RETURN AND REGISTRY OF BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title VII, ch. c. 46

in effect

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1 Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined

c. 46, § 1. Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined [ Section effective until November 20, 2025. For text effective November 20, 2025, see below.] Section 1. Each town clerk shall receive or obtain and record the following facts, as well as such additional information that may be required under federal statutes or contracts, regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, or, as the commissioner of public health may require, relative to births, marriage, acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity and deaths which occurred in the town and for certificates of marriage issued by the town. In the record of births, name, date of birth, place of birth and sex of child; legal names, dates of birth, residences, places of birth and surname at birth or adoption of the parent or parents. In the record of birth of a child born to parents not married to each other, the name of and other facts relating to the other parent or parents shall not be recorded except as provided in section 2 of chapter 209C where parentage has been acknowledged or adjudicated under the laws of the commonwealth or under the law of any other jurisdiction. In the record of marriages, date of record, date and place of marriage, name, residence and official station of the person by whom solemnized; for each of the parties to be married the name, date and place of birth, residence, age, number of the marriage, as first or second, and if previously married, whether widowed or divorced, and the birth-given names of their parents. In the record of death, date of death, names of deceased, including birth surname for women, social security number, sex, race, marital status, education, name of spouse if ever married, supposed age, residence, occupation, place of death, place of birth, names and places of birth of the parents, birth surname of the mother, disease or cause of death, defined so that it can be classified under the international classification of causes of death, place and type of immediate disposition. The word "residence'', as used in this section, shall include the name of the street and number, if any, of the house. Chapter 46: Section 1. Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents [ Text of section as amended by 2025, 68, Sec. 1 effective November 20, 2025. For text effective until November 20, 2025, see above. For text effective July 1, 2026, see below.] Section 1. Each local clerk shall obtain and record the following facts set forth in this section, as well as such additional information that may be required under federal statutes or contracts, regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17 or as the commissioner of public health may require, relative to births, marriages, acknowledgments and adjudications of parentage and deaths which occurred in the town or city and for certificates of marriage issued by the town or city: In the record of births, name, date of birth, place of birth and sex of child; legal names, dates of birth, residences, places of birth and surname at birth or adoption of the parent or parents; In the record of birth of a child born to parents not married to each other, the name of and other facts relating to the other parent or parents shall not be recorded except as provided in section 2 of chapter 209C where parentage has been acknowledged or adjudicated under the laws of the commonwealth or under the laws of any other jurisdiction; In the record of marriages, date of record, date and place of marriage, name, residence and official station of the person by whom solemnized; for each of the parties to be married the name, date and place of birth, residence, age, number of the marriage and if previously married, whether widowed or divorced and the name at birth or adoption of the parties' parents; [ Fifth paragraph effective until July 1, 2026. For text effective July 1, 2026, see below.] In the record of death, date of death, name of deceased, including surname at birth or adoption, social security number, gender, race, marital status, education, name of spouse if ever married, supposed age, residence, occupation, place of death, place of birth, surname at birth or adoption and places of birth of the deceased's parent or parents, disease or cause of death, defined so that it can be classified under the international classification of causes of death, and place and type of immediate disposition. [ Fifth paragraph as amended by 2025, 69, Sec. 1 effective July 1, 2026. See 2025, 69, Sec. 2. For text effective until July 1, 2026, see above.] In the record of death, date of death, name of deceased, including surname at birth or adoption, social security number, gender, race, marital status, education, name of spouse if ever married, supposed age, residence, occupation, place of death, place of birth, surname at birth or adoption and places of birth of the deceased's parent or parents, disease or cause of death, defined so that it can be classified under the international classification of causes of death, and place and type of immediate disposition. As used in this section, the word "residence'' shall include the name of the street and number, if any, of the house. For purposes of this section, the social security number in a record of death shall not be made available except upon request from a person with a legitimate need, as defined in regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1A Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings

c. 46, § 1A. Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings Section 1A. Each town clerk shall receive or obtain and record in the record of births facts relative to births of abandoned children and foundlings found within the limits of his town and the identity of whose parents is unknown. The facts relative to births required by section one shall, so far as possible, be set forth in records subject to this section, except that the town wherein such child or foundling was found shall be recorded as the place of birth, and that the date recorded as the date of birth shall be that determined by the commissioner of children and families. Such a record shall constitute the birth record of such child or foundling.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1B Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions

c. 46, § 1B. Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions Section 1B. Any resident of the commonwealth who is the parent of a child born outside the commonwealth may personally present to the town clerk of the town where such parent was domiciled at the time of such birth, or in the case of an adopted child, at the time of such adoption, an original certificate or other written evidence of the birth, and a certified copy of the adoption decree if adopted, or a duly authenticated photostatic copy thereof. The town clerk may file such documents as evidence establishing such birth or adoption, or may make a copy thereof, which he shall attest as a true copy, and which he may then file as such evidence. If such evidence is not, in the opinion of the town clerk, sufficient to establish such birth or adoption, and he refuses to file the same, a judge of probate in the county where such town lies may, on petition and after a hearing at which the clerk shall have an opportunity to be heard, order him to receive such certificate, written evidence or photostatic copy as sufficient evidence to establish such birth or adoption, whereupon such clerk shall file the same.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1C Filing reports of out-of-state deaths

c. 46, § 1C. Filing reports of out-of-state deaths Section 1C. The spouse or heirs at law of any resident of this commonwealth who dies outside the commonwealth may personally present to the town clerk of the town where such person was domiciled at the time of his death an original certificate or other written evidence of the same, or a duly authenticated photostatic copy thereof. The town clerk may file such certificate, written evidence or photostatic copy as evidence establishing such death, or may make a copy thereof, which he shall attest as a true copy, and which he may then file as such evidence. If such certificate, written evidence or photostatic copy is not, in the opinion of the town clerk, sufficient to establish such death, and he refuses to file the same, a judge of probate in the county wherein such town lies may, on petition and after a hearing at which the clerk shall have an opportunity to be heard, order him to receive such certificate, written evidence or photostatic copy as sufficient evidence to establish such death, whereupon such clerk shall file the same.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1D Adoption of surname upon marriage

c. 46, § 1D. Adoption of surname upon marriage Section 1D. Each party to a marriage may adopt any surname, including but not limited to the present or birth-given surname of either party, may retain or resume use of a present or birth-given surname, or may adopt any hyphenated combination thereof.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 1E Definitions

c. 46, § 1E. Definitions Section 1E. As used in this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) "Administrator'', the hospital administrator or other person in charge of a hospital or similar institution in which births occur. "Certified nurse-midwife'', a nurse licensed under section 80B of said chapter 112 and authorized to practice nurse-midwifery under section 80C of said chapter 112. (b) "Commissioner'', the commissioner of public health. (c) "Custodian'', a town clerk, the archivist of the commonwealth, the superintendent of the Quabbin reservoir and the state registrar. (d) "Department'', department of public health. (e) "Hospital medical officer'', a person registered under section nine of chapter one hundred and twelve. "Licensed certified professional midwife'', a midwife licensed to practice by the board of registration in midwifery pursuant to section 293 of chapter 112. (f) "Physician'', a person authorized or licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to section two of chapter one hundred and twelve. (g) "State registrar'', the registrar of vital records and statistics. (h) "Registry'', the registry of vital records and statistics established in section four of chapter seventeen. [ Subsection (i) effective until July 1, 2025. For text effective July 1, 2025, see below.] (i) "Town clerk or clerk'', a town clerk, city clerk or local registrar as provided in section twenty-two. [ Subsection (i) as amended by 2025, 9, Sec. 30 effective July 1, 2025. See 2025, 9, Sec. 138. For text effective until July 1, 2025, see above.] (i) "Local clerk'' or "town clerk'', a town clerk, city clerk or local registrar as provided in section 22.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 2 Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages

c. 46, § 2. Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages Section 2. Separate indexes of births, marriages and deaths shall be kept, and each entry shall be numbered in its order. The town clerk shall preserve all returns of births, marriages and deaths and shall conveniently arrange them for examination. He may record in separate columns the facts of such births, marriages and deaths.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 2A Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions

c. 46, § 2A. Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions Section 2A. Examination of records and returns of children born out of wedlock or abnormal sex births, or fetal deaths, or of the notices of intention of marriage and marriage records in cases where a physician's certificate has been filed under the provisions of section twenty A of chapter two hundred and seven, or those of persons born out of wedlock, or of copies of such records in the department of public health, shall not be permitted except upon proper judicial order, or upon request of a person seeking his own birth or marriage record, or his attorney, parent, guardian, or conservator, or a person whose official duties, in the opinion of the town clerk or the commissioner of public health, as the case may be, entitle him to the information contained therein, nor shall certified copies thereof be furnished except upon such order, or the request of such person. The provisions of this section shall not apply to such records, returns or notices recorded or filed prior to January first, eighteen hundred and forty-one or to such copies thereof.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 2B Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons

c. 46, § 2B. Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons Section 2B. Upon written application, which shall include proof of identity and payment of applicable fees, by an adopted person 18 years of age or older who was born in the commonwealth or by an adoptive parent of an adopted person under 18 years of age and born in the commonwealth, the state registrar shall:- (a) make available for inspection at the offices of the state registry the birth certificate prior to adoption which indicated the prior legal parent or parents listed on the initial birth certificate or if there has been more than 1 adoption, the birth certificate prior to the first adoption which indicates the parent or parents listed on the birth certificate prior to adoption. (b) send by certified mail return receipt to the adopted person age 18 or older or to the parents of an adopted person under 18 years of age a photocopy of the contents of the birth record with the following notation on it: ''The contents of this birth record are being released under section 2B of chapter 46 of the Massachusetts General Laws or under a court order. This record was amended by adoption. This is not a certified copy of a birth record.''

M.G.L. c. 46, § 2C Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent

c. 46, § 2C. Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent Section 2C. If an adopted person is deceased, his child, if 18 years or older, or such child's parent or guardian if such child is less than 18 years of age, shall be eligible to apply for the information his adopted parent would have access to under section 2B and to participate in the adoption contact information registry pursuant to section 31.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 3 Physician's record of birth; out of hospital birth

c. 46, § 3. Physician's record of birth; out of hospital birth Section 3. Every physician or hospital medical officer shall keep a record of birth of every child of which he is in charge showing the information required by section one, to be recorded in the records of birth. If a birth occurs in a hospital, or if a birth occurs elsewhere and the mother and child are taken to a hospital for postnatal care immediately after birth, said physician or hospital medical officer shall, within twenty-four hours after such birth, file with the administrator a report, on forms furnished by the commissioner, stating the facts required by section one to be shown on the record of such birth.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 3A Hospital administrator's duties; report; verification

c. 46, § 3A. Hospital administrator's duties; report; verification Section 3A. The administrator or person in charge of a hospital shall be required to obtain, within twenty-four hours after a birth occurring therein or the admittance thereto of a mother and child for post-natal care, the report required by section three. If the hospital in which such birth occurred delivers more than 99 births per year, such report shall be prepared on an electronic system of birth registration approved by the commissioner of public health and transmitted to the state registrar. Said administrator or person in charge shall then forthwith make, or cause to be made, a copy of such report on forms prepared and furnished by the commissioner of public health and shall, within ten days after obtaining such report, file such copies with the town clerk of the city or town wherein the birth occurred. Such copies shall be signed or otherwise verified by the mother in a manner developed pursuant to regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, or, if she is not able, then by the father or other responsible adult, attesting to the truth and accuracy of the facts appearing in the report. Such copies shall also be signed or otherwise verified, in a manner specified under regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, by the physician, certified nurse midwife or hospital medical officer in charge of such birth or by an administrator designated by the hospital as overseeing birth registration.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 3B Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report

c. 46, § 3B. Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report Section 3B. Every physician, certified nurse-midwife or licensed certified professional midwife attending a birth after which the mother and child are not admitted to a hospital for postnatal care immediately after birth shall, within ten days after such birth, file with the clerk of the city or town wherein such birth occurred a report on forms prepared and furnished by the commissioner of public health, stating the facts required to be shown on the record of such birth.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 3C Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage

c. 46, § 3C. Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage Section 3C. Prior to obtaining the report required by section three, if a birth is of a child whose mother was unmarried at the time of birth or conception, the administrator or person in charge of a hospital or similar institution in which such birth occurs, or his agent, shall: (a) provide written information, furnished by the IV–D agency as set forth in chapter one hundred and nineteen A, to the mother, and to the putative father if he is known to the administrator or person in charge of the hospital, regarding the benefits and responsibilities of parentage, including the availability of services to establish paternity, and shall provide an application for child support enforcement services; and (b) provide an opportunity for the child's mother and putative father to complete a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage pursuant to section eleven of chapter two hundred and nine C. If the mother of the child was or is married and the child's birth occurs during the marriage or within 300 days of termination of the marriage by divorce, a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage naming the putative father may be executed by the mother and the putative father only if the mother and the mother's husband at the time of the child's birth or conception sign an affidavit denying that the husband is the father of the child, as provided in section 5 of chapter 209C. Where the marriage has been terminated by annulment or by the death of either the husband or the wife, paternity of the putative father may only be established by filing a complaint to establish paternity as provided by chapter 209C.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 3D Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV–D agency

c. 46, § 3D. Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV–D agency Section 3D. The state registrar shall accept for filing acknowledgments of paternity obtained by the hospital administrator and the city and town clerk pursuant to this chapter and adjudications of paternity entered by the court pursuant to chapter 209C and shall upon request make such records available to the IV–D agency as set forth in chapter 119A. The state registrar shall upon such request make available, including by electronic access, to the IV–D agency for purposes of child support enforcement, records of adjudications and acknowledgments and records of subjects for whom no father's name has been inserted on the subject's birth certificate within six months of birth, including the names, addresses, and social security number of the subject of the record, the subject's mother, and the subject's father, where available.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 4 Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing

c. 46, § 4. Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing Section 4. The mother of a child who was born without a physician or hospital medical officer in attendance shall, within thirty days after the birth of such child, file a report of such birth, signed and sworn to by her, setting forth the facts required for a record as provided in section one, with the clerk or registrar of the city or town wherein such birth occurred. Such report shall be on a form prepared and furnished to the clerk by the commissioner. Written evidence substantiating such facts shall be required by said clerk or registrar and if he is satisfied as to the truth and accuracy thereof, he shall make a record of such birth. If, however, in the opinion of the clerk or registrar such evidence is not satisfactory, he shall refuse, in writing, to record such birth. The mother may then present a petition, together with such written refusal and her evidence to establish the validity of such record, to a judge of the probate court for the county where such birth occurred. Written notice shall be given to said clerk or registrar of the time and place of the hearing on such petition. After such hearing, if the court is of the opinion that such birth should be recorded, it shall order such recording. Upon receipt of such order, the clerk or registrar shall make a record of such birth.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 4A Local officials; processing of birth certificates

c. 46, § 4A. Local officials; processing of birth certificates Section 4A. Each town clerk upon receipt of the return of a birth in his town shall determine that it is filled out in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and if he shall record it as required by section one. If there are any deficiencies or omissions therein, he shall contact the physician, administrator or parents, as the case may require, for the necessary clarification, amendment or supplementation or may require the preparation of a new certificate if necessary to insure compliance with this chapter. Upon request of the chairman of the local board of health, said town clerk shall file daily with the local board of health a list of all births reported to him, showing as to each, the date of birth, sex, name of the child, names of the parents, their residence and the name of the physician or officer in charge. Such list shall not be a public record.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 6 Notification of births and deaths

c. 46, § 6. Notification of births and deaths Section 6. Parents, within forty days after the birth of a child, and every householder, within forty days after a birth in his house, shall cause notice thereof to be given to the clerk of the town where such child is born. The commissioner of children and families, within forty days after the delivery or commitment of an abandoned child or foundling to the department of children and families, shall cause notice of the birth of such child or foundling to be given to the clerk of the town wherein such child or foundling was found. Every householder in whose house a death occurs and the oldest next of kin of a deceased person in the town where the death occurs shall, within five days thereafter, cause notice thereof to be given to the board of health, or, if the selectmen constitute such board, to the town clerk. The keeper, superintendent or person in charge of a house of correction, prison, reformatory, hospital, infirmary or other institution, public or private, which receives inmates from within or without the limits of the town where it is located shall, when a person is received, obtain a record of all the facts which would be required for record in the event of the death of such person, and shall, on or before the fifth day of each month, give notice to the town clerk of every birth and death among the persons under his charge during the preceding month. The facts required for record by section one or section one A, as the case may be, shall, so far as obtainable, be included in every notice given under this section.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 7 Report of births and deaths at sea

c. 46, § 7. Report of births and deaths at sea Section 7. The master or other commanding officer of a vessel shall give notice, with the facts required for record, of every birth or death occurring among the persons under his charge. The notice of a birth shall be given to the clerk, and the notice of a death shall be given to the board of health or, if the selectmen constitute such board, to the clerk of the town at which his vessel first arrives after such birth or death.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 7A Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation

c. 46, § 7A. Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation Section 7A. The captain or other commanding officer of an airplane shall give notice, with the facts required for record, of every birth occurring among the persons under his charge. Said notice shall be given to the clerk of the town at which his airplane first arrives after such birth. The captain or other commanding officer of an airplane neglecting to give notice of such a birth for ten days after the arrival of his airplane at the place where notice is to be given shall forfeit not more than five dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 8 Penalty for failure to report births and deaths

c. 46, § 8. Penalty for failure to report births and deaths Section 8. A parent, keeper, superintendent or other person required by section six to give or cause to be given notice of a birth or death, neglecting so to do for ten days after the time limited therefor, and the master or commanding officer of a vessel neglecting so to do for ten days after the arrival of his vessel at the place where notice is to be given, shall forfeit not more than five dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 9 Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant

c. 46, § 9. Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant Section 9. A physician, after the death of a person whom he has attended during such person's last illness, or the physician declaring such person dead, or the medical examiner, as provided for in section six of chapter thirty-eight, or, if the death occurred in a hospital, a hospital medical officer duly appointed by the administrator, shall immediately furnish for registration a standard certificate of death, or in the case of a medical examiner, a medical examiner's certificate of death, to an undertaker or other authorized person or a member of the family of the deceased, stating to the best of his knowledge and belief the name of the deceased, the disease of which he died, defined as required by section one, where the same was contracted, the duration of the illness from which he died, and the date of death. Said physician, officer or medical examiner shall print or type on every certificate furnished by him under this section the cause, or causes, of death and, directly below his signature, his name and the date the certificate was signed. The foregoing provisions shall apply in the same manner in the event of a child dying immediately after birth. Both the birth and death of such child shall be recorded. When a patient suffering from a terminal illness or whose death is anticipated and who is receiving the services of a home health agency, as that term is defined in 42 USC 1395x(o), or of a hospice program licensed by the commonwealth, or who resides in a certified nursing home or who is enrolled in a PACE program as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396u-4, dies, at home, in a hospice, or a nursing home, a registered professional nurse, licensed by the board of registration in nursing and employed by a certified home health agency, hospice, nursing home or a PACE program as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396u-4, may declare such person dead; provided, however, that said nurse first makes a reasonable effort to contact the attending physician or medical examiner before making such determination or pronouncement; provided, further, that such determination or pronouncement be made in writing on a form approved by the commissioner of public health and subscribed under pain and penalties of perjury; and provided, further, that said physician or medical examiner be notified forthwith of the exact location to which the decedent has been removed. A registered physician assistant, after the death of a person who was a patient under the care of such physician assistant, may declare such person dead; provided, however, that said physician assistant first makes a reasonable effort to contact the attending physician or medical examiner before making such determination or pronouncement; provided, further, that such determination or pronouncement be made in writing on a form approved by the commissioner of public health and subscribed under pains and penalties of perjury; and, provided further, that the medical examiner be notified forthwith of the exact location to which the decedent has been removed. A physician assistant may take all action required under this section to furnish a standard certificate of death for registration. A nurse practitioner, after the death of a person who was a patient under the care of such nurse practitioner, may declare the person dead. Before making a pronouncement of death, a nurse practitioner shall make a reasonable effort to contact the attending physician or medical examiner. A pronouncement of death under this paragraph shall be made in writing on a form approved by the commissioner of public health and subscribed under the pains and penalties of perjury. A physician or the medical examiner shall be notified forthwith of the exact location to which the decedent has been removed.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 9B Penalties

c. 46, § 9B. Penalties Section 9B. A physician or officer neglecting or refusing to furnish a certificate as provided in section nine or making a false statement therein, shall forfeit not more than fifty dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 10 Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation

c. 46, § 10. Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation Section 10. A physician or officer furnishing a certificate of death as required by section nine or by section forty-five of chapter one hundred and fourteen, shall, if the deceased, to the best of his knowledge and belief, was a Spanish War, World War I, World War II, Korean or Vietnam veteran, as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four, or served in the Mexican border service of nineteen hundred and sixteen and nineteen hundred and seventeen, insert in the certificate a recital to that effect, and shall also certify in such certificate both the primary and the secondary or immediate cause of death as nearly as he can state the same. For neglect to comply with any provision of this section, such physician or officer shall forfeit ten dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 11 Duties of undertakers

c. 46, § 11. Duties of undertakers Section 11. Every undertaker or other person in charge of a funeral shall forthwith obtain the physician's or officer's certificate required by section nine, enter thereon the facts as to the deceased required by section one to be recorded, and return it to the board of health or its agent, or, if the selectmen constitute such board, to the clerk of the town where the death occurred. The board of health shall transmit such certificate to the town clerk.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 12 Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions

c. 46, § 12. Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions Section 12. Except as hereinafter provided, the clerk of a city or town shall forthwith make a certified copy of the record of each birth and death recorded during the preceding month, if the parents of the child born were at the time of said birth residents of any other city or town in the commonwealth, or if the deceased at the time of his death was a resident of any other city or town aforesaid or was a war veteran and was buried in any other city or town aforesaid, and transmit such certified copy to the clerk of the city or town where such parents or deceased person were so resident, setting forth the name of the street and number of the house, if any, where such parents or deceased person so resided and, in the case of a deceased war veteran as aforesaid, to the clerk of the city or town where he was buried, setting forth the cemetery or other place of burial. No birth record of a child born out of wedlock or of a child of abnormal sex shall be so transmitted to any other city or town except with the written authorization of the natural mother at the time of the birth.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 13 Correction of records

c. 46, § 13. Correction of records [ Text of section effective until July 1, 2025. For text effective July 1, 2025, see below.] Section 13. (a) If the record relating to a birth, marriage, acknowledgment or adjudication of paternity, or death does not contain all the required facts, or if it is claimed that the facts are not correctly stated therein, the town clerk or state registrar shall receive from the person required by law to furnish the information for the original record, or by credible persons having knowledge of the case, an affidavit containing the missing or corrected facts required to correct or complete the record, accompanied by documentary evidence substantiating such facts beyond a reasonable doubt. Except as hereinafter provided, such amendments or additions can be made only to reflect the correct information at the time of the event. The minimum documentary evidence to be required shall be specified by regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17. (b) Any record filed under this chapter may be amended, corrected or supplemented within one year after the date of the event without such affidavit or documentary evidence if allowed by regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of chapter 17, except such amendments, corrections, or supplements which are expressly provided for hereinafter. (c) If a person shall have acquired the status of a child born in wedlock by the intermarriage of his parents and the acknowledgment of his father or an adjudication of paternity by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth or any other law, the record of his birth shall be amended so as to read, in all respects, as if such person had been reported at the time of birth as born to such parents in lawful wedlock. (d) If a person is born to parents not married to each other or if the mother and her husband at the time of the birth or conception of the child complete an affidavit denying that the husband is the father of the child, or if there is an adjudication of the nonpaternity of the mother's husband, such person's birth record shall be amended to include the putative father's information required by section 1 provided that: (1) the mother and the putative father have signed and filed an acknowledgment of paternity with the clerk in the city or town where the birth occurred, the state registrar, or the probate and family court having jurisdiction over the parties or the child pursuant to chapter 209C; (2) there has been a judgment of paternity by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment on a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate; (3) there has been an acknowledgment of paternity, or a judgment of paternity by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth or of another state or a foreign country, and one of the following persons requests an amendment and presents to the state registrar a copy of such judgment: the mother, the father named in such acknowledgment or judgment of paternity, the father named currently on the birth record, the subject of the record, the legal guardian of the subject, or the legal representative of any of the foregoing; (4) there has been a judgment of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth and the court orders the state registrar to originally issue or to amend the birth certificate to include the information relating to the parentage of the child. Such order may include an order to amend information relating to the name of the child; or (5) there has been a judgment of paternity by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth approving or adopting a judgment establishing paternity issued by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the law of another state or a foreign country, and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment on a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate. The clerk of the city or town where the child was born or the state registrar shall amend the birth certificate consistent with the findings of the court and the certificate shall be required to read, in all respects, as if such information had been reported at the time of such birth. The fact that paternity was established after the child's birth shall not be ascertainable from the new certificate but the actual place and date of birth shall be shown. The original certificate and the evidence upon which the amended birth certificate was made and the original birth certificate shall be subject to inspection by the mother, the father, the subject of the record, any man presumed to be the father under section 6 of chapter 209C, or government officials requiring access for their official duties, including the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A, or a legal representative of the subject of the record; an order of the probate and family court in the county where the child was born is required for anyone else seeking access to the original record or evidence. (e)(1) A person who is 18 years of age or older, an emancipated minor or the parent or guardian of a person who is a minor may request a change in the sex designation on the person's birth record to a sex designation including, but not limited to, "female'', "male'' or "X''. An "X'' designation may indicate that the person is another gender or an undesignated gender. A request for a change in the sex designation on a birth record shall be accompanied by an affidavit executed under the penalty of perjury by the person to whom the record relates or by the parent or guardian of the person if the person is a minor attesting that the request is to conform the person's birth record to the person's gender identity and is not made for any fraudulent purpose. No medical or healthcare related documentation, court order or proof of change of name shall be required by a town clerk or other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (2) A person who requests a change in the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (1) may request a change of name on the person's birth record. A request for a change of name on a birth record shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the legal change of name. No medical or healthcare related documentation shall be required by a town clerk or other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (3) A person who has changed the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (1) but did not request a change of name on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (2) may request a change of name on the person's birth record within 3 years from the date of the change in the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to said paragraph (1); provided, however, that a person whose sex designation on their birth record was changed while the person was a minor shall have 3 years from the date of their eighteenth birthday to request a change of name on the person's birth record; provided further, that the department may waive the 3-year limitation for a person that demonstrates good cause, as determined by the department. A request for a change of name on a birth record shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the legal change of name. No medical or healthcare related documentation shall be required by a town clerk or other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (4) The department of public health may promulgate regulations to implement this subsection. (f) If the birth of a child is recorded as that of a child born in wedlock to the mother and the man who was her husband at the time of such birth, and the nonpaternity of the husband has been legally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth or by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of another state or foreign country, or if the birth of a child is recorded as that of a child whose parentage has been acknowledged by the mother and the putative father and either parent rescinds the acknowledgment as provided in section 11 of chapter 209C or under similar law of another state or foreign country, the birth record shall be amended to remove the father's information provided that: (1) there has been a judgment of nonpaternity by a court under the laws of the commonwealth and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment, together with a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate; or (2) there has been a judgment of nonpaternity by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of another state or foreign country and one of the following persons requests an amendment and presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment: the mother, the father named in such judgment of nonpaternity, the subject of the record, the legal guardian of the subject of the record, or the legal representative of any of the foregoing. (g) If a person shall have been adopted by judicial decree, the clerk of the town where such person was born or the state registrar shall receive the certificate of such adoption issued under the authority of section 6A of chapter 210 or a certified copy of the decree for such adoption, whether issued by a probate court for the commonwealth or by the appropriate court of any other state or country. Except as hereinafter provided, said clerk or state registrar, after receiving such certificate of adoption or any such certified copy, shall forthwith correct the record of birth of the person so adopted. If such certificate or certified copy does not contain the facts relative to the adopting parents hereinafter required for correcting such record, the clerk or state registrar shall not correct such record until he has received an affidavit, signed and sworn to by the adopting parents, or by the person adopted, furnishing such facts. If a person who was in the custody of the department of children and families is adopted and the adopting parents surrender the person back to the department, that person shall have the right to change the birth certificate back to that person's biological name. (h) The clerk or state registrar shall on forms provided by the state registrar complete an amended, corrected, or supplemented record of birth, death, acknowledgment or adjudication of paternity, or marriage. The original record of birth, death, acknowledgment or adjudication of paternity, or marriage and all returns and index entries in whatever format they are maintained shall be identified as corrected, amended, or supplemented. Effective January 1, 2000, all documentary evidence, including certificates of adoption or certified copies thereof, shall be sent to the state registrar for permanent filing. Until that date, the clerk shall transmit to the state registrar a certified copy of the corrected, amended or supplemented record, noting the documentary evidence to substantiate the affidavit. If the affidavit is initially submitted to the state registrar, the state registrar shall forward to the town clerk where the birth or death occurred, a certified copy of the corrected, amended or supplemented record, noting the documentary evidence to substantiate the affidavit, and the town clerk shall thereupon correct, amend or supplement the record in his office. If a copy of the record had been sent to the town clerk of the residence of the parents at the time of birth or where the deceased lived at the time of death, the state registrar shall forward to such city or town clerk a certified copy of the corrected, amended or supplemented record, noting the documentary evidence to substantiate the affidavit, and the town clerk shall thereupon correct, amend or supplement the record in his office. Reference to the record of the affidavit or such decree shall be made on the margin of the original record. If the clerk or state registrar furnishes a copy of such a record, he shall certify to the facts contained therein as corrected, amended or supplemented. Except as provided in the following two sentences, said clerk or other official responsible for the keeping of such records shall not release said information contained in such original record except upon proper judicial order, or when requested by a person seeking his own birth or marriage record, or by a person whose official duties, in the opinion of the state registrar or town clerk, entitle him to the information contained in the original record. Death records which are corrected, amended or supplemented after January 1, 1996, as well as the affidavit of the party seeking the correction, amendment, or supplementation of the death record and all documentary evidence or related records submitted in support of such affidavit shall not be restricted, except for records or other items of documentary evidence submitted in support of the affidavit which are considered medical records for purposes of paragraph (c) of clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 are restricted by section 2A of this chapter, or are restricted by judicial order. If the original record has been amended following adoption in accordance with this section, the clerk or state registrar shall issue information contained in the original record only upon receipt of an order of the probate court for the county in which said adoption was granted or in accordance with section 2B, or in the case of an adoption granted outside the commonwealth, upon order of the probate court for the county in which said birth occurred or in accordance with said section 2B, instructing said clerk or state registrar to release the information contained in such original record. Evidence contained in the adoption record of a parent's willingness to provide information about her identity to the adopted person shall, except in extraordinary circumstances, be considered sufficient evidence to warrant the granting of an order for release of the information contained in the birth certificate registered prior to adoption. If the corrected, amended or supplemented record is that of a person who has acquired the status of a child born in wedlock, or whose record has been amended through an adoption decree, or whose record has been amended through addition of a named parent, or whose record has been amended pursuant to subsection (e), the clerk or state registrar shall not indicate on such copy that the record has been corrected, amended or supplemented. (i) Such affidavit, or a certified copy of the record of any other town or of a written statement made at the time by any person since deceased required by law to furnish evidence thereof, may be made the basis for completing the record of a birth, marriage or death not containing all the facts required by section 1 of this chapter. No delayed record of birth shall be established for any deceased person more than five years after the date of death nor shall any delayed record of marriage be established if both the wife and husband are deceased, except as provided by sections 13A, 13B and 13C. (j) Upon the adoption of any abandoned child or foundling within the commonwealth and adopted according to the laws thereof and as to whose birth the facts required by section 1 or section 1A to be recorded have not been recorded, or, if recorded, cannot be identified, the state registrar upon receipt of an affidavit executed by the adopting parents, setting forth all the material facts known to him or them concerning said child or foundling, and of an order issued by the commissioner of children and families determining the date of birth of such child or foundling as nearly as may be, shall receive and record the facts relative to such births as provided in section 1 or section 1A. In addition to any other certificates or copies of such records authorized by law, said commissioner may, upon application, issue certificates setting forth the facts concerning said abandoned child or foundling appearing in any records of the department of children and families if no certificate of birth is recorded in the city or town where the child was born or the state registry. (k) The person upon whose application a record of a birth, marriage or death is corrected or amended, or a delayed record of a birth, marriage or death is entered shall pay the fee as determined by the secretary of administration and finance. (l) Upon application of both parties to a marriage, the record of marriage shall be amended to remove the sex of either or both parties to the marriage and change either or both parties' names upon receipt of the following by the state registrar or town clerk: (i) an affidavit executed by the parties to the marriage on a form provided by the registrar attesting to their concurrence that the record be amended to reflect or remove the gender identity or sex of the any such party; and (ii) a request by a party for a change of name along with evidence of the party's legal change of name. Chapter 46: Section 13. Correction of records [ Text of section as amended by 2025, 9, Sec. 31 effective July 1, 2025. See 2025, 9, Sec. 138. For text effective until July 1, 2025, see above.] Section 13. Section 13. (a) If a record relating to a birth, marriage, acknowledgment or adjudication of parentage or death does not contain all the facts required under section 1, or if it is claimed that the facts are not correctly stated therein, the local clerk or state registrar shall receive from the person required by law to furnish the information for the original record, or by credible persons having knowledge of the case, an affidavit containing the missing or corrected facts required to correct or complete the record, accompanied by documentary evidence substantiating such facts beyond a reasonable doubt. Except as hereinafter provided, such amendments shall be made only to reflect the correct information at the time of the event. The minimum documentary evidence to be required shall be specified by regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17. (b) Any record filed under this chapter may be amended, corrected or supplemented within 1 year after the date of the event without such affidavit or documentary evidence if allowed by regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, except such amendments, corrections or supplements which are expressly provided for hereinafter. (c) If a person shall have acquired the status of a marital child by the intermarriage of the person's parents and the acknowledgment of the child's other parent or an adjudication of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth or any other jurisdiction, the record of the person's birth shall be amended so as to read, in all respects, as if such person had been reported at the time of birth as born to such parents in lawful wedlock. (d) If a person is born to parents not married to each other or if the person who gave birth and such person's spouse at the time of the birth or conception of the child complete an affidavit denying that the spouse is the parent of the child or if there is an adjudication of nonparentage of the spouse, such person's birth record shall be amended to include the alleged genetic parent's information required by section 1; provided, however, that: (i) the person who gave birth and the alleged genetic parent have signed and filed an acknowledgment of parentage with the local clerk in the city or town where the birth occurred, the state registrar or the probate and family court having jurisdiction over the parties or the child pursuant to chapter 209C; (ii) there has been a judgment of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment on a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate; (iii) there has been an acknowledgment of parentage or a judgment of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of the commonwealth or of another state or a foreign country and 1 of the following persons requests an amendment and presents to the state registrar a copy of such judgment: (A) the parent who gave birth; (B) the other parent named in such acknowledgment or judgment of parentage; (C) the other parent named currently on the birth record; (D) the subject of the record; (E) the legal guardian of the subject; or (F) the legal representative of any of the foregoing; (iv) there has been a judgment of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth and the court orders the state registrar to amend the birth certificate to include the information relating to the other parent; provided, however, that such order may include an order to amend information relating to the name of the child; or (v) there has been a judgment of parentage by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth approving or adopting a judgment establishing parentage issued by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of another state or a foreign country and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment on a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate; provided, however, that the local clerk of the city or town where the child was born or the state registrar shall amend the birth certificate consistent with the findings of the court and the certificate shall be required to read, in all respects, as if such information had been reported at the time of such birth; provided further, that the fact that parentage was established after the child's birth shall not be ascertainable from the new certificate but the actual place and date of birth shall be shown; provided further, that the original certificate and the evidence upon which the amended birth certificate was made shall be subject to inspection by the parent who gave birth, the other parent, the subject of the record, any person presumed to be the parent under section 6 of chapter 209C or a government official requiring access for their official duties, including the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A or a legal representative of the subject of the birth record; and provided further, that an order of the probate and family court in the county where the child was born shall be required for anyone else seeking access to the original birth record or the evidence upon which the amended birth certificate was made. (e)(1) A person who is 18 years of age or older, an emancipated minor or the parent or guardian of a minor may request a change in the sex designation on the person's birth record to a sex designation including, but not limited to, "female'', "male'' or "X''. An "X'' designation may indicate that the person is another gender or an undesignated gender. A request for a change in the sex designation on a birth record shall be accompanied by an affidavit executed under the penalty of perjury by the person to whom the record relates or by the parent or guardian of the person if the person is a minor attesting that the request is to conform the person's birth record to the person's gender identity and is not made for any fraudulent purpose; provided, however, that no medical or healthcare related documentation, court order or proof of change of name shall be required by a local clerk, the state registrar or any other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (2) A person who requests a change in the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (1) may request a change of name on the person's birth record. A request for a change of name on a birth record shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the legal change of name; provided, however, that no medical or healthcare related documentation shall be required by a local clerk, the state registrar or any other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (3) A person who has changed the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (1) but did not request a change of name on the person's birth record pursuant to paragraph (2) may request a change of name on the person's birth record within 3 years from the date of the change in the sex designation on the person's birth record pursuant to said paragraph (1); provided, however, that a person whose sex designation on their birth record was changed while the person was a minor shall have 3 years from the date of their eighteenth birthday to request a change of name on the person's birth record; and provided further, that the department may waive the 3-year limitation for a person that demonstrates good cause, as determined by the department. A request for a change of name on a birth record shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the legal change of name; provided, however, that no medical or healthcare related documentation shall be required by a local clerk, the state registrar or any other official in connection with a request under this paragraph. (4) Upon joint application by parents, the birth record of a minor child shall be amended to change a parent or parents' names upon receipt by the state registrar or local clerk of a request for a change of name along with a certified copy of the legal change of name or names. A request shall be accompanied by an affidavit executed under the penalty of perjury that the request is to conform the record to a change of name pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) and is not made for any fraudulent purpose. (f) If the birth of a child is recorded as that of a marital child, and the nonparentage of the spouse has been legally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth or by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of another state or foreign country, or if the birth of a child is recorded as that of a child whose parentage has been acknowledged by the person who gave birth and the other parent and either parent rescinds the acknowledgment as provided in section 11 of chapter 209C or under similar law of another state or foreign country, the birth record shall be amended to remove the other parent's information; provided, however, that: (i) there has been a notarized rescission filed with the department of public health or a judgment of nonparentage or judgment of divorce by a court under the laws of the commonwealth and the court presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment, together with a form provided by the state registrar to amend the birth certificate; or (ii) there has been a judgment of nonparentage or judgment of divorce by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction under the laws of another state or foreign country and 1 of the following persons requests an amendment and presents to the state registrar a certified copy of such judgment: (A) the person who gave birth; (B) the parent named in such judgment of nonparentage or judgment of divorce; (C) the subject of the record; (D) the legal guardian of the subject of the record; or (E) the legal representative of any of the foregoing. (g) If a person shall have been adopted by judicial decree, the local clerk where such person was born or the state registrar shall receive the certificate of such adoption issued under the authority of section 6A of chapter 210 or a certified copy of the decree for such adoption, whether issued by a probate court for the commonwealth or by the appropriate court of any other state or country. Except as hereinafter provided, said clerk or state registrar, after receiving such certificate of adoption or any such certified copy, shall correct the record of birth of the adopted person. If such record or certified copy does not contain the facts required by this section relative to the adopting parents for correcting such record, the local clerk or state registrar shall not correct such record until they have received an affidavit signed and sworn to by the adopting parents, or by the person adopted, furnishing such facts. If a person who was in the custody of the department of children and families is adopted and the adopting parents surrender the person back to the department, that person shall have the right to change the birth certificate back to that person's birth name. (h) The local clerk or state registrar in receipt of an adoption record pursuant to this section shall, on forms provided by the state registrar, complete an amended, corrected or supplemented record of birth, death or marriage or acknowledgment or adjudication of parentage. The original record of birth, death or marriage or acknowledgment or adjudication of parentage and all returns and index entries in whatever format they are maintained shall be identified as corrected, amended or supplemented. All documentary evidence, including certificates of adoption or certified copies thereof, shall be sent to the state registrar for a permanent filing. If the affidavit is initially submitted to the state registrar, the state registrar shall forward to the local clerk of the municipality where the birth or death occurred, a certified copy of the corrected, amended or supplemented record, noting the documentary evidence to substantiate the affidavit, and the local clerk shall thereupon correct, amend or supplement the record in the office of the clerk. If a copy of the record is sent to the local clerk of the municipality where the parents resided at the time of birth or where the deceased lived at the time of death, the state registrar shall forward to such local clerk a certified copy of the corrected, amended or supplemented record, noting the documentary evidence to substantiate the affidavit, and the local clerk shall thereupon correct, amend or supplement the record in the office of the clerk. Reference to the record of the affidavit or such decree shall be made on the margin of the original record. If the local clerk or state registrar furnishes a copy of such a record, they shall certify the facts contained therein as corrected, amended or supplemented. Except as provided in this section, the local clerk or other official responsible for the keeping of such records shall not release information contained in the original record except upon proper judicial order or when requested by a person seeking their own birth or marriage record or by a person whose official duties, in the opinion of the local clerk or state registrar, entitle them to the information contained in the original record. Death records corrected, amended or supplemented after January 1, 1996, as well as the affidavit of the party seeking the correction, amendment or supplementation of the death record and all documentary evidence or related records submitted in support of such affidavit, shall not be restricted, except for records or other items of documentary evidence submitted in support of the affidavit which are: (i) considered medical records for purposes of paragraph (c) of clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4; (ii) restricted by section 2A; or (iii) restricted by judicial order. If the original record has been amended following adoption in accordance with this section, the local clerk or state registrar shall issue information contained in the original record only upon receipt of an order of the probate court for the county in which said adoption was granted or in accordance with section 2B or, in the case of an adoption granted outside the commonwealth, upon receipt of an order of the probate court for the county in which the birth of the adopted person occurred or in accordance with section 2B, instructing said clerk or state registrar to release the information contained in such original record. Evidence contained in the adoption record of a parent's willingness to provide information about their identity to the adopted person shall, except in extraordinary circumstances, be considered sufficient evidence to warrant the granting of an order for release of the information contained in the birth certificate registered prior to adoption. If the corrected, amended or supplemented record is that of a person who has acquired the status of a marital child or whose record has been amended through an adoption decree or whose record has been amended through addition of a named parent or whose record has been amended pursuant to subsection (e), the local clerk or state registrar shall not indicate on such copy that the record has been corrected, amended or supplemented. (i) An affidavit or a certified copy of the record of any other municipality or of a written statement made at the time by any person since deceased required by law to furnish evidence of said affidavit, may be the basis for completing the record of a birth, marriage or death not containing all the facts required by section 1. No record of birth shall be established for a deceased person more than 5 years after the date of death nor shall a record of marriage be established if both spouses are deceased, except as provided by sections 13A, 13B and 13C. (j) Upon the adoption of an abandoned child or foundling within the commonwealth the facts of whose birth are not recorded pursuant to sections 1 or 1A, or, if such facts are recorded, cannot otherwise be identified, the state registrar, upon receipt of: (i) an affidavit executed by the adopting parents setting forth all material facts known concerning said abandoned child or foundling; and (ii) an order issued by the commissioner of children and families determining the most probable date of birth of such abandoned child or foundling shall record the facts relative to the birth pursuant to sections 1 or 1A. In addition to any other certificates or copies of records authorized by law, the commissioner may, upon application, issue certificates setting forth the facts concerning an abandoned child or foundling appearing in any records of the department of children and families if no certificate of birth is recorded in the municipality where the abandoned child or foundling was born or the state registry. (k) If an application to correct or amend a record of birth, marriage or death or a delayed record of a birth, marriage or death is approved, the applicant shall pay a fee as determined by the secretary of administration and finance. (l) Upon application of both parties to a marriage, the record of such marriage shall be amended to remove the sex of either or both parties to the marriage and, if applicable, to change the name of either or both parties to the marriage. Such application shall be made to the state registrar or local clerk of the city or town where the marriage record was issued and shall include: (i) an affidavit executed by both parties to the marriage on a form provided by the state registrar attesting to their concurrence that the record be amended to remove sex of either or both parties; and (ii) if applicable, a request by a party to the marriage for a change of name along with evidence of the party's legal change of name.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 13A Correction of birth records; procedure

c. 46, § 13A. Correction of birth records; procedure Section 13A. If it is claimed that a child was born in a city or town in this commonwealth and the clerk or registrar of such city or town has no record thereof, said clerk or registrar may receive an affidavit, signed and sworn to by a parent of such child, or, in his discretion, by some credible person or persons having knowledge of the case, setting forth the facts relating to such birth, in the manner provided by section one, and documentary evidence substantiating such facts beyond reasonable doubt. The minimum documentary evidence to be required in accordance with this section shall be determined by regulation as provided for in section four of chapter seventeen. If said clerk or registrar is satisfied as to the truth and accuracy of the statements in such affidavit and the sufficiency of the evidence submitted therewith, he shall make a record of such birth. A person who is unable to furnish such an affidavit for the establishment of his birth record may petition the clerk or registrar of the city or town wherein it is claimed his birth occurred for the recording of his birth. If the evidence submitted by the petitioner is satisfactory to said clerk or registrar as a basis for establishing such record, he shall accept the same and record the birth. If, however, in the opinion of said clerk or registrar such evidence is not satisfactory, he shall refuse in writing to record the birth. Such person may then present a petition, together with such written refusal and his evidence to establish the validity of such record, to a judge of the probate court of the county in which such city or town is located. Written notice shall be given to said clerk or registrar of the time and place of the hearing on such petition. After such hearing, if it is the opinion of the court that such birth should be recorded, it shall be so ordered. Upon receipt of such order from said judge, said clerk or registrar shall establish the record.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 14 Penalty for false returns

c. 46, § 14. Penalty for false returns Section 14. Whoever wilfully makes a false return relative to a birth, marriage or death shall forfeit not more than fifty dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 16 Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records

c. 46, § 16. Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records Section 16. The state registrar shall prepare and furnish forms of uniform size to the clerks, boards of health, physicians, hospitals, the chief medical examiner, funeral directors, probate and district courts and others involved in the preparation and registration of vital records and shall provide them with any necessary instructions and explanations as to use of such forms. All forms shall have security features that deter alteration, counterfeiting, duplication or simulation of vital records and shall meet applicable federal and state standards established for this purpose. All forms and other materials that are used for preparation of vital records but are not supplied by the state registrar shall be approved by the state registrar. All forms used for permanent records shall meet standards established by the state registrar, which standards shall be no less stringent than the current standards of the supervisor of public records and the state archivist for materials, devices and preservation.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 17 Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies

c. 46, § 17. Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies Section 17. Effective January 1, 2000, the clerk of each town and of each city shall, on or before the tenth day of the second month following every month in which births occurred in the city or town, transmit to the state registrar, upon forms furnished by him, the original records of such births and any documentary evidence including voluntary acknowledgments signed by the parents and adjudications of paternity entered by the court. The clerk of each city and town shall retain a certified copy of said birth records. If no births occurred in the city or town during the month for which a report is required, a report of such fact shall be sent on forms provided by the state registrar. Prior to January 1, 2000, the city or town clerk in which the birth occurred shall forward to the state registrar a certified copy of each record of birth and original copies of all acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity filed with such birth records. The city or town clerk shall make an attested, certified copy of these documents for the files of the office of the city or town clerk.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 17A Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies

c. 46, § 17A. Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies Section 17A. Effective January 1, 2000, the clerk of each city and town shall, on or before the tenth day of the second month following every month in which marriages are solemnized, transmit to the state registrar upon forms furnished by him, the original record of such marriages and all documentary evidence. Certified copies of the marriages shall be retained by said clerk. If no marriages were filed for the month of the report, a report of such fact shall be transmitted to the state registrar. Prior to January 1, 2000, the clerk shall maintain all original documents and transmit to the state registrar a certified copy of each record of marriage. The clerk of each city and town shall annually, not later than April 15, report to the state registrar on forms furnished by him the number of intentions filed in the clerk's office, and the number of intentions on which licenses were not issued, or, if issued, not returned to the clerk.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 17B Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies

c. 46, § 17B. Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies Section 17B. Effective January 1, 2000, the clerk of each city and town shall, on or before the tenth day of the month, transmit to the state registrar upon forms furnished by him, the original records of death and any documentation relating to said certificates of death recorded therein during the preceding month or, in case no such deaths have occurred, a certificate of such fact. The clerk in the city or town shall retain a certified copy of the record of said death. Prior to January 1, 2000, the clerk shall maintain all original documents and supporting documentation and transmit to the state registrar a certified copy of each record of death.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 17C Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records

c. 46, § 17C. Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records Section 17C. The original form and documentary evidence of such amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records as have not been previously returned shall be transmitted to the state registrar by the tenth day of the following month. A certified copy of any such forms completed by the clerk shall be retained by said clerk.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 17D Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals

c. 46, § 17D. Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals Section 17D. If an amendment to a birth, death or marriage record is completed at the state registry, the state registrar shall forward a certified copy of the amended birth, death or marriage record to all cities and towns holding an original or certified copy of the initial record within ten days of recording such event. If a delayed record of birth or death or other return of birth or death is recorded by the state registry, the state registrar shall transmit a certified copy of a delayed record of marriage to the town clerk where the original intention of marriage was filed. In cases where no such intention has been filed, the state registrar shall transmit such certified copy to the town clerk in the community where the marriage occurred.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 18 Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation

c. 46, § 18. Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation Section 18. Records transmitted by the town clerk under section 12 and sections 17 to 17D, inclusive, shall be written in legible hand, typewritten, printed using an electronic format approved by the state registrar or printed using the centralized, automated database operated by the state registrar pursuant to section 32. All forms and formats shall have the prior approval of the state registrar and shall meet state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 19 Use of records as evidence

c. 46, § 19. Use of records as evidence Section 19. The record of the town clerk relative to a birth, marriage or death shall be prima facie evidence of the facts recorded, but nothing contained in the record of a death which has reference to the question of liability for causing the death shall be admissible in evidence. A certificate of such a record, signed by the town clerk or assistant clerk, or a certificate of the copy of the record relative to a birth, marriage or death required to be kept in the department of public health, signed by the commissioner of public health or the registrar of vital records and statistics, shall be admissible as evidence of such record. Upon request for an abbreviated record of a birth, marriage or death, the clerk or assistant clerk, commissioner of public health or registrar of vital records and statistics, shall make an abstract of the record of the same without notation thereon of the name of the parent or parents, except by request of the applicant. Upon the written request of the person to whom the record relates or of either of his parents, the clerk or assistant clerk, commissioner of public health or registrar of vital records and statistics, shall issue a certified copy of a birth record containing no reference to the color of said person or his parents.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 19A Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty

c. 46, § 19A. Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty Section 19A. Reproductions of certificates or records referred to in section nineteen by any person other than the town clerk, assistant clerk, commissioner of public health shall be prohibited, except that a register of deeds, register of probate or other county, state, municipal or federal official keeper of public records may, in the course of his official duties, reproduce such certificates or records as are required in his office. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 19B Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother

c. 46, § 19B. Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother Section 19B. A certified copy of a birth record furnished under section two A shall not, unless the applicant so requests or unless the certificate is to be used in conjunction with a judicial proceeding, include the name of or any other information regarding the mother.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 19C Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence

c. 46, § 19C. Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence Section 19C. The state registrar shall use the seal of the department of public health for the purpose of authenticating copies of birth, marriage and death records, and copies of such records when certified by him and authenticated by said seal, shall be evidence like the originals.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 20 Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records

c. 46, § 20. Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records Section 20. Records of birth and death previously held by the superintendent of Tewksbury Hospital shall be transferred to the town clerk of Tewksbury. No certified copies of these records shall be issued by the superintendent of Tewksbury Hospital.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 22 Registrars of vital statistics

c. 46, § 22. Registrars of vital statistics Section 22. Any city, except Boston, and any town containing more than ten thousand inhabitants, may provide for the appointment of a person other than the clerk to be registrar. Such registrars, and in Boston the city registrar, shall be sworn and the provisions of this chapter relative to clerks shall apply to them.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 23 Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports

c. 46, § 23. Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports Section 23. The town clerk shall give written notice of the requirements of this chapter to any person neglecting to comply therewith, and upon the continuance of such neglect for one month shall notify the agent or attorney duly appointed by the town to sue in its corporate capacity, or, if there is no such agent or attorney, the district attorney of the district, who shall cause a prosecution for the penalty or forfeiture therefor to be instituted.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 24 Statements of births and deaths; penalty

c. 46, § 24. Statements of births and deaths; penalty Section 24. In any statement of births or deaths printed by a town the name of a child born out of wedlock or of its parents shall not be printed, but the words ''child born out of wedlock'' shall be used in place thereof. A town violating this section shall forfeit to the mother of such child not more than one hundred dollars.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 25 Disposition of fines and forfeitures

c. 46, § 25. Disposition of fines and forfeitures Section 25. All fines and forfeitures recovered under this chapter shall, except as provided in sections twenty-four and twenty-seven, accrue to the benefit of the town where the required return should have been made.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 26 Fees

c. 46, § 26. Fees Section 26. The town clerk shall receive the following fees from the town upon presenting to the town treasurer a certificate of the receipt of the prescribed copies by the commissioner of public health: For each birth, marriage or death, one dollar. He shall also receive from the town the following fees: For each certificate transmitted under section twelve, fifty cents; for receiving and recording an affidavit and forwarding a copy thereof under section thirteen, one dollar; for sending the notice required by section twenty-three, fifty cents; for each oath administered in his capacity as clerk, twenty-five cents. A town may limit the aggregate compensation allowed to its clerk.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 27 Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties

c. 46, § 27. Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties Section 27. A city or town clerk or registrar refusing or neglecting to perform any duty required of him under this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars. Fines recovered for violation of section eighteen shall be to the use of the commonwealth.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 28 Administration of oaths

c. 46, § 28. Administration of oaths Section 28. An oath required by this chapter may be administered by the clerk, assistant clerk or registrar of a town.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 29 Attestation of certificates

c. 46, § 29. Attestation of certificates Section 29. Town clerks or registrars shall attest their copies of the record of births, marriages or deaths with the official seal of the town.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 30 Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty

c. 46, § 30. Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty Section 30. Whoever falsely makes, alters, forges or counterfeits, or procures or assists another to falsely make, forge or counterfeit, a copy of a record of birth, marriage or death, or whoever forges or without authority uses the signature, facsimile of the signature, or validating signature stamp of a city or town clerk, or the state registrar upon a genuine or falsely made, altered, forged or counterfeited copy of such a record, or whoever utters, publishes as true or in any way makes use of a falsely made, altered, forged or counterfeited copy of such a record, or whoever uses, attempts to use, with intent to defraud or deceive, a copy of a record of the birth or marriage of a person other than himself, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months in a house of correction.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 31 Adoption contact information registry

c. 46, § 31. Adoption contact information registry Section 31. The registry of vital records and statistics, subject to appropriation, shall establish and maintain an adoption contact information registry for the purpose of connecting parents listed on the initial birth certificate to any of their children who were adopted by others. The adoption contact registry shall, at minimum, be capable of recording updated address and other information supplied by parents and adoptees needed for one to contact the other. Registration shall be entirely voluntary and participation may at any time be terminated through proper notification to the registry. The commonwealth shall make reasonable efforts to inform the public about the existence of this registry.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 32 Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar

c. 46, § 32. Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar Section 32. When a clerk at the registry or a town clerk has reasonable cause to believe that a vital record may have been falsely made, altered, forged, counterfeited or procured through fraud or misrepresentation or improper use of the signature or facsimile of the signature or signature stamp of a town clerk or the state registrar, the clerk of the registry shall not issue a certified copy of the record or make the record available for examination but shall retain the record and related evidence and notify the state registrar. When the state registrar has reasonable cause to believe that a vital record may have been falsely made, altered, forged, counterfeited or procured through fraud or misrepresentation or improper use of the signature or facsimile of the signature or signature stamp of a town clerk or the state registrar, the state registrar shall: (i) take reasonable administrative action to prevent and control fraud or improper use of the record, including instructions to all vital records clerks who have custody of the record to limit, restrict or stop issuing certified copies or making the record available for examination notwithstanding any general or special laws to the contrary; and (ii) notify appropriate law enforcement authorities.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 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

c. 46, § 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 33. The state registrar shall establish, maintain and operate a centralized, automated database for the system of vital records and statistics, subject to appropriation. The state registrar shall make such automated database available to town clerks who shall use it to (i) record all births and deaths by city or town of occurrence and all marriages by city or town that issued the license; and (ii) issue certified copies of vital records. All certified copies issued from the database shall be identical in size and format and shall have security features that deter alteration, counterfeiting, duplication or simulation of vital records and shall meet applicable federal and state standards established for this purpose. When issuing certified copies, the state registrar and town clerks shall comply with all applicable restrictions of state and federal law. The fee for a certified copy of a vital record issued by a town clerk from the database shall be uniform throughout the commonwealth, irrespective of where the record was originally recorded. The database shall have the capacity for authorized users to enter information required for: (i) standard certificates of live birth and as required by the commissioner for administrative, research and statistical purposes under section 24B of chapter 111; (ii) acknowledgments of paternity; (iii) standard certificates of death; and (iv) fetal death reports. The database shall have the capacity for the chief medical examiner to enter information required for a medical examiner's certificate of death and for licensed health professionals and licensed funeral directors to enter information required for standard certificates of death. The database shall also have the capacity for courts in the commonwealth to enter information required for amendment of birth records following adjudications of paternity under chapter 209C and adoptions under chapter 210. The database shall have the capacity to enter, verify and hold electronic signatures. Town clerks shall be responsible for the maintenance and preservation of original paper records until such time as originals are transferred to the state registrar. The state registrar shall be responsible for maintenance and preservation of original paper records until such time as bound volumes of original birth, marriage and death records are transferred to the state archivist.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 34 Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records

c. 46, § 34. Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records Section 34. The state registrar may enter into agreements with state and federal agencies administering public health and welfare programs, registrars of motor vehicles, passport agencies or the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems to verify the existence of a Massachusetts birth, marriage or death record as an alternative to issuance of a certified copy of the record either to streamline administration of programs and services or to minimize the potential for identity theft and fraud associated with birth and marriage records, drivers' licenses, state identification cards and passports.

M.G.L. c. 46, § 11/2 Certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth; filing

c. 46, § 11/2. Certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth; filing Section 11/2. The state registrar shall establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for fetal deaths, as defined in section 202 of chapter 111, occurring in the commonwealth after a gestational period of 20 weeks or more. The certificate shall be issued only at the request of either individual listed as mother or father on the report of fetal death. The certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall meet all of the format requirements for a certificate of live birth as provided in this chapter and in section 4 of chapter 17. If the parents of the stillborn child decide not to name the stillborn child, the person preparing a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall leave blank any references to the stillborn child's name. The certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth shall be filed with the state registrar within 10 days after the delivery. When a birth resulting in stillbirth occurring in the commonwealth has not been registered within 1 year after the date of delivery, a certificate marked ''delayed'' may be filed and registered in accordance with regulations of the department of public health relating to evidentiary and other requirements sufficient to substantiate the alleged facts of birth resulting in stillbirth.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter46Fetched: 10/20/2026