§ 1 Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined
§ 1A Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings
§ 1B Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions
§ 1C Filing reports of out-of-state deaths
§ 1D Adoption of surname upon marriage
§ 1E Definitions
§ 2 Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages
§ 2A Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions
§ 2B Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons
§ 2C Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent
§ 3 Physician’s record of birth; out of hospital birth
§ 3A Hospital administrator’s duties; report; verification
§ 3B Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report
§ 3C Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage
§ 3D Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV–D agency
§ 4 Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing
§ 4A Local officials; processing of birth certificates
§ 4B Artificial insemination
§ 6 Notification of births and deaths
§ 7 Report of births and deaths at sea
§ 7A Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation
§ 8 Penalty for failure to report births and deaths
§ 9 Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant
§ 9B Penalties
§ 10 Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation
§ 11 Duties of undertakers
§ 11/2 Certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth; filing
§ 12 Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions
§ 13 Correction of records
§ 13A Correction of birth records; procedure
§ 14 Penalty for false returns
§ 16 Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records
§ 17 Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
§ 17A Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
§ 17B Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
§ 17C Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records
§ 17D Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals
§ 18 Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation
§ 19 Use of records as evidence
§ 19A Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty
§ 19B Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother
§ 19C Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence
§ 20 Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records
§ 22 Registrars of vital statistics
§ 23 Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports
§ 24 Statements of births and deaths; penalty
§ 25 Disposition of fines and forfeitures
§ 26 Fees
§ 27 Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties
§ 28 Administration of oaths
§ 29 Attestation of certificates
§ 30 Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty
§ 31 Adoption contact information registry
§ 32 Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar
§ 33 Centralized, automated database for vital records and statistics; certified copies issued from database; capacity requirements of database; maintenance and preservation of original paper records
§ 34 Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records
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Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws > Chapter 46 - Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Probate: Proving a will