MCA Chapter 57

in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-1 Bureau of vital statistics established.

A bureau of vital statistics shall be established by the State Board of Health, which shall provide an adequate system for the registration of births and deaths and preservation of vital statistics on forms prescribed by said Board of Health, and which shall provide adequate methods for enforcing the laws and orders of said Board of Health relating to health matters of the state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-2 Certain persons not entitled to access to records.

Records in the possession of the Mississippi Department of Health, bureau of vital statistics, which would be of no legitimate and tangible interest to a person making a request for access to such records, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983; provided, however, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person with a legitimate and tangible interest in such records from having access thereto.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-3 State registrar of vital records; safeguarding of records.

The secretary of the State Board of Health shall appoint the state registrar of vital records in accordance with classification standards of education and experience. It shall be his duty to carry into effect the rules, regulations and orders of the State Board of Health that are provided for the office of vital records registration. The said board shall provide for such clerical and other assistance as may be necessary, and may fix the compensation of persons thus employed within the amount appropriated for the health work by the legislature. The said board shall provide suitable apartments, properly equipped with fireproof vaults and filing cases, for the permanent and safe preservation of all official records made and returned to the office of vital records registration.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-5 State may be divided into registration districts.

The State Board of Health may divide the state into registration districts to provide vital statistics, defining and designating the boundaries thereof and appointing local registrars in each district.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-7 Board of health to formulate a system for gathering statistics.

The State Board of Health shall formulate and promulgate rules and regulations for the proper reporting and registration of morbidity and vital statistics, prescribing the method and form of making such registration. Each application or filing made under this section shall include the Social Security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-9 Certificates of registrar to be prima facie evidence.

Any copy of the records of birth, sickness or death, when properly certified to by the state registrar of vital statistics, to be a true copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and places of the facts therein stated. A facsimile signature of the registrar shall be sufficient for certification when the certificate shall have impressed thereon the seal of the Mississippi Department of Public Health.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-11 Payment for birth and death certificates.

Each local registrar shall be paid the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) for each birth and each death certificate properly made out, and in the manner and on the form required by the State Board of Health. Such sum shall be paid by the board of supervisors of the county in which the births and deaths occurred, upon certification made monthly to the board of supervisors by the state registrar. However, any local registrar shall receive only Fifty Cents (50¢) for each birth and each death certificate sent in to the Bureau of Vital Statistics improperly completed or sent in at a later time than that fixed by the regulations of the State Board of Health. In addition to any fees established and collected by the State Board of Health for the issuance of original and copies of birth certificates, there shall be charged a fee of One Dollar ($1.00) for each original and each copy of a birth certificate. This additional fee shall be deposited into the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund created by Section 93-21-305 and shall be used only as set forth in Sections 93-21-301 through 93-21-311. This additional fee shall not be added to birth certificates furnished free as provided in Sections 35-3-9 and 41-57-25.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-13 Corrections and amendments to death certificates; lists of deaths to be furnished to county registrar and county election commissioners.

Death certificate errors in the recording of personal information of the deceased may be corrected by affidavit of the informant and the funeral director of the funeral home that disposed of the body.Items in the medical certification or of a medical nature may be amended upon receipt of the specified amendment form from (a) the person originally certifying the information or, if deceased or incapacitated, from the person responsible for the completion of such items, or (b) the State Medical Examiner.All other amendments to a death certificate require adjudication by a chancery court in the county of residence of the complainant or in any chancery court district in the state if the complainant is a nonresident.In all such proceedings, the State Department of Health, the State Medical Examiner and the county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator who certified the information shall be made defendants.No death certificate shall be changed or amended by the State Medical Examiner or any county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator after he has resigned or been removed from his office as the State Medical Examiner, county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator. The local registrar of births and deaths in each county in the state shall, at least monthly, supply the county registrar, the tax assessor and the chairman of the county election commission of each county a list of deaths in the counties of individuals of voting age who have not been previously listed. Such lists shall include the following information for each deceased person: full name (as recorded on the death certificate), social security number, date of death, sex, race, age and usual place of residence. No such payment as is provided for in Section 41-57-11 shall be made by the board of supervisors unless and until the local registrar shall certify that a list of all deaths of individuals of voting age has been filed with the county voting registrar, tax assessor and with the chairman of the county election commission of the last county of residence of the decedent in this state. In the event that the decedent is a female, who at the time of her death was between the ages of ten (10) and fifty (50) years old, the physician, medical examiner, coroner or other official who certifies the decedent’s cause of death shall indicate, where appropriately designated, on the death certificate whether (a) the decedent was pregnant at the time of her death; (b) the decedent had given birth within the preceding ninety (90) days; or (c) the decedent had a miscarriage within the preceding ninety (90) days.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-14 Social security numbers of parents required to file birth certificate.

If the mother was married at the time of either conception or birth, or at any time between conception and birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate of birth as the father of the child. The social security number of each parent of a child born within this state shall be furnished to the local registrar of vital records at the time of filing the certificate of birth, but such information shall not appear on the portion of the certificate to be issued as a certified copy. Such information shall be sent to the Office of Vital Records Registration of the State Department of Health along with the certificate of birth and shall be retained by the office. The information shall not be disclosed to any person except as authorized by paragraph (2) of this section or as allowed by Section 41-57-2. The Office of Vital Records Registration shall make available to the Division of Child Support Enforcement of the Mississippi Department of Human Services information concerning the names and social security numbers of the parents obtained under the requirements of paragraph (1) for the use in establishing paternity or enforcing child support obligations. Information obtained by the Division of Child Support Enforcement under this section may be used in any action or proceeding before any court, administrative tribunal, or other proceeding for the purpose of establishing paternity, establishing a child support obligation, collecting child support or locating persons owing such an obligation.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-15 Board of supervisors may appropriate funds for perfecting registration of records.

The board of supervisors of any county may appropriate additional funds, not to exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per month, to be used under the direction of the State Board of Health, in perfecting the registration of vital records.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-17 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1989, ch. 511, § 8, eff from and after July 1, 1989. [Codes, Hemingway’s 1917, § 4868; 1930, § 4904; 1942, § 7060; Laws, 1912, ch. 149; Laws, 1938, ch. 269; Laws, 1942, ch. 307; Laws, 1944, ch. 309, § 1; Laws, 1962, ch. 400; Laws, 1968, ch. 372, § 1; Laws, 1971, ch. 406, § 1]

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-19 Proceedings to adjudicate true date of birth of person whose birth was not registered.

Any person who was born in the State of Mississippi and whose birth has not been registered and who is unable to secure the proof now required by the registrar of births to register the same, may file a petition under oath in the chancery court of the county of the residence of the petition, or in any chancery court district of the state if the petitioner be a non-resident, setting out the true date of the birth of the petitioner and other facts necessary. The clerk shall issue a summons for the State Board of Health, which summons may be served on the executive secretary, the registrar of vital statistics or a duly qualified county registrar, thirty (30) days prior to the time of the hearing, to appear and contest the same. Alternatively process can be waived as provided by Section 13-3-71. The said petition may be heard by the chancellor in term time or in vacation, and the same shall not be taken as confessed, but proof shall be made of the allegation in the same. When a decree is entered adjudicating the true date of the birth of the petitioner, upon a certified copy of the decree being furnished to the registrar of vital statistics showing the true date of the birth of the petitioner, the same shall be registered upon the proper records of the State Board of Health.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-21 Proceedings to correct incomplete birth certificate or birth certificate having incorrect first name, middle name, place or sex.

Where there has been a bona fide effort to register a birth and the certificate thereof on file with the office of vital records does not divulge all of the information required by said certificate, or such certificate contains an incorrect first name, middle name, or sex, then the state registrar of vital records may, in his discretion, correct such certificate upon affidavit of at least two (2) reputable persons having personal knowledge of the facts in relation thereto. All other alterations shall be made as provided in Section 41-57-23. Anyone giving false information in such affidavit shall be subject to the penalties of perjury.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-23 Proceedings to correct birth certificate containing major deficiencies.

Any petition, bill of complaint or other proceeding filed in the chancery court to: (a) change the date of birth by two (2) or more days, (b) change the surname of a child, (c) change the surname of either or both parents, (d) change the birthplace of the child because of an error or omission of such information as originally recorded, or (e) make any changes or additions to a birth certificate resulting from a legitimation, filiation or any changes not specifically authorized elsewhere by statute, shall be filed in the county of residence of the petitioner or filed in any chancery court district of the state if the petitioner be a nonresident petitioner. In all such proceedings, the State Board of Health shall be made a respondent therein, and a certified copy of the petition, bill of complaint or other proceeding shall be forwarded to the State Board of Health. Process may be served upon the State Registrar of Vital Records. The State Board of Health shall file an answer to all such proceedings within the time as provided by general law. The provisions of this section shall not apply to adoption proceedings. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a decree, which authorizes and directs the State Board of Health to alter the certificate, it shall comply with all of the provisions of such decree. If a petition, bill of complaint or other proceeding is filed in the Tribal Court of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians for any of the purposes described in paragraphs (a) through (e) of subsection (1) with regard to the birth certificate of a person of Mississippi Choctaw descent, the tribal court shall have the same authority as the chancery court would have to make any of those changes described in those paragraphs in subsection (1), and the State Board of Health shall comply with a decree from the tribal court in the same manner as if the decree was issued by the chancery court. In all those proceedings in the tribal court, the State Board of Health shall be made a respondent therein, and a certified copy of the petition, bill of complaint or other proceeding shall be forwarded to the State Board of Health. The Tribal Court of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is not the exclusive venue for making changes to the birth certificates of persons of Mississippi Choctaw descent, and changes to the birth certificates of persons of Mississippi Choctaw descent may also be made in proceedings in the chancery court. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to enlarge the subject matter jurisdiction of the Tribal Court of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. If a child is born to a mother who was not married at the time of conception or birth, or at any time between conception and birth, and the natural father acknowledges paternity, the name of the father shall be added to the birth certificate if a notarized affidavit by both parents acknowledging paternity is received on the form prescribed or as provided in Section 93-9-9. The surname of the child shall be that of the father except that an affidavit filed at birth by both listed mother and father may alter this rule. In the event the mother was married at the time of conception or birth, or at any time between conception and birth, or if a father is already listed on the birth certificate, action must be taken under Section 41-57-23(1) to add or change the name of the father. A signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is subject to the right of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgment within the earlier of: One (1) year; or The date of a judicial proceeding relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support order, in which the signatory is a party. After the expiration of the one-year period specified in paragraph (a)(i) of this subsection a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof upon the challenger; the legal responsibilities, including child support obligations, of any signatory arising from the acknowledgment may not be suspended during the pendency of the challenge, except for good cause shown.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-25 Birth certificate furnished free to armed forces volunteer.

Any person who is volunteering for one of the armed forces of the United States is entitled to a certified copy of his birth certificate from the State Board of Health immediately upon application and at no expense to the applicant or his recruiting officer.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-26 Death certificate of person who was an honorably discharged U.S. Armed Forces veteran or who was killed or died during active duty service furnished without charge.

The Office of Vital Records Registration shall furnish up to five (5) certified copies of the death certificate of any deceased person who was an honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States or who was killed or died while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, without charge, to any person or entity that is authorized to receive death certificates. The applicant for a copy of the death certificate must furnish such written evidence of the deceased person’s service in the Armed Forces of the United States as required by the office. Copies of death certificates furnished under the authority under this section shall be in addition to any copies of death certificates furnished without charge under the authority of Section 35-3-9.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-27 Penalty.

Any person or persons who shall violate any rule, regulation or order of the State Board of Health relative to recording, reporting or filing information for the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or who shall willfully neglect or refuse to perform any duties imposed upon them by said orders, or who shall furnish false information for the purpose of making incorrect records for said bureau, or who shall willfully furnish false information to said bureau for the purpose of establishing a false identity, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding six (6) months, or suffer both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-29 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 391, § 2, eff from and after July 1, 1993. [Laws, 1992, ch. 391, § 1]

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-31 Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth issued upon request of parent; parents to be notified of availability of and procedure for obtaining certificate; contents of certificate.

As used in this section, the following terms shall be defined as provided in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: “Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth” means a birth certificate issued to record and memorialize the birth of a stillborn child. “Stillbirth” or “stillborn” means an unintended, intrauterine fetal death occurring in this state after a gestational age of not less than twenty (20) completed weeks. For any stillborn child in this state, the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall issue a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth upon the request of a parent named on the death certificate, within sixty (60) days of the date of the request. A parent may request the Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth without regard to whether the death occurred on, before, or after July 1, 2007, and without regard to the date on which the death certificate was issued. The person who is required to file a death certificate under this chapter shall advise the parent or parents of a stillborn child: That a parent may, but is not required to, request the preparation of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth; That a parent may obtain a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth by contacting the Bureau of Vital Statistics to request the certificate and paying the required fee; and How a parent may contact the Bureau of Vital Statistics to request a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. A parent may provide a name for a stillborn child on the request for a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The name of the stillborn child provided on or later added by amendment to the certificate shall be the same name as placed on the original or amended death certificate. If the requesting parent does not wish to provide a name, the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall fill in the certificate with the name “baby boy” or “baby girl” and the last name of the parent. Not later than September 1, 2007, the State Department of Health shall prescribe the form and content of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth and shall specify the information necessary to prepare the certificate. In addition to any other information required to be on the certificate, the certificate shall include: The date of the stillbirth; The county in which the stillbirth occurred; The state file number of the corresponding death certificate; and The following statement: “This certificate is not proof of live birth.” Upon issuance of a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth to a parent, the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall file an exact copy of the certificate with the local registrar of the registration district in which the stillbirth occurred. The local registrar shall file the certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth with the death certificate. The Bureau of Vital Statistics may not use a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth to calculate live birth statistics. The State Board of Health may adopt any rules or regulations necessary to administer this section.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-41 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1978, ch. 406, § 2, eff from and after January 1, 1979. [Laws, 1926, ch. 164; Laws, 1928, ch. 132]

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-43 State registrar of vital statistics; safeguarding of records.

It shall be the duty of the state registrar of vital statistics, in addition to the duties now required of him by law, to carry into effect the provisions of law relating to registration of marriages and the rules, regulations and orders of the State Board of Health which may be promulgated pursuant to Section 41-57-45. The said State Board of Health shall provide for such clerical and other assistance as may be necessary, and may fix the compensation of persons thus employed. The said board shall provide suitable apartments properly equipped with fireproof vault and filing cases for the permanent and safe preservation of all official records made and returned to said bureau.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-45 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1978, ch. 406, § 2, eff from and after January 1, 1979. [Laws, 1926, ch. 164; Laws, 1928, ch. 132]

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-47 Certificates of registrar to be prima facie evidence.

Any copy of the records of marriages, when properly certified by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to be a true copy thereof, shall be taken and received as prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated in all courts of this state. For any such certified copy, the applicant shall pay to the Bureau of Vital Statistics such fee for transactions as prescribed by the State Board of Health, which fees shall be paid into the State Treasury within sixty (60) days from the receipt thereof.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-48 Statistical record of marriage; completion; filing; recording fee.

For each marriage performed in this state, a record entitled “Statistical Record of Marriage” shall be filed with the office of vital records registration of the State Board of Health by the circuit clerk who issued the marriage license and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. The circuit clerk who issues the marriage license shall complete the statistical record (except for the section relating to the ceremony) on a form prescribed and furnished by the State Board of Health and shall sign it. The record shall be prepared on the basis of information obtained from the parties to be married, and both the bride and the groom shall sign the record certifying that the information about themselves is correct. The person who performs the marriage ceremony shall complete and sign the section relating to the ceremony and shall return the record to the circuit clerk who issued the license within five (5) days after the ceremony. The circuit clerk, on or before the tenth day of each calendar month, shall forward to the State Board of Health all completed records returned to him during the preceding month. The circuit clerk shall receive a recording fee of one dollar ($1.00) for each marriage record prepared and forwarded by him to the State Board of Health. This fee shall be collected from the applicants for the license together with, and in addition to, the fee for the license and shall be deposited in the county treasury. The recording fees shall be paid to the circuit clerk out of the county treasury once each six (6) months on order of the board of supervisors, upon certification by the office of vital records registration of the number of marriage records filed.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-49 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1978, ch. 406, § 2, eff from and after January 1, 1979. §§ 41-57-49 through 41-57-53 [Laws, 1926, ch. 164; Laws, 1938, ch. 293; Laws, 1956, ch. 302] § 41-57-55 . [Laws, 1926, ch. 164] Editor’s Notes — Former § 41-57-49 authorized the state board of health to prepare and distribute a revised form containing a statistical record of a marriage and provided for the information to be recorded thereon. Former § 41-57-51 related to the completion of the statistical record of marriage form. Former § 41-57-53 dealt with the duty of the circuit court clerk with respect to forwarding monthly to the state board of health completed statistical record of marriage forms and lists of marriage licenses issued. Former § 41-57-55 fixed the fee of the circuit court clerk for forwarding to the State Board of Health completed statistical record of marriage forms and lists of marriage licenses issued, and provided for the payment thereof.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-57 Circuit clerks to compile data on marriages.

In order to secure records of marriages and births in the several counties in this state from the earliest records down to the present time, the State Board of Health is hereby authorized and empowered to make contract with the circuit clerks or others of this state to compile for the bureau of vital statistics complete lists of marriages in the various counties from the earliest records down to the present time. In order to complete these records by securing records of said marriages in all said counties, the State Board of Health is hereby authorized and empowered to deposit all moneys received as fees for certified copies of births, deaths and marriages in the state treasury in a separate account to be used for the completion of the vital statistics on marriages in the various counties, and for clerical expenses and other expenses necessary for completion and issuance of birth records. Said fund shall be paid out for said purposes only on voucher issued for these purposes by the State Board of Health. When said statistics of past marriages in the several counties shall have been completed and paid for, then all of said funds that may remain on hand and all other such funds collected for certified copies of birth, death and marriage records thereafter may be used for the completion of birth records.

Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-59 Penalty.

Any person or persons who shall violate any of the provisions of Sections 41-57-41 through 41-57-57, or any rule, regulation or order of the state board of health relative to the making of said reports, as to reporting, recording or filing the information for the bureau of vital statistics on marriages, or who shall fail, neglect or refuse to perform any of the duties imposed by said order, rules or regulations, or shall furnish false information for the purpose of making incorrect records for said bureau, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding six (6) months, or shall suffer both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of said court.