There is a newer version of the Massachusetts General Laws
2012 Massachusetts General Laws
PART I ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT(Chapters 1 through 182)
TITLE VII CITIES, TOWNS AND DISTRICTS
CHAPTER 46 RETURN AND REGISTRY OF BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS
- Section 1 Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined
- Section 11/2 Certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth; filing
- Section 1A Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings
- Section 1B Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions
- Section 1C Filing reports of out-of-state deaths
- Section 1D Adoption of surname upon marriage
- Section 1E Definitions
- Section 2 Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages
- Section 2A Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions
- Section 2B Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons
- Section 2C Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent
- Section 3 Physician’s record of birth; out of hospital birth
- Section 3A Hospital administrator’s duties; report; verification
- Section 3B Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report
- Section 3C Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage
- Section 3D Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV-D agency
- Section 4 Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing
- Section 4A Local officials; processing of birth certificates
- Section 4B Artificial insemination
- Section 5 Repealed, 1968, 84, Sec. 5
- Section 6 Notification of births and deaths
- Section 7 Report of births and deaths at sea
- Section 7A Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation
- Section 8 Penalty for failure to report births and deaths
- Section 9 Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant
- Section 9A Repealed, 1977, 598, Sec. 1
- Section 9B Penalties
- Section 10 Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation
- Section 11 Duties of undertakers
- Section 12 Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions
- Section 13 Correction of records
- Section 13A Correction of birth records; procedure
- Section 14 Penalty for false returns
- Section 15 Repealed, 2010, 327, Sec. 1
- Section 16 Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records
- Section 17 Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
- Section 17A Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
- Section 17B Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
- Section 17C Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records
- Section 17D Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals
- Section 18 Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation
- Section 19 Use of records as evidence
- Section 19A Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty
- Section 19B Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother
- Section 19C Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence
- Section 20 Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records
- Section 21 Repealed, 1976, 486, Sec. 15
- Section 22 Registrars of vital statistics
- Section 23 Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports
- Section 24 Statements of births and deaths; penalty
- Section 25 Disposition of fines and forfeitures
- Section 26 Fees
- Section 27 Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties
- Section 28 Administration of oaths
- Section 29 Attestation of certificates
- Section 30 Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty
- Section 31 Adoption contact information registry
- Section 32 Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar
- Section 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
- Section 34 Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records
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