TLGBQIA+ Parenting - Birth certificate FAQs

Please note that the following FAQs were created in response to guidance issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DoH) specifically for “pregnant same-sex female couples.” We updated the language here in 2021 to be more inclusive of all married couples. Additionally, in light of marriage equality and other developments in the law, we believe that the DoH’s 2016 guidance applies to married couples of all gender pairings. However, the DoH has not issued additional or more expansive guidance since 2016. Consequently, some of the language the DoH uses remains underinclusive (e.g., “mother’s worksheet,” as you will see below).

On May 31, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued guidance to hospitals advising them that, for “pregnant same-sex female couples” who are married at the time of birth, the hospital should list both spouses as the child’s parents on their child’s birth certificate.