A&A: Have been denied access to my own “Physician’s Notice of Birth”
August 30, 2010 by FAC
Filed under Asked & Answered
Q: I am requesting a certified copy of the commonly referred to “Physician’s Notice of Birth” (PNOB) issued by the attending physician of the birth. The town where I was born has my birth certificate on record, but neither the city records office nor the hospital where I was born claim to have access to the Physician’s Notice. By law they the physician has to sign such a Notice, how can I access it?
A: The Public Records Act generally provides that “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics” is a public record and must be disclosed to the public upon request unless a provision of the PRA exempts it from disclosure. Gov’t Code Section 6252-6253.
It seems that the information you are seeking is held by a public agency, and therefore is probably covered by the Act unless some exemption applies.
I am not quite sure how a Physicians’ Notice of Birth differs from a birth certificate. In any case, you may find the California Department of Public Health’s website helpful as you consider how to go about requesting your records: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/pages/certifiedcopiesofbirthdeathrecords.aspx.
Also, if you haven’t already done so, you may want to consider putting your request in writing, and ask that the district explain any grounds for denial of your request. You can find additional information regarding the Public Records Act, including sample request letters, on the FAC’s website here: http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/category/resources/access-to-records/.
Holme Roberts & Owen LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.
