(a) A certificate of birth for each live birth that occurs in this state shall be filed with the Office of Vital Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar, within five days after the birth and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section.
(b)(1) When a birth occurs in an institution or en route to the institution, the person in charge of the institution or his or her designated representative shall obtain the personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required, and file the certificate as directed in subsection (a) or as directed by the State Registrar within the required five days. The physician or other person in attendance shall provide the medical information required by the certificate and certify to the facts of birth within 72 hours after the birth. If the physician, or other person in attendance, does not certify to the facts of birth within the 72-hour period, the person in charge of the institution or his or her designee shall complete and sign the certificate.
(2) In all cases where a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge of the institution shall provide a procedure for collection of the normal fee for a certified copy of the birth certificate from the mother or father. The fee shall be forwarded to the State Registrar when a complete record of the birth is obtained, and the State Registrar shall issue a certified copy of the birth certificate to the mother or father of the child. The issuance of a certified copy of the birth certificate by the State Registrar shall not apply to births where the death of the infant occurred a short time following the birth, unless the certificate is requested by the father or mother, or where adoption is indicated.
(c) When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:
(1) The physician or licensed midwife in attendance at the birth or who sees the child within three days after the birth.
(2) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth.
(3) The father, the mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of the mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.
(d) When a birth occurs in a moving conveyance within the United States and the child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the birth shall be registered in this state and the place where it is first removed shall be considered the place of birth. When a birth occurs on a moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the birth shall be registered in this state, but the certificate shall show the actual place of birth as can be determined.
(e) For the purposes of birth registration, the mother is deemed to be the woman who gives birth to the child, unless otherwise determined by law.
(f)(1) If the mother was married at the time of either conception or birth, or between conception and birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child, unless it is established by law that he is not the father of the child.
(2) If the mother was not married at the time of either conception or birth or between conception and birth, the name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate unless paternity has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or unless the legitimation process specified in Sections 26-11-1 through 26-11-3, inclusive, or otherwise provided by law has been completed.
(3) If the father is not named on the certificate of birth, no other information about the father shall be entered on the certificate.
(g) The birth certificate of a child born to a married woman as a result of artificial insemination, with consent of her husband, shall be completed in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (f).
(h) Either of the parents of the child shall attest to the accuracy of the personal data entered on the certificate in time to permit the filing of the certificate within the five days prescribed in subsection (a).
Last modified: May 3, 2021