2009 Rhode Island Code
Title 23 - Health and Safety
CHAPTER 23-3 - Vital Records
§ 23-3-10 - Birth registration.

SECTION 23-3-10

   § 23-3-10  Birth registration. – (a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within four (4) days after that birth and shall be registered by the local registrar if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section; provided, that when a birth occurs on a moving conveyance a birth certificate shall be filed in the city or town in which the child was first removed from the conveyance.

   (b) When a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or his or her designated representative shall obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required by the certificate, and file it with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar. The physician in attendance shall certify to the facts of birth and provide the medical information required by the certificate within three (3) days after the birth.

   (c) When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:

   (1) The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence of a physician;

   (2) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth, or in the absence of any person in attendance at or immediately after the birth;

   (3) The father, the mother, or, in the absence of the father and the inability of the mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.

   (d) If the mother was married either at the time of conception or birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as determined by the court shall be entered.

   (2) If the mother was not married either at the time of conception or birth, the child shall bear the mother's surname and the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of birth without the written consent of the mother and the person to be named as the father unless a determination of paternity has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father as determined by the court shall be entered on the birth certificate.

   (e) Neither the state registrar nor any local official shall decline to register and/or issue any birth certificate or certified copy of any birth certificate on the grounds that medical or health information collected for statistical purposes has not been supplied.