CHAPTER 191. ADMINISTRATION OF VITAL STATISTICS RECORDS

State Codes and Statutes

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HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

TITLE 3. VITAL STATISTICS

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 191.001. DEFINITIONS. In this title:

(1) "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.

(2) "Department" means the Texas Department of Health.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.002. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT. (a) The

department shall administer the registration of vital statistics.

(b) The department shall:

(1) establish a bureau of vital statistics with suitable offices

that are properly equipped for the preservation of its official

records;

(2) establish a statewide system of vital statistics;

(3) provide instructions and prescribe forms for collecting,

recording, transcribing, compiling, and preserving vital

statistics;

(4) require the enforcement of this title and rules adopted

under this title;

(5) prepare, print, and supply to local registrars forms for

registering, recording, and preserving returns or otherwise

carrying out the purposes of this title; and

(6) propose legislation necessary for the purposes of this

title.

records on request to other state agencies for programs notifying

mothers of young children about children's health needs.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.003. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board shall:

(1) adopt necessary rules for collecting, recording,

transcribing, compiling, and preserving vital statistics;

(2) supervise the bureau of vital statistics; and

(3) appoint the director of the bureau of vital statistics.

(b) In an emergency, the board may suspend any part of this

title that hinders the uniform and efficient registration of

vital events and may substitute emergency rules designed to

expedite that registration under disaster conditions.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.004. STATE REGISTRAR. (a) The director of the bureau

of vital statistics is the state registrar of vital statistics.

The director must be a competent vital statistician.

(b) The state registrar shall prepare and issue detailed

instructions necessary for the uniform observance of this title

and the maintenance of a perfect system of registration.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.0045. FEES. (a) The bureau of vital statistics may

charge fees for providing services to the public and performing

other activities in connection with maintenance of the vital

statistics system, including:

(1) performing searches of birth, death, fetal death, marriage,

divorce, annulment, and other records;

(2) preparing and issuing copies and certified copies of birth,

death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment, and other

records; and

(3) filing a record, amendment, or affidavit under this title.

(b) The board by rule may prescribe a schedule of fees for vital

statistics services. The aggregate of the amounts of the fees may

not exceed the cost of administering the vital statistics system.

any fee received for services that the bureau cannot perform. If

the money has been deposited to the credit of the vital

statistics fund, the comptroller shall issue a warrant against

the fund for refund of the payment on presentation of a claim

signed by the state registrar.

(d) A local registrar or county clerk who issues a certified

copy of a birth or death certificate shall charge the same fees

as charged by the bureau of vital statistics, including the

additional fee required under Subsection (e), except as provided

by Subsections (g) and (h).

(e) In addition to fees collected by the bureau of vital

statistics under Subsection (b), the bureau shall collect an

additional $2 fee for each of the following:

(1) issuing a certified copy of a certificate of birth;

(2) issuing a wallet-sized certification of birth; and

(3) conducting a search for a certificate of birth.

(f) Repealed by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 263, Sec. 5(1), eff.

May 30, 2005.

(g) A local registrar or county clerk that on March 31, 1995,

was charging a fee for the issuance of a certified copy of a

birth certificate that exceeded the fee charged by the bureau of

vital statistics for the same type of certificate may continue to

do so but shall not raise this fee until the fee charged by the

bureau exceeds the fee charged by the local registrar or county

clerk. A local registrar or county clerk to which this

subsection applies shall charge the additional fee as required

under Subsection (e).

(h) In addition to other fees collected under this section, a

local registrar or county clerk may collect a fee not to exceed

$1 for the preservation of vital statistics records maintained by

the registrar or county clerk, including birth, death, fetal

death, marriage, divorce, and annulment records. A fee under

this section shall be collected by the registrar or county clerk

on the issuance of a vital statistics record, including a record

issued through a Remote Birth Access site.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 52, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 651, Sec. 2, eff.

Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 9.62, eff.

Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 305, Sec. 1, eff. Sept.

1, 1995; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 975, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

263, Sec. 5(1), eff. May 30, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

400, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 191.0046. FEE EXEMPTIONS. (a) On the request of a child's

parent or guardian, the state registrar shall issue without fee a

certificate necessary for admission to school or to secure

employment. The certificate shall be limited to a statement of

the child's date of birth.

(b) The state registrar shall issue without fee a certified copy

of a record not otherwise prohibited by law to a veteran or to

the veteran's widow, orphan, or other dependent if the copy is

for use in settling a claim against the government.

certified copy of a birth record in cases related to child labor

or the public schools.

(d) The state registrar on request shall issue without a fee a

copy of a birth or death record that is not certified to a child

fatality review team or the child fatality review team committee

established under Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept.1, 1989.

Renumbered from Sec. 191.054 and amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg.,

ch. 14, Sec. 52, eff. Sept. 1, 1991.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

11, Sec. 1, eff. May 3, 2005.

Sec. 191.0047. BIRTH INFORMATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND

PROTECTIVE SERVICES. (a) The Department of State Health

Services shall implement an efficient and effective method to

verify birth information or provide a certified copy of a birth

record necessary to provide services for the benefit of a minor

being served by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

(b) The Department of State Health Services shall enter into a

memorandum of understanding with the Department of Family and

Protective Services to implement this section. Subject to

Subsection (c), the terms of the memorandum of understanding must

include methods for reimbursing the Department of State Health

Services in an amount that is not more than the actual costs the

department incurs in verifying the birth information or providing

the birth record to the Department of Family and Protective

Services.

fee or other amount for verification of birth information or

provision of a certified copy of the birth record under

Subsection (a) for a child in the managing conservatorship of the

Department of Family and Protective Services if parental rights

to the child have been terminated and the child is eligible for

adoption.

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

1406, Sec. 23, eff. September 1, 2007.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

758, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.

Sec. 191.005. VITAL STATISTICS FUND. (a) The vital statistics

fund is in the state treasury.

(b) The legislature shall make appropriations to the department

from the fund to be used to defray expenses incurred in the

administration and enforcement of the system of vital statistics.

be deposited to the credit of the vital statistics fund.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 53, eff. Sept. 1,

1991.

Sec. 191.006. RECORDS OF PERSONS IN HOSPITALS AND INSTITUTIONS.

(a) This section applies to each public or private hospital,

almshouse, or other institution to which persons are committed by

process of law or voluntarily enter for treatment of disease or

for confinement.

(b) When a person is admitted to the institution, the

superintendent, manager, or other person in charge of the

institution shall record, in the manner directed by the state

registrar, the admitted person's personal and statistical data

required by certificate forms under this title. If the person is

admitted for the treatment of disease, the physician in charge

shall specify for the record the nature of the disease and where,

in the physician's opinion, the disease was contracted.

be obtained:

(1) from the person admitted to the institution, if practicable;

(2) from the person's relatives or friends or from other persons

acquainted with the facts, in as complete a manner as possible,

if the information cannot be obtained from the person admitted to

the institution.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.007. REGULATION BY CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. The

governing body of a Type A general-law municipality may:

(1) regulate the registration of marriages; and

(2) direct the return and maintenance of bills of mortality.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.008. SORTING COLLECTED DATA. (a) The department shall

compile the information relating to births, deaths, and fetal

deaths collected under this chapter and organize the results, to

the extent possible, according to the following geographic areas:

(1) the Texas-Mexico border region;

(2) each public health region;

(3) rural areas;

(4) urban areas;

(5) each county; and

(6) the state.

(b) The department may release the information relating to

births, deaths, and fetal deaths in accordance with the way it is

compiled under this section.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1034, Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2005.

SUBCHAPTER B. RECORDS OF BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND FETAL DEATHS

Sec. 191.021. REGISTRATION DISTRICTS. (a) The state is divided

into registration districts for the purposes of registering

births, deaths, and fetal deaths. The registration districts are:

(1) each justice of the peace precinct; and

(2) each municipality with a population of 2,500 or more.

(b) To facilitate registration, the board may combine or divide

registration districts.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.022. LOCAL REGISTRARS. (a) The justice of the peace

is the local registrar of births and deaths in a justice of the

peace precinct. However, the duty of registering births and

deaths may be transferred to the county clerk if the justice of

the peace and the county clerk agree in writing and the agreement

is ratified by the commissioners court.

(b) The municipal clerk or secretary is the local registrar of

births and deaths in a municipality with a population of 2,500 or

more.

that a registrar will be available at all times for the

registration of births and deaths.

(d) The local registrar shall sign each report made to the

bureau of vital statistics.

(e) If a local registrar fails or refuses to register each birth

and death in the district or neglects duties under this title,

the county judge or the mayor, as appropriate, shall appoint a

new local registrar and shall send the name and mailing address

of the appointee to the state registrar.

(f) A local registrar who collects a fee for a certified copy of

a birth certificate shall deduct 20 cents of that fee to apply to

the registrar's administrative costs and remit $1.80 of that fee

to the comptroller.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 305, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,

1995.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

263, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 2005.

Sec. 191.023. CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL MAINTENANCE

OF BIRTH AND DEATH RECORDS. (a) The duties imposed by law

relating to the maintenance of birth and death records of a

municipality with a population of 2,500 or more may be

transferred to the county in which the municipality is located,

as provided by this section.

(b) If the commissioners court adopts a resolution to transfer

the duties and the governing body of the municipality

subsequently adopts a concurring resolution, the county and

municipality shall agree on a timetable for the transfer and

shall execute the transfer in an orderly fashion.

Subsection (b), the official to whom the duties would be

transferred must attest in writing that the official has

sufficient resources and finances to assume those duties.

(d) If the governing body of a municipality does not adopt a

concurring resolution before the 91st day after the date on which

a county adopts a resolution under Subsection (b), a petition by

the qualified voters of the municipality may serve as the

equivalent of a concurring resolution under Subsection (b). The

petition must succinctly describe the intention to consolidate

county and municipal maintenance of birth and death records and

must be signed by a number of qualified voters equal to at least

20 percent of the number of qualified voters voting in the most

recent mayoral election.

(e) A consolidation under this section affects only the county

and the municipality to which the resolutions apply. This section

does not affect the apportionment of registration districts under

Section 191.021.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.024. REPORTS OF INFORMATION. (a) On the state

registrar's demand, a person, including a physician, midwife, or

funeral director, who has information relating to a birth, death,

or fetal death shall supply the information in person, by mail,

or through the local registrar. The person shall supply the

information on a form provided by the department or on the

original certificate.

(b) An organization or individual who has a record of births or

deaths that may be useful to establish the genealogy of a

resident of this state may file the record or a duly

authenticated transcript of the record with the state registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.025. RECORD BOOKS AND CERTIFICATES. (a) Forms for the

registration of births, deaths, and fetal deaths must be approved

by the department.

(b) A municipality shall supply its local registrar, and each

county shall supply the county clerk, with permanent record books

for recording the births, deaths, and fetal deaths occurring in

their respective jurisdictions. The record books must be in forms

approved by the state registrar.

persons who need them. The board shall establish and promulgate

rules for strict accountability of birth certificates to prevent

birth certificate fraud.

(d) Information required on a certificate must be written

legibly in durable blue or black ink or may be filed and

registered by photographic, electronic, or other means as

prescribed by the state registrar.

(e) A certificate must contain each item of information required

on the certificate or a satisfactory reason for omitting the

item.

(f) The department shall require that the form for the

registration of deaths must include the question, "Was the

decedent a peace officer or an honorably retired peace officer in

this state?".

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 15, Sec. 5.14,

eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 17, Sec. 1, eff.

April 25, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 476, Sec. 3, eff. Sept.

1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

744, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 191.026. LOCAL RECORDS. (a) The local registrar shall

secure a complete record of each birth, death, and fetal death

that occurs in the local registrar's jurisdiction.

(b) The local registrar shall consecutively number birth and

death certificates in separate series, beginning with the number

"1" for the first birth and the first death in each calendar

year. The local registrar shall sign each certificate to attest

to the date the certificate is filed in the local registrar's

office.

under Section 191.025 each certificate that the local registrar

registers, unless the local registrar keeps duplicates under

Subsection (d) or makes photographic duplications as authorized

by Chapter 181 or 201, Local Government Code. Except as provided

by Subsection (e), the copies shall be permanently preserved in

the local registrar's office as the local record, in the manner

directed by the state registrar.

(d) The local registrar may permanently bind duplicate reports

of births and deaths, if the duplicates are required by local

ordinance, and index them in the manner that the state registrar

indexes records under Section 191.032.

(e) The local registrar may, after the first anniversary of the

date of registration of a birth, death, or fetal death, destroy

the permanent record of the birth, death, or fetal death

maintained by the local registrar if:

(1) the local registrar has access to electronic records of

births, deaths, and fetal deaths maintained by the bureau of

vital statistics; and

(2) before destroying the records, the local registrar certifies

to the state registrar that each record maintained by the local

office that is to be destroyed has been verified against the

records contained in the bureau's database and that each record

is included in the database or otherwise accounted for.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1997, 74th Leg., ch. 17, Sec. 2, eff. April 25,

1997.

Sec. 191.027. REVIEW OF CERTIFICATE BY LOCAL REGISTRAR. (a)

The local registrar shall carefully examine each birth or death

certificate when presented for registration to determine if it is

completed as required by this title and by the state registrar's

instructions.

(b) If a death certificate is incomplete or unsatisfactory, the

local registrar shall call attention to the defects in the

return.

shall immediately notify the informant and require the informant

to supply the missing information if it can be obtained.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.028. AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE. (a) A record of a

birth, death, or fetal death accepted by a local registrar for

registration may not be changed except as provided by Subsection

(b).

(b) An amending certificate may be filed to complete or correct

a record that is incomplete or proved by satisfactory evidence to

be inaccurate. The amendment must be in a form prescribed by the

department. The amendment shall be attached to and become a part

of the legal record of the birth, death, or fetal death if the

amendment is accepted for filing, except as provided by Section

192.011(b).

department receives an amending certificate, the department shall

notify the individual of whether the amendment has been accepted

for filing.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 54, eff. Sept. 1,

1991.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

758, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2009.

Sec. 191.029. CERTIFICATES OR REPORT SENT TO STATE REGISTRAR.

On the 10th day of each month, the local registrar shall send to

the state registrar:

(1) the original certificates that the local registrar

registered during the preceding month; or

(2) a report of no births or deaths on a card provided for that

purpose if no births or deaths occurred during the preceding

month.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.030. RECORDS FILED WITH COUNTY. (a) Not later than

the 10th day of each month, the local registrar shall file with

the commissioners court or the county auditor, as appropriate, a

copy of each birth, death, and fetal death certificate filed with

the local registrar during the preceding month.

(b) Each copy must show the local registrar's file date and

signature.

(d) This subsection does not apply in a municipality that has an

ordinance requiring that a copy of each birth, death, and fetal

death certificate be permanently filed in the office of the

municipality's registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.031. REVIEW OF CERTIFICATES BY STATE REGISTRAR. (a)

The state registrar shall carefully examine the certificates

received monthly from the local registrars.

(b) The state registrar shall require additional information to

make the record complete and satisfactory if necessary.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.032. STATE RECORDS. (a) The state registrar shall

arrange, bind, and permanently preserve birth, death, and fetal

death certificates in a systematic manner.

(b) The board shall adopt rules necessary to implement this

section.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,

1991.

Sec. 191.033. ADDENDA. (a) The state registrar may attach to

the original record an addendum that sets out any information

received by the state registrar that may contradict the

information in a birth, death, or fetal death record required to

be maintained in the bureau of vital statistics.

(b) If the state registrar attaches an addendum to an original

record, the state registrar shall instruct the local registration

official in whose jurisdiction the birth, death, or fetal death

occurred to attach an identical addendum to any duplicate of the

record in the official's custody.

county clerk or a person authorized by this title to maintain a

duplicate system of records for each birth, death, or fetal death

that occurs in the person's jurisdiction.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.034. NOTATION OF DEATH ON BIRTH CERTIFICATE. (a) On

receipt of the death certificate of a person younger than 55

years of age whose birth is registered in this state, the state

registrar shall make a conspicuous notation on the decedent's

birth certificate that the person is dead.

(b) The state registrar shall provide computer-generated

abstracts, transcripts, or copies of the death certificate to the

county clerk of the county in which the decedent was born and to

the local registrar of the registration district in which the

decedent was born. On receipt of the notification of death, the

county clerk or local registrar shall make a conspicuous notation

on the decedent's birth certificate that the person is dead.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,

1991.

Sec. 191.036. SPANISH SURNAME INFORMATION. (a) The purpose of

this section is to:

(1) enable this state to participate in a study being conducted

by a group of southwestern states to obtain information about the

birth rates and mortality patterns of persons with Spanish

surnames; and

(2) implement recommendations made by the National Center for

Health Statistics for improved methods of maintaining vital

statistics.

(b) In the next official revision of the prescribed forms for

birth and fetal death certificates, the department shall include

the following questions and instructions:

(1) Is the father of Spanish origin?

(2) If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.

(3) Is the mother of Spanish origin?

(4) If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.

death certificates, the department shall include the following

questions and instructions:

(1) Was the decedent of Spanish origin?

(2) If yes, specify Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, etc.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

SUBCHAPTER C. COPIES OF RECORDS

Sec. 191.051. CERTIFIED COPIES. (a) Subject to board rules

controlling the accessibility of vital records, the state

registrar shall supply to a properly qualified applicant, on

request, a certified copy of a record, or part of a record, of a

birth, death, or fetal death registered under this title.

(b) A certified copy issued under this subsection may be issued

only in the form approved by the department.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.052. CERTIFIED COPY AS EVIDENCE. A copy of a birth,

death, or fetal death record registered under this title that is

certified by the state registrar is prima facie evidence of the

facts stated in the record.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.056. COPIES COLLECTED BY NATIONAL AGENCY. (a) The

national agency in charge of the collection of vital statistics

may obtain, without expense to the state, transcripts of vital

records without payment of the fees prescribed by this chapter.

(b) The bureau of vital statistics may contract with the

national agency to have copies of vital records that are filed

with the bureau transcribed for that agency.

national agency to accept the use of the franking privilege and

forms furnished by the national agency.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 191.057. RECORDS WITH ADDENDA. (a) In this section:

(1) "Copy" means a reproduction of a record made by any means.

(2) "Local registration official" means a county clerk or a

person authorized by this title to maintain a duplicate system of

records for each birth, death, or fetal death that occurs in the

person's jurisdiction.

(b) If the bureau of vital statistics or any local registration

official receives an application for a certified copy of a birth,

death, or fetal death record to which an addendum has been

attached under Section 191.033, the application shall be sent

immediately to the state registrar. After examining the

application, the original record, and the addendum, the state

registrar may refuse to issue a certified copy of the record or

part of the record to the applicant.

(1) the state registrar shall notify the applicant of the

refusal and the reason for the refusal not later than the 10th

day after the date on which the state registrar receives the

application; and

(2) the department shall give the applicant an opportunity for a

hearing.

(d) After the hearing, the state registrar shall notify the

local officials who have duplicates of the questioned record of

the department's final decision. The department may order the

officials to issue or refuse to issue certified copies of the

record.

(e) A duty imposed on or a power granted to the state registrar

under this section may be performed or exercised by a designee of

the state registrar.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

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