Sec. 7-48. Birth certificates: Filing requirements.
Sec. 7-48. Birth certificates: Filing requirements. (a) Not later than ten days after each live birth which occurs in this state, a birth certificate shall be filed with the registrar of vital statistics in the town in which the birth occurred and the certificate shall be registered if properly filed, by manual or electronic systems as prescribed by the commissioner. On and after January 1, 1994, each hospital with two hundred or more live births in calendar year 1990, or any subsequent calendar year, shall electronically transmit birth information data to the department in a computer format approved by the department. Each birth certificate shall contain such information as the department may require and shall be completed in its entirety. Medical and health information which is required by the department, including information regarding voluntary acknowledgments of paternity and whether the child was born out of wedlock, shall be recorded on a confidential portion of the certificate to be sent directly to the department. Such confidential records may be used for statistical and health purposes by the department or by a local director of health, as authorized by the department, for records related to the town served by the local director of health and where the mother was a resident at the time of the birth of the child. Such birth certificate and confidential records may be used internally by the hospital for records transmitted by the hospital for statistical, health and quality assurance purposes. The department shall give due consideration to national uniformity in vital statistics in prescribing the format and content of such certificate.
(b) When a birth occurs in an institution or en route thereto, the person in charge of the institution or such person's designated representative shall obtain all available data required by the certificate, prepare the certificate, certify that the child was born alive at the place and time and on the date stated either by signature or by an electronic process approved by the commissioner and file the certificate with the registrar of vital statistics in the town in which the birth occurred, not later than ten days after such birth. The physician or other person in attendance, and the physician, institution or other person providing prenatal care, shall provide the medical information required by the certificate not later than seventy-two hours after the birth.
(c) (1) When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by the physician or midwife in attendance at or immediately after the birth or, in the absence of such a person, by the parent of the child, pursuant to the provisions of section 19a-41-1 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies.
(2) If the parent is unable to provide the information required to prepare and file the certificate pursuant to the provisions of section 19a-41-1 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, such parent or the legal guardian of the child may, prior to the child's first birthday, petition the Probate Court for the district where the birth is alleged to have occurred for an order requiring the registrar of vital statistics for the town where the birth occurred to create and file the certificate. The petitioner shall include with the petition the affidavits and other documentary evidence submitted to the registrar pursuant to the provisions of section 19a-41-1 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies. Such court shall schedule a hearing and cause notice of the hearing to be given to the following persons: (A) The petitioner; (B) the parent or legal guardian of the child, if the parent or legal guardian are not the petitioner; (C) the registrar; and (D) any other person as the court may determine has an interest in the hearing. The registrar or the registrar's authorized representative may appear and testify at such hearing. The petitioner shall have the burden of proving the parentage of the child and that the birth occurred on the date and at the place alleged by the petitioner. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence the parentage of the child and that the birth occurred on the date and at the place alleged by the petitioner, the court shall issue an order directing the registrar to prepare, register and file the certificate.
(3) In any proceeding under subdivision (2) of this subsection, the court, on the motion of any party or on the court's own motion, may order genetic testing, as provided in sections 46b-495 to 46b-500, inclusive, to determine parentage. The petitioner shall be responsible for the cost of any such genetic test required by the court, except the department shall pay such cost for any petitioner who is found by the court to be indigent. If the results of such test indicate a ninety-nine per cent or greater probability that a person is the parent of the child for whom a registration of birth is sought, the results shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the person is, in fact, the parent of the child for whom a registration of birth is sought.
(d) When a birth occurs in a moving conveyance and the child is first removed from the conveyance 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.
(1949 Rev., S. 570; 1967, P.A. 146; 1971, P.A. 323, S. 1; P.A. 73-45; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-434, S. 2; P.A. 84-8; P.A. 93-105; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7, S. 3, 38; P.A. 01-163, S. 10; P.A. 04-255, S. 3; P.A. 08-66, S. 1; 08-184, S. 46; P.A. 24-68, S. 1; P.A. 25-48, S. 1.)
History: 1967 act deleted specific reference to sex of child and parents names, age, color, residence, birthplace, occupation etc. and required consideration be given to national uniformity; 1971 act added provisions regarding use and disposition of confidential information, effective January 1, 1972; P.A. 73-45 required parents' social security numbers on birth certificates except as provided in Sec. 7-50; P.A. 77-614 substituted department of health services for department of health, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-434 deleted provisions regarding filing of certificate by doctor, midwife or parents and provisions enumerating contents of certificate, replacing them with general statements and added Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive; P.A. 84-8 amended Subsec. (a) to require the department of health services to destroy the confidential portion of a birth certificate at the end of three years, rather than one year; P.A. 93-105 amended Subsec. (a) to require electronic transfer of birth information after January 1, 1994, for hospitals with 200 or more live births in calendar year 1990; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring birth certificate to contain information re voluntary acknowledgments of paternity and whether child was born out of wedlock, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 01-163 amended Subsec. (a) by making technical changes, adding provision re filing by manual or electronic systems as prescribed by the commissioner, deleting provision re destruction of confidential portion at the end of three years and adding provisions re use of confidential records and amended Subsec. (b) by making a technical change, revising provisions re preparation of certificate and certification of birth and adding provisions re information provided by a person in attendance, the institution or a person providing prenatal care; P.A. 04-255 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring all birth certificates to be completed in their entirety; P.A. 08-66 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “The Social Security number of the mother and father” for “Medical” re information recorded on a confidential portion of the birth certificate; P.A. 08-184 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “Medical” for “The Social Security number of the mother and father” re information recorded on a confidential portion of the birth certificate; P.A. 24-68 amended Subsec. (c) by designating existing provision re birth certificate preparation and filing requirements for births occurring outside an institution as Subdiv. (1) and replacing “father or mother” with “parent of the child” and reference to regulations of Connecticut state agencies, adding Subdiv. (2) re petitions for court order to create and file birth certificates and adding Subdiv. (3) re court orders for genetic testing; P.A. 25-48 amended Subsec. (c)(2) by adding that legal guardian of child may petition for order to create and file birth certificate and making a technical change, effective June 10, 2025.
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Sec. 7-62b. Death certificates; filing and registration; responsibilities of funeral directors and licensed embalmers; medical certification; burial of person who died from communicable disease; “presumptive” death certificates; regulations; process for requesting short-form death certificate. (a) A death certificate for each death which occurs in this state shall be completed in its entirety and filed with the registrar of vital statistics in the town in which the death occurred not later than five business days after death if filing a paper certificate and not later than three calendar days after death if filing through an electronic death registry system, in order to obtain a burial permit prior to final disposition. The death certificate shall be registered if properly filed. If the place of death is unknown but the body is found in this state, the death certificate shall be completed and filed in accordance with this section, provided the place where the body is found shall be shown as the place of death.
(b) The funeral director or embalmer licensed by the department, or the funeral director or embalmer licensed in another state and complying with the terms of a reciprocal agreement on file with the department, in charge of the burial of the deceased person shall complete the death certificate through the electronic death registry system, or, if the electronic death registry system is unavailable, on a form provided by the department. Said certificate shall be filed by a licensed embalmer or such embalmer's designee or a funeral director or such director's designee, in accordance with the provisions of this section, except when inquiry is required by the Chief Medical Examiner's Office, in which case the death certificate shall be filed in accordance with section 19a-409. The Social Security number of the deceased person shall be recorded on such certificate. Such licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain a medical certification from the person responsible therefor, in accordance with the provisions of this section. Only a licensed embalmer may assume charge of the burial of a deceased person who had a communicable disease, as designated in the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, at the time of death and such licensed embalmer shall file an affidavit, on a form provided by the department, signed and sworn to by such licensed embalmer stating that the body has been disinfected in accordance with the regulations of Connecticut state agencies.
(c) The medical certification portion of the death certificate shall be completed, signed and returned to the licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer no later than twenty-four hours after death by the physician or advanced practice registered nurse in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, or upon the death of an infant delivered by a nurse-midwife, by such nurse-midwife, as provided in section 20-86b. In the absence of such physician or advanced practice registered nurse, or with the physician's or advanced practice registered nurse's approval, the medical certification may be completed and signed by an associate physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, a physician assistant as provided in subsection (d) of section 20-12d, a registered nurse as provided in section 20-101a, the chief medical officer of the institution in which death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent. No physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse-midwife, chief medical officer or pathologist shall sign and return the medical certification unless such physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse-midwife, chief medical officer or pathologist has personally viewed and examined the body of the person to whom the medical certification relates and is satisfied that at the time of the examination such person was in fact dead, except in the event a medical certification is completed by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse-midwife, chief medical officer or pathologist other than the one who made the determination and pronouncement of death, an additional viewing and examination of the body shall not be required. Such physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse-midwife, chief medical officer or pathologist shall certify to the facts of death through the electronic death registry system, or, if the electronic death registry is unavailable, on a form provided by the department. If a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse-midwife, chief medical officer or pathologist refuses or otherwise fails to complete, sign and return the medical portion of the death certificate to the licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer within twenty-four hours after death, such licensed funeral director or embalmer may notify the Commissioner of Public Health of such refusal. The commissioner may, upon receipt of notification and investigation, assess a civil penalty against such physician, advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant, registered nurse, chief medical officer or pathologist not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars. The medical certification shall state the cause of death, defined so that such death may be classified under the international list of causes of death, the duration of disease if known and such additional information as the Department of Public Health requires. The department shall give due consideration to national uniformity in vital statistics in prescribing the form and content of such information.
(d) If the cause of death cannot be determined within twenty-four hours after death and inquiry is not required by the Chief Medical Examiner, the medical certification may be completed in such manner as may be provided by regulation, adopted by the Commissioner of Public Health in accordance with chapter 54. The attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse shall give the licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer notice of the reason for the delay and final disposition of the body shall not be made until a signed medical certification is obtained from the attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse.
(e) When a death is presumed to have occurred within this state but the body cannot be located, a death certificate may be prepared by the Chief Medical Examiner upon receipt of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, which shall include the finding of facts required to complete the death certificate. Such death certificate shall be filed with the Department of Public Health and marked “presumptive” and shall show on its face the date of filing and shall identify the court and the date of decree.
(f) The Commissioner of Public Health may by regulation, adopted in accordance with chapter 54, provide for the extension of time periods prescribed for the filing of death certificates in cases where compliance therewith would result in undue hardship.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the Commissioner of Public Health shall establish, not later than January 1, 2026, a process by which a person may request a short-form death certificate, for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2021, that excludes the medical certification portion of the certificate for provision to persons or institutions that do not require knowledge of the cause of death of the decedent.
(P.A. 79-434, S. 6; P.A. 83-299, S. 1, 2; P.A. 92-10; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7, S. 5, 38; P.A. 01-163, S. 22; P.A. 04-221, S. 29; 04-255, S. 5; P.A. 12-36, S. 1; P.A. 21-121, S. 22; P.A. 25-97, S. 23.)
History: P.A. 83-299 amended Subsec. (c) to allow the commissioner of health services, upon notification from a funeral director or embalmer, to assess a civil penalty against a physician who fails to complete the medical portion of the death certificate within 24 hours after death; P.A. 92-10 amended Subsec. (c) by adding an exception for pronouncement of death by a registered nurse; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-7 amended Subsec. (b) by requiring Social Security number of deceased person to be recorded on death certificate, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 01-163 amended Subsec. (b) by making technical changes and adding provision re funeral directors or embalmers licensed in another state and complying with reciprocal agreement filed with the department; P.A. 04-221 amended Subsec. (c) by allowing advanced practice registered nurses or nurse-midwifes and, under certain circumstances, physician assistants or registered nurses to complete medical certification, and making conforming and technical changes; P.A. 04-255 amended Subsec. (a) to require death certificate to be completed in its entirety and add deadlines for filing, amended Subsec. (b) to specify that the certificate shall be filed by embalmer, funeral director or designee, change requirements applicable when person died of communicable disease to apply when person had such disease at time of death and change certificate of disinfection to affidavit on department form, amended Subsec. (c) to allow advanced practice registered nurse to complete, sign and return medical certification and allow advanced practice registered nurse, physician assistant or registered nurse to complete and sign such certification under certain circumstances, and made conforming changes throughout; P.A. 12-36 amended Subsec. (a) by adding references to business days and calendar days and by making technical changes; P.A. 21-121 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re completion of death certificate through the electronic death registry system and replacing “Public Health Code” with “regulations of Connecticut state agencies” and amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re certification of facts of death through the electronic death registry system, effective January 1, 2022; P.A. 25-97 added Subsec. (g) re process for requesting short-form death certificate, effective June 24, 2025.
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