Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-24. Copies of data from vital records
In accordance with § 23-3-23 and the regulations adopted pursuant to that section:
(1) The state registrar of vital records shall upon request issue a certified copy of any certificate or record in his or her custody or a part thereof. Each copy issued shall show the date of registration; and copies issued from records marked “delayed,” “amended,” or “court order” shall be similarly marked and show the effective date. Any copies issued of a “certificate of foreign birth” shall indicate this fact and show the actual place of birth.
(2) The custodian of permanent local records shall upon request issue a certified copy of any certificate or record in his or her custody only in a form that shall be prescribed by the state director of health.
(3) A certified copy of a certificate or any part thereof, issued in accordance with subdivision (1) or (2) of this section, shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original, and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certificate, provided that the evidentiary value of a certificate or record filed more than one year after the event, or a record which has been amended, or a “certificate of foreign birth,” shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certificate is offered as evidence.
(4) The National Office of Vital Statistics may be furnished copies or data that it may require for national statistics; provided, that the state shall be reimbursed for the cost of furnishing the data; and provided further, that the data shall not be used for other than statistical purposes by the National Office of Vital Records unless so authorized by the state registrar of vital records.
(5) Federal, state, local, and other public or private agencies may, upon request, be furnished copies or data for statistical purposes upon terms or conditions that may be prescribed by the state director of health.
(6) No person shall prepare or issue any certificate which purports to be an original certified copy, or copy of a certificate of birth, death, or fetal death, except as authorized in this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter.
History of Section.
G.L. 1896, ch. 100, § 16; G.L. 1909, ch. 121, § 16; G.L. 1923, ch. 166, § 15; G.L. 1909, ch. 166, § 24; P.L. 1923, ch. 436, § 2; G.L. 1938, ch. 268, §§ 14, 23; G.L. 1956, §§ 23-3-31, 23-3-37; G.L. 1956, § 23-3-24; P.L. 1961, ch. 87, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 193, § 1.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-24
- 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.
- Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after the expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Registration: means the acceptance by the division of vital records and the incorporation in its official records of certificates, reports, or other records provided for in this chapter, or births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, or divorces. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
- Vital records: means records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, and data related to those records. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1