2018 Alaska Statutes
Title 18. Health, Safety, Housing, Human Rights, and Public Defender
Chapter 50. Vital Statistics Act
Article 4. Records.
Sec. 18.50.320. Copies of data from vital records.

Except as otherwise provided and in accordance with the regulations adopted under AS 18.50.310,

(1) the bureau and the custodian of permanent local records shall, upon request, issue a certified copy of a certificate or record in their custody, or a part of it; each copy issued must show the date of registration or recording, and copies issued from records marked “delayed,” “amended,” or “court order” shall be similarly marked and must show the effective date;

(2) a certified copy of a certificate or a part of it issued in accordance with (1) of this section is considered the original for all purposes and is prima facie evidence of the facts stated; however, the evidentiary value of a certificate or record filed more than one year after the event, or a record that has been amended, or a presumptive death certificate, shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certificate is offered as evidence;

(3) the National Office of Vital Statistics may be furnished the copies or data it requires for national statistics if the bureau is reimbursed for the cost of furnishing the data; the National Office of Vital Statistics may not use the data for purposes other than statistical purposes unless authorized by the state registrar;

(4) federal, state, local, and other public or private agencies, upon request, may be furnished copies or data for statistical purposes on the terms or conditions prescribed by the bureau;

(5) a person or agency may not prepare or issue a certificate or part of a certificate that purports to be an original, certified copy, or copy of a certificate of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage, except as authorized in this chapter or the regulations adopted under it;

(6) upon request, the bureau shall furnish a copy of a certificate or record registered by the bureau to the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010, or the child support enforcement agency of another state, for child support purposes authorized under law; such a certificate or record that is prepared or maintained in an electronic data base may be supplied by providing the requesting agency with a copy of the electronic certificate or record and a statement certifying its contents;

(7) the bureau shall issue up to four certified copies of the death certificate of a veteran without charge; under this paragraph, certified copies of a veteran's death certificate are available without charge only to a qualified person; in this paragraph,

(A) “qualified person” means an individual who is

(i) a personal representative of the veteran's estate;

(ii) a trustee of a revocable trust of which the veteran was the settlor; or

(iii) a person who needs a certified copy of the veteran's death certificate for the purpose of satisfying an eligibility requirement for a benefit related to the death of the veteran;

(B) “veteran” means an individual who was

(i) on active duty at the time of the veteran's death or had received an honorable or general discharge from a branch of the armed services of the United States, the National Guard, a reserve unit of the United States armed services, the Alaska Scouts, the Alaska Territorial Guard, or the Alaska Naval Militia; and

(ii) a resident of the state at the time of the individual's death.