APPROVED CHAPTER
MAY 5, 2021 49
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
_____
S.P. 32 - L.D. 24
An Act Regarding Certificates of Birth, Marriage and Death
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §651, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 82, §1 and c. 340,
§5, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2. Application. The parties wishing to record notice of their intentions of marriage
shall submit an application for recording notice of their intentions of marriage. The
application may be issued to any 2 persons otherwise qualified under this chapter regardless
of the sex of each person if the clerk or State Registrar of Vital Statistics is satisfied as to
the identity of the applicants. The application must include a signed certification that the
information recorded on the application is correct and that the applicant is free to marry
according to the laws of this State. If either party intends to change that party's name upon
marriage, the application must include the proposed new name of that party. The
applicant's signature must be acknowledged before an official authorized to take oaths. An
application recording notice of intention to marry is not open for public inspection for 50
years from the date of the application except that:
A. The names of the parties for whom intentions to marry are filed and the intended
date of marriage are public records and open for public inspection; and
B. A person with a researcher identification card under Title 22, section 2706,
subsection 8 is permitted to inspect records and may be issued a noncertified copy of
an application.
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §656, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and
affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:
2. Completed license; ceremony performed. Each marriage license issued must be
completed and the certification statement signed by both parties to the intended marriage.
The parties' signatures may be obtained at issuance or at the time the marriage is
solemnized. The completed license or licenses must be delivered by the parties to the
person solemnizing the marriage. Upon completion of the solemnization, which must be
performed in the presence of at least 2 witnesses other than the person officiating, the
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person officiating and the 2 witnesses shall sign the license or licenses, which are then
known as the marriage certificate or certificates.
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §2703, as amended by PL 2011, c. 511, §3, is further amended to
read:
§2703. Birth, marriage or death in unincorporated place
When a birth, marriage or death occurs in an unincorporated place, it must be reported
to a municipal clerk as specified by the state registrar and must be recorded, or registered
in the electronic birth registration system, by the municipal clerk to whom the report is
made. All such reports and records must be forwarded to the state registrar.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §2705, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2017, c. 5, §1, is further
amended to read:
6. Amendment of birth certificate of adult. Amendment of a birth certificate of a
person 18 years of age or older born in this State for the purpose of identifying or replacing
a biological genetic parent who was not known or listed at the time of birth is governed by
section 2767‑A.
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §2706-A, as amended by PL 1989, c. 818, §4-7, is further
amended to read:
§2706-A. Adoption contact files
1. File. The state registrar shall maintain files of the names and addresses of adopted
persons and their adoptive and biological genetic parents, who have registered under this
section.
2. Registration. This subsection governs participation in the adoption registry.
A. The following persons may register their names and addresses with the state
registrar and request contact:
(1) A person who is 18 years of age or older and:
(a) Who was adopted;
(b) Whose adoption was annulled;
(c) Whose adoptive parents surrendered and released parental rights to that
person or had their parental rights terminated; or
(d) Who was freed for adoption but was never subsequently adopted;
(2) An adoptive parent if:
(a) The adopted person is under 18 years of age;
(b) The adopted person is deceased; or
(c) The adopted person is at least 18 years of age and is determined by a court
to be incapacitated; and
(3) The legal custodian or guardian of:
(a) A person whose adoption was annulled, who was surrendered and released
by that person's adoptive parents or whose adoptive parents' parental rights
were terminated;
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 (b) An adopted person under 18 years of age who:
(i) Has been removed from the custody or guardianship of that person's
adoptive parents by order of a court; or
(ii) Was freed for adoption but was never subsequently adopted; or
(c) An adopted person who is at least 18 years of age and has been determined
by a court to be incapacitated.
B. The following persons may register their names and addresses with the state
registrar and request contact with an adopted person or a person freed for adoption as
specified in paragraph A:
(1) A biological genetic parent of an adopted person or of a person freed for
adoption but not subsequently adopted;
(2) The legal custodian or guardian of a person under 18 years of age whose full
sibling or half-sibling is an adopted person or a person freed for adoption;
(3) If a biological genetic parent of an adopted person or a person freed for
adoption is deceased, a biological genetic mother, legal father, grandparent,
sibling, half-sibling, aunt, uncle or first cousin of the deceased biological genetic
parent; and
(4) A biological genetic sibling or half-sibling, who is at least 18 years of age, of
an adopted person or a person freed for adoption.
C. At the time of registration, each registrant shall indicate with which of the persons
specified in paragraphs A and B contact is desired.
D. A registrant may withdraw from the adoption registry at any time by submitting a
written request to the state registrar.
E. When an adopted person reaches 18 years of age and has not been determined by a
court to be incapacitated, the state registrar, after mailing notice to the registrant, shall
delete from the adoption registry any prior registration under paragraph A,
subparagraph (2), division (a), or subparagraph (3), division (b).
3. Certification of identity and relationship. The state registrar shall require each
person registering or requesting contact to provide certification of the registrant's identity
and relationship to the person with whom contact is desired and any additional information
that is necessary to ensure accurate identification of the registrant and assist in identifying
the other party.
3-A. Providing information about available counseling. The state registrar shall
provide information about sources of counseling to any person registering or requesting
contact.
4. Reviewing departmental files. The state registrar may review both public and
confidential departmental files to assist in identifying or verifying the identification of the
other party. If both parties have registered, he the state registrar may release those names
and addresses even if the relationship was identified or verified by the use of confidential
departmental files. He The state registrar may charge a fee for the assistance, which shall
must reasonably reflect the cost of providing it.
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 5. Request for contact. When the state registrar has requests for contact from a person
specified in subsection 2, paragraph A, and a person specified in subsection 2, paragraph
B, that are related to the same adoption and both persons indicated at the time of registration
that contact with the other person was desired, the state registrar shall notify each party of
the name and address of the other party and of sources of counseling. If a biological genetic
parent, an adoptive parent or an adopted person registered under this section has made a
request for contact and the party being sought died in the State, the state registrar shall
disclose to the requesting party the fact that the biological genetic parent, adoptive parent
or the adopted person has died.
6. Confidentiality. Except as provided in subsection 5, the files established under this
section shall be are confidential and not open to public inspection.
7. Public information. The state registrar shall, by appropriate means, make known
to the public the existence of the adoption contact files, the assistance the department may
offer and the purposes of those files.
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §2767-A, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 5, §3, is amended to read:
§2767-A. Amendment of birth certificate of adult
1. Amendment of birth certificate. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall amend
the birth certificate of a person 18 years of age or older born in this State for the purpose
of identifying or replacing a genetic parent who was not known or listed at the time of birth
when the state registrar has received the following:
A. A signed, notarized request from the subject of the birth certificate that the birth
certificate be amended;
B. Either the written, notarized consent of the genetic parent to be named on the
amended birth certificate or a certified copy of the death certificate of the genetic parent
to be named on the amended birth certificate; and
C. Evidence of genetic parentage based on testing of deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, that
includes:
(1) A notarized report of the results of the DNA testing; and
(2) Notarized documentation of the chain of custody of the blood and tissue
samples examined in the testing.
The testing must be of a type generally acknowledged as reliable by accreditation
bodies designated by the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services, and it must
be performed by a laboratory approved by an accreditation body designated by the
federal Secretary of Health and Human Services.
2. Effect. If the request submitted pursuant to subsection 1 does not contain the
written, notarized consent of the genetic parent to be named on the amended birth
certificate, amendment of the birth certificate pursuant to this section does not affect the
rights of inheritance and descent. A birth certificate amended without the written, notarized
consent of the genetic parent to be named on the amended birth certificate must contain the
following words in a conspicuous place: "This birth certificate has been amended to
identify or replace a genetic parent not known or listed at the time of birth. This amendment
does not affect the rights of inheritance or descent of the subject of the birth certificate."
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 24, SP 32: 19-A.651, 19-A.656, 22.2703, 22.2705, 22.2767
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 49: 19-A.651, 19-A.656, 22.2703, 22.2705, 22.2706, 22.2767