The bill summary states that it "replaces terms such as 'mother' and 'father' with gender neutral terminology such as 'parent', 'gestating parent', and 'non-gestating parent' in various provisions of the family court act and related laws." The text clarifies that the bill "does not create, enlarge, or diminish any substantive rights or obligations" but updates statutory language in family court and related proceedings. The bill concerns wording in state statutes governing parentage and family court, not the formatting or content of New York State birth certificates themselves.

The amended bill text changes phrases like "the mother" and "the father" to "the gestating parent" and "the non-gestating parent" within specific sections of the Family Court Act and Domestic Relations Law. The legislative text shows targeted substitutions in statute but does not amend Public Health Law provisions governing the content or layout of state-issued birth certificates, nor does it mandate removal of the words "mother" and "father" from those vital records.

The bill summary states: "Provides for gender neutral terminology in certain provisions of the family court act and the domestic relations law, and in doing so, replaces gender specific terms such as 'mother' and 'father' with gender neutral terms such as 'parent', 'gestating parent' and 'non-gestating parent' where applicable." The text shows it amends the Family Court Act and Domestic Relations Law; it does not amend the Public Health Law provisions governing the form of birth certificates.

The bill summary states that it will "allow parents to choose 'mother,' 'father,' or 'parent' as a parent designation on their child’s birth certificate and on the parent’s own identification documents." The text of the bill provides that vital records laws be amended so that "each parent may designate themselves as 'mother,' 'father,' or 'parent'" on the child’s birth certificate, rather than being limited to gendered terms that do not match their identity.

The Senate companion bill S9329 describes its purpose as: "to provide for gender neutral terminology in certain provisions of the family court act and the domestic relations law" by substituting terms such as "parentage" for "paternity" and using "gestating parent" and "non-gestating parent" instead of "mother" and "father" in specified statutes. The bill listings and text identify only the Family Court Act and Domestic Relations Law sections being amended; there is no amendment to the Public Health Law sections that set the content of birth certificates.

The official press release explains that the Gender Recognition Act "allows New Yorkers to more easily change and correct their name, sex designation and gender marker on their birth certificates, marriage certificates, and other documents." It specifies that the law "permits parents to choose 'mother,' 'father' or 'parent' on a child’s birth certificate," expanding the options rather than eliminating existing terms.

Subdivision 5 of Public Health Law § 4132, as amended by the Gender Recognition Act, provides that "each parent of the child may choose to be designated on the child’s original birth certificate, or by amendment to the birth certificate, as ‘father’, ‘mother’ or ‘parent’." This provision explicitly preserves the options "father" and "mother" as labels available on New York State birth certificates, while also allowing the gender-neutral label "parent" at the election of each parent.

The Assembly bill jacket for A08373 describes the act as one that "amends the family court act and the domestic relations law, in relation to gender neutral terminology." In the bill text, existing references to "mother" and "father" in custody and parentage provisions are replaced with terms like "gestating parent", "non-gestating parent" and "parent". The scope clause and the list of laws affected do not include the Public Health Law, which contains the statutory framework for birth certificates in New York.

The bill memo for the Gender Recognition Act explains that the legislation "amends Public Health Law § 4132 to allow each parent to choose to be listed on their child's birth certificate as 'mother', 'father', or 'parent'." It notes that the Act is intended to give parents flexibility in how they are identified on their child’s birth record, particularly in recognition of transgender and non-binary parents, but it does not require the removal of "mother" and "father" as available terms on the certificate.

Public Health Law § 4103 describes the "form of birth certificates" and the information to be recorded, including data about the parents of the child. The statute specifies the Department of Health shall prescribe forms and contents but continues to use the term "parent" in a general sense; it does not incorporate or cross-reference the 2023–2024 family court gender-neutral terminology changes. No recent amendments listed for § 4103 indicate a replacement of the words "mother" and "father" on the birth certificate form itself by statute.

New York Public Health Law § 4138 governs issuance of new birth certificates in cases including adoption, adjudication of parentage, and gender transition, but it does not contain language replacing "mother" and "father" with "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" or otherwise prescribing the exact labels for parental entries on the certificate.[1] The statute uses generic terms like "parent," "parents," "person who gave birth," and "father" in specific contexts, and subsection (f) authorizes a new certificate when a person requests a change of gender marker to female, male, or X.[1] There is no provision in this section enacting a statewide law that specifically removes the terms "mother" and "father" from birth certificates.

Family Court Act § 581-201, as amended by recent parentage reforms, addresses the legal status of intended parents in assisted reproduction and surrogacy. The section uses terms such as "intended parent" and references to parentage but governs who is recognized as a legal parent for purposes of New York law. The provision does not prescribe the terminology used on the face of a birth certificate; instead it determines who is treated as a parent whose information will be shown on that certificate under separate Public Health Law and Department of Health regulations.

The New York State Department of Health's "Birth Certificates" page describes the information included on a birth certificate, stating that it records details about the child and the parents. The agency explains procedures for correcting parent information and for changing a gender marker, but the public guidance continues to refer to the "mother" and "father" fields in describing amendments for parent names, and does not announce any change to gender-neutral parental labels replacing "mother" and "father" on the certificate form.

New York City Health Code § 207.05, which governs when a new birth certificate is filed, refers to "A father/parent's name" and uses the term "parents" generically in describing when a new certificate may be issued.[4] The rule lists situations such as: "A father/parent's name is added" and when "The parents of a child have completed, signed and filed with the Department an acknowledgment of paternity form".[4] The regulation, however, does not itself change the labels on the face of the certificate to "Parent 1" and "Parent 2," nor does it reference any state law that has removed "mother" and "father" from New York State birth certificates.

New York’s Gender Recognition Act, enacted in 2021, amended various provisions of the Civil Rights Law and Public Health Law to allow an "X" gender marker on identity documents and to simplify gender‑marker changes on birth certificates.[1] The bill text and summaries focus on permitting a "non‑binary" X designation and eliminating requirements for medical evidence, but they do not contain provisions that specifically strike the words "mother" and "father" from New York State birth certificates or replace them with "Parent 1" and "Parent 2." The act instead uses terms such as "parent" and "person who gave birth" in certain sections.

The memo describes one provision of the Act: "Allow parents to change their own name on their child's birth certificate and choose the title of 'father,' 'mother,' or 'parent' on an original or amended certificate." It further notes that this change is intended to ensure that "transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming parents are accurately reflected" but does not state that the terms "mother" and "father" are removed; instead, they remain available alongside the neutral label "parent."

Public Health Law § 4138 governs birth certificates in New York State, including the content of the certificate and amendments. The statute, as amended, authorizes the Department of Health to issue birth certificates that include parent designations consistent with the Gender Recognition Act, but it does not contain language that abolishes the words "mother" or "father"; instead, it provides flexibility so that each parent can select a designation that reflects their identity.

New York City’s guidance on correcting birth records refers to the "mother/parent" and "biological father/second parent" in its instructions, indicating that both gendered and more neutral parent terminology are in use. The page also explains that as of 2019, people born in New York City can change their gender marker on their birth certificate to "X," but it does not say that the terms "mother" and "father" have been eliminated from NYC or New York State birth certificates.

Discussing the 2021 New York Gender Recognition Act, the law firm notes under the heading "Parent Designation on Birth Certificates" that the Act "amended New York Public Health Law Section 4132 by adding new subsection 5, which allows each parent of the child to choose to be designated on the child’s original birth certificate or by amendment as ‘father’ or ‘mother’ or ‘parent’." The article highlights that the change expands options for how parents are listed but does not state that "mother" and "father" were removed or replaced on birth certificates.

Archived versions of the New York State Department of Health’s "Certificate of Live Birth" form show that, over time, the parental fields were redesigned to be more gender neutral. Earlier versions display separate lines labeled "MOTHER" and "FATHER" for parental information, whereas later archived versions display fields labeled "Parent" or with flexible options allowing either legal parent to be entered regardless of gender. These archived forms illustrate that changes to parental labels were implemented through DOH form revisions, not explicitly through a statute that declared the terms "mother" and "father" removed; the underlying enabling regulations continue to refer generally to a "standard certificate of live birth" approved by the Department.

The piece describes a New York bill that "seeks to switch language in several laws to so-called ‘gender neutral language.’" It says that if signed, "‘mother’ and ‘father’ would be switched to ‘gestating’ and ‘non-gestating’ parent, respectively" in certain statutes and that terms like "paternity" and "filiation" would be changed to "parentage." The article clarifies that the bill "would change parental terms across multiple sections of state law but would not alter existing parental rights, obligations, or family court" and does not claim that the measure removes "mother" and "father" from birth certificates.

City & State reports that state legislators passed a bill "to replace gendered parental terms like ‘mother’ and ‘father’ with gender-neutral terminology including ‘parent,’ ‘gestating parent’ and ‘non-gestating parent’ in portions of state law governing family court, child support and related matters." The story notes that the bill is aimed at statutory language and that existing options on vital records, such as how parents are listed on birth certificates, are not directly changed by this legislation.

WRGB reports that the New York legislature "passed the State Assembly and Senate" bill that would "replace gender-specific terms like 'mother,' 'father,' and 'paternity' used in places like family court with terms like 'parentage,' 'gestating parent,' and 'non-gestating parent.'" The story specifies this change applies "in places like family court" and frames it as making custody law more inclusive; it does not state that birth certificates will have the words "mother" and "father" removed.

The codified text of PBH § 4132(5) states that with respect to birth registration, "each parent may choose to be designated on the child’s birth certificate as ‘mother’, ‘father’, or ‘parent’." This statutory language confirms that New York law expressly includes "mother" and "father" as available designations on birth certificates, with the additional option of a gender-neutral "parent" label, rather than eliminating or replacing the traditional terms.

The New York City correction application repeatedly refers to the "Mother/Parent" and "Father/Parent" fields when describing how to add or amend parental information on a birth certificate. Instructional sections use phrases such as "Mother/Parent not married during pregnancy" and "Mother/Parent married during pregnancy" to explain procedures for adding a second parent. The form illustrates that New York City, which operates under New York State law for vital records, continues to recognize the terms "mother" and "father" on its birth certificates while also using the more inclusive "parent" phrasing.

The Advocate explains that the proposal in the New York State Senate would "amend existing family court and domestic relations statutes by replacing gender-specific terms such as 'mother' and 'father' with inclusive alternatives like 'parent.'" It adds that the bill seeks to change terms such as "paternity" and "filiation" to "parentage" and replace "putative father" with "alleged parent," as well as adopting "gestating parent" in the statutes. The discussion centers on family court and domestic relations statutes and does not describe any amendment to birth certificate forms.

Based on widely reported coverage and official documents, implementation of New York’s Gender Recognition Act has meant that state-issued birth certificates and related forms now offer three parental titles—"mother," "father," and "parent"—for each parent entry. The traditional terms were not removed from the forms; instead, a gender-neutral option was added, allowing each parent to pick the label that matches their identity.