, if you include a $25 payable check or money order to the State Treasurer and mail the application to Vital Statistics and Registry, Record Modification Unit, PO Box 370, Trenton, NJ 08625-0370, once the modification is done, they will send you a certified copy with the amendment.

Going by the current fees, it would be $25 for the first copy and $2 for each additional copy. I personally would note how many copies you are looking for to, again, make the State’s life easier. The memo line is there for a reason.

Also, I would recommend sending it by certified mail. Generally speaking, if you send anything by mail to the State, do it by certified mail.

Video

The State actually has a video, publicly accessible, mainly for reference-training purposes via this link. It breaks down most of what you see here but without images. Which they strangely don’t include.

However, this slightly older version does include images. However, it doesn’t include some of the more technical stuff, which could lead to a rejection from the State.