Title 4. Statistics and Records — Subtitle 2. Vital Statistics and Records

“Dead body” means:

“Dead body” does not include an amputated part.

To which individuals are committed by law; or

That provides to 2 or more unrelated individuals:

An individual who is:

An individual who:

The Secretary shall:

The forms shall provide for the information that the Secretary needs for proper registration and use of these vital records.

Investigate to determine the facts of record; and

Send a certified statement of the facts to the Secretary.

If the Secretary corrects a death or fetal death record, the Secretary shall send a notice of the correction to the county registrar for the county where the event occurred. The county registrar shall enter the correction on the county registrar’s record by photographic, electronic, or other means prescribed by the Secretary.

If a discrepancy exists between the record of the Secretary and the record of a county registrar, the record of the Secretary shall be considered correct.

The Secretary may change a marriage, divorce, or annulment record in the file of the Department only if a clerk of court sends, as provided by law, a certified report of the change.

If a discrepancy exists between the record of a clerk of court and the record of the Secretary as to a marriage, divorce, or annulment, the record of the clerk of court shall be considered correct.

A clerk of court may provide a certified copy of a record of any marriage, divorce, or annulment in accordance with usual custom and as provided by law.

The Secretary may not provide a certified copy of any record of divorce or annulment.

Each certificate of birth, death, or fetal death shall be typed or printed legibly in unfading black ink, or stored on electronic media approved by the Secretary.

The person who is required to complete the record shall attest to its accuracy either by signature or by approved electronic process.

Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, within 5 calendar days after a birth occurs in an institution, or en route to the institution, or outside an institution with an attending clinician, the administrative head of the institution or a designee of the administrative head, or the attending clinician or a designee of the attending clinician, shall:

Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, the attending physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, or attending clinician shall provide the date of birth and medical information that are required on the certificate within 5 calendar days after the birth.

The results of the universal hearing screening of newborns shall be incorporated into the supplemental information required by the Department to be submitted as a part of the birth event.

When an individual who is not married gives birth to a child in an institution or outside an institution with an attending clinician, the administrative head of the institution or the designee of the administrative head, or the attending clinician or the designee of the attending clinician, shall:

An institution, the administrative head of the institution, the designee of the administrative head of an institution, an employee of an institution, the attending clinician, and the designee of the attending clinician may not be held liable in any cause of action arising out of the establishment of parentage.

If the child’s mother was not married at the time of either conception or birth or between conception and birth, the name of the child’s other parent may not be entered on the certificate without an affidavit of parentage as authorized by § 5–1028 of the Family Law Article signed by the mother and the person to be named on the certificate as the other parent.

If the child’s mother was married at the time of either the conception or birth or between conception and birth, the name of the mother’s spouse shall be entered on the certificate as the child’s other parent.

If the parent who did not give birth to the child is not named on the certificate of birth, no other information about that parent shall be entered on the certificate.

Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, within 5 calendar days after a birth occurs outside an institution without an attending clinician, the birth shall be verified by the Secretary and a certificate of birth shall be prepared, on the form that the Secretary provides, and filed by one of the following, in the indicated order of priority:

In any case that involves a gestational carrier in which parentage is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction:

When a birth occurs on a common carrier within the United States and the child is first removed from the carrier in this State, the birth shall be registered in this State, and the place where the child is first removed shall be considered the place of birth.

When a birth occurs on a common carrier while in international waters, air space, or in a foreign country and the child is first removed from the carrier in this State, the birth shall be registered in this State but the certificate shall show the actual place of birth insofar as can be determined.

Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, the certificate shall be filed within 5 calendar days after the child is removed from the carrier.

Each parent shall provide his or her own Social Security number on the form provided by the Secretary under this section.

The Social Security number as provided by each parent shall be recorded on the portion of the form provided by the Secretary which remains in the official birth record.

The Social Security numbers of the parents may not appear on the portion of the birth certificate issued as proof of birth.

Upon adjudication of parentage, the court shall order the parent to provide the parent’s Social Security number to the clerk of court; and

The clerk of court shall send the parent’s Social Security number to the Secretary, as provided under § 4–211(f) of this subtitle.

Within 72 hours after a person takes custody of a child of unknown parentage, the person shall prepare and file a report, on the form that the Secretary provides.

The report shall state:

Shall be sealed; and

May be reopened only:

If the Secretary rejects a delayed certificate of birth under this section, a person may petition a court of competent jurisdiction to order the establishment of a record of birth.

If the court finds, from the evidence, that the individual for whom a delayed certificate of birth is sought was born in this State, the court shall make findings as to parentage and place and date of birth and any other findings that the case requires and shall order the Secretary to establish a record of birth. The order shall include the findings to be entered in the record of birth and the date of the court action.

On or before the tenth day of each month, each clerk of court shall send to the Secretary each court order for a delayed certificate of birth that was entered during the preceding month.

The individual was born in this State; and

Regardless of the location, one of the following has occurred:

The individual was born in this State; and

Regardless of the location, one of the following has occurred:

The previously unwed parents of the individual have married each other after the birth of the individual;

A court of competent jurisdiction in this State has entered an order as to parentage or legitimation; or

The parent who did not give birth to the individual acknowledged himself or herself by affidavit to be a parent of the individual and the mother of the individual has consented by affidavit to the acknowledgment.

The court that decrees the adoption;

The adoptive parents; or

The adopted individual, if an adult.

The individual shall be treated as having at birth the status that later is acquired or established and of which proof is submitted.

If the individual is adopted, the name of the individual shall be that set by the decree of adoption, and the adoptive parents shall be recorded as the parents of the individual.

The new certificate of birth shall contain wording that requires each parent shown on the new certificate to indicate his or her own Social Security number.

When a new certificate of birth is made under subsection (b) of this section:

A new certificate of birth made under subsection (b) of this section may not:

If a new certificate of birth is made, the Secretary shall:

The seal may be broken only:

A certified copy of the certificate of birth that later is issued shall be a copy of the new certificate of birth, unless:

Each decree of adoption;

Each adjudication of parentage, including the parent’s Social Security number; and

Each revocation or amendment of any decree of adoption or adjudication of paternity that the court enters.

A delayed certificate of birth shall be filed with the Secretary as provided in § 4–210 of this subtitle before a new certificate of birth is established; and

The new birth certificate shall be prepared on the delayed birth certificate form.

The Secretary shall, on request, prepare and register a certificate in this State for an individual born in a foreign country and who was adopted:

Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the certificate shall be established on receipt of:

If the child was adopted under the laws of a jurisdiction or country other than the United States and has been granted an IR–3 or IH–3 visa by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the certificate shall be established on receipt of:

The certificate shall be labeled “Certificate of Foreign Birth” and shall show the actual country of birth.

A statement shall also be included on the certificate indicating that it is not evidence of United States citizenship for the child for whom it is issued.

A certificate of death regardless of age of decedent shall be filled out and signed by:

The medical examiner, physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner shall fill in only the following information on the certificate of death:

Any other information that is required on the certificate of death regardless of age of decedent shall be filled in:

The medical certification shall be completed within 24 hours after receipt of the death certificate by the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner in charge of the patient’s care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except when inquiry is required by the medical examiner.

In the absence or inability of the attending physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner or with the attending physician’s, physician assistant’s, or nurse practitioner’s approval, the certificate may be completed by:

The person completing the cause of death and medical certification shall attest to the accuracy by signature or by an approved electronic process.

The funeral director or person acting as the funeral director shall in all cases obtain the medical certification from the person responsible for its completion or obtain assurance that the medical certification has been provided to the Secretary by an approved electronic process.

The deceased was not under treatment by a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner during the terminal illness;

The cause of death is unknown; or

The individual considers any of the following conditions to be the cause of death or to have contributed to the death:

A physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who fills out a certificate of death shall give it or transmit it by approved electronic media, including facsimile, to the mortician within 24 hours after the death occurred.

A medical examiner who fills out a certificate of death shall give it or transmit it by approved electronic media, including facsimile, to the mortician within 24 hours after the medical examiner took charge of the body.

If a death occurs on a common carrier in the United States and the body is removed from the carrier in this State, the death shall be registered in this State, and the place where it is first removed shall be considered the place of death. When a death occurs on a common carrier while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the body is first removed from the carrier in this State, the death shall be registered in this State, but the certificate shall show the actual place of death insofar as can be determined.

The individual in charge or the owner of the common carrier or a designee shall file a certificate of death within 24 hours after the body is removed from the carrier.

If the death occurred under any of the conditions or circumstances set forth in subsection (c) of this section, the medical examiner shall be notified.

Except as authorized under this subtitle, an individual who has a duty to fill out and sign a certificate of death may not execute more than one certificate for a death.

The attending physician, the physician assistant, the nurse practitioner, or a medical examiner who takes charge of a body may file a replacement death certificate if a correction that the physician, the physician assistant, the nurse practitioner, or medical examiner authorizes cannot be entered legibly on the original certificate.

The mortician who first takes custody of a fetus;

The person in charge of the institution or the person’s designated representative when a fetus is delivered in an institution;

The physician in attendance at or immediately after delivery when a fetus is delivered outside an institution; or

The medical examiner when a fetal death occurs without medical attendance at or immediately after the delivery when a medical examiner’s inquiry is required.

The personal information from the next of kin or the best qualified individual or source available; and

The medical certification of cause of death:

If any certificate of birth, death, or fetal death is amended, the facts shall be certified to the Secretary and entered on the original certificate with the date of the amendment, over the signature or initials of a designee of the Secretary and with a line drawn through the original data.

All amendments may be stored on electronic media approved by the Secretary.

All copies of certificates that are amended shall contain a notation that an amendment has been made.

A record shall be maintained which identifies the evidence upon which the amendment was based, the date of the amendment, and the identity of the person making the amendment.

When an informant does not submit the minimum documentation required in the regulations for amending a vital record or when the Secretary has cause to question the validity or adequacy of the applicant’s sworn statements or the documentary evidence, and if the deficiencies are not corrected, the Secretary shall not amend the vital record and shall advise the applicant of the reason for this action and shall further advise the applicant of the right of appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Except as provided in § 4–211(f) of this subtitle, on receipt of a court order that changes the name of an individual who was born in this State and on request of the individual or a parent, guardian, or legal representative of the individual, the Secretary shall amend the certificate of birth to reflect the new name.

Within 72 hours after death or after delivery in a fetal death and before final disposition or removal of the body or fetus from this State, the mortician who first takes custody of the body or fetus shall obtain a burial–transit permit.

If the death or fetal death certificate is on a multicopy form, one copy of which is designated specifically as a “burial–transit permit” and is signed by the attending physician or medical examiner, that copy shall provide for the later entry of final disposition information and serves as a burial–transit permit.

A person in charge of a cemetery may not permit the final disposition of a body or fetus unless it is accompanied by a burial–transit permit.

The person in charge of a cemetery shall:

If there is no person in charge of the cemetery, the mortician shall fill out the burial–transit permit.

A permit for disinterment and reinterment is required before the disinterment of human remains if reinterment is not to be made in the same cemetery. The Secretary or a health officer shall issue the permit after receipt of an application on the form that the Secretary requires.

If all human remains in a cemetery are to be disinterred for purposes of relocation or abandonment of the cemetery, one application is sufficient for that purpose.

The Department shall keep a record of each permit issued for the disinterment and reinterment of human remains.

Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, the Department may not disclose or allow public inspection of information in a permit record about the location of the site of a disinterment or reinterment if a local burial sites advisory board or the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust determines that:

The Department may not deny inspection of a permit record to:

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall provide, on request, any person authorized by regulations adopted under this subtitle with a certified or abridged copy of a birth, death, or fetal death certificate registered under this subtitle or of the certificate of a marriage performed after June 1, 1951.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section and subject to subsection (h) of this section, a local health department or the Motor Vehicle Administration may:

A certified or abridged copy of a birth certificate may be issued only:

A certified or abridged copy of a birth certificate may contain only the personal information that appears on the birth certificate and may not include any confidential medical information that appears on the birth certificate.

Birth certificate information may not be given if it is to be used for commercial solicitation or private gain.

A noncertified copy of a birth certificate including confidential medical information may be provided to a unit of the Department to carry out its legal mandate or to conduct Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved research or study. Any report resulting from this research or study may not contain personal identifiers unless authorized by the subject of the record or the subject’s parent or authorized representative.

A copy of a birth certificate may be given to the Maryland Immunization Program to improve childhood immunization rates.

Except as otherwise provided by law:

From the fee the Department collects under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Department shall transfer the entire fee to the General Fund.

The Department, a local health department, or the Motor Vehicle Administration may collect a fee for a certificate requested by an agency of the State or any of its political subdivisions.

The Secretary may waive all or part of a fee if chargeable to an agency of the United States.

The fee set by the local health department or the Motor Vehicle Administration for processing and issuing a death certificate under this subsection may not exceed the actual costs to the local health department or the Motor Vehicle Administration for processing and issuing a death certificate.

The Department shall develop and implement security protocols and other protections to:

The security protocols and other protections developed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include an auditable record of the following information:

Publish a report of vital statistics, including population estimates; and

Print and distribute the report to any official, agency, library, or other person whom the Secretary considers entitled to the report.

An individual with a developmental disability, as defined in § 7–101(g) of this article, who resided in or was receiving services from any program or facility licensed or operated by the Developmental Disabilities Administration; or

An individual with a mental illness who resided in or was receiving services from any program or facility approved, licensed, or operated by the Behavioral Health Administration.

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, any information in the certificate that relates to a parent who did not give birth to a child is prima facie evidence.

If the parentage of the child is contested, and the parent who did not give birth to the child is a putative father as defined in § 5–1001 of the Family Law Article, the information that relates to the putative father is not evidence in any proceeding adverse to the interests of the putative father or the putative father’s heirs, next of kin, devisees, legatees, or other successors in interest.

The Secretary may investigate any irregularity or violation of this subtitle.

On request of the Secretary, each registrar shall help the Secretary in the investigation.

A person may not willfully provide false information for entry or willfully enter false information on a certificate of birth, death, or fetal death.

A person may not fail to provide a Social Security number or willfully provide a false Social Security number to the clerk of court under § 4–208(f) of this subtitle.

A person may not willfully use or attempt to use, with the intention to deceive, any certificate of birth or certified copy of a record of birth knowing that the certificate or certified copy:

A person may not willfully and knowingly provide a certificate of birth or a certified copy of a record of birth to another person with the intention that it be used by that person to deceive.

Violate any provision of this subtitle;

Neglect to perform any duty imposed by this subtitle; or

Violate any rule or regulation adopted under this subtitle.