Texas Health And Safety Code Title 3, Chapter 191 - Administration Of Vital Statistics Records

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 191.001 - Definitions
  In this title: (1) "Department" means the Department of State Health Services. (2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services...
• Texas Section 191.0011 - Reference In Other Law
  A reference in other law to the bureau of vital statistics of the department or of the former Texas Department of Health means the vital...
• Texas Section 191.002 - Powers And Duties Of Department
  (a) The department shall administer the registration of vital statistics. (b) The department shall: (1) establish a vital statistics unit in the department with suitable...
• Texas Section 191.003 - Powers And Duties Of Executive Commissioner And Department
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt necessary rules for collecting, recording, transcribing, compiling, and preserving vital statistics. (a-1) The department shall: (1) supervise the vital...
• Texas Section 191.0031 - Certified Copies By Mail
  The state registrar or a local registrar may not issue a certified copy of a record under this chapter to a person who has applied...
• Texas Section 191.004 - State Registrar
  (a) The director of the vital statistics unit is the state registrar of vital statistics. The director must be a competent vital statistician. (b) The...
• Texas Section 191.0045 - Fees
  (a) The department may collect fees for providing services to the public and performing other activities in connection with maintenance of the vital statistics system,...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 191.0047 - Birth Information For Department Of Family And Protective Services
  (a) The department shall implement an efficient and effective method to verify birth information or provide a certified copy of a birth record necessary to...
• Texas Section 191.0048 - Voluntary Contribution To Texas Home Visiting Program
  (a) A person requesting a copy or certified copy of a birth, marriage, or divorce record may make a voluntary contribution of $5 to promote...
• Texas Section 191.005 - Vital Statistics Account
  (a) The vital statistics account is an account in the general revenue fund in the state treasury. (b) The legislature shall make appropriations to the...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...

SUBCHAPTER B RECORDS OF BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND FETAL DEATHS

• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 191.024 - Reports Of Information
  (a) On the state registrar's demand, a person, including a local registrar, physician, midwife, or funeral director, who has information relating to a birth, death,...
• Texas Section 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,...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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 executive commissioner shall...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 191.034 - Notation Of Death On Birth Certificate
  (a) On receipt of the death certificate of a person whose birth is registered in this state, the state registrar shall conspicuously note the person's...

SUBCHAPTER C COPIES OF RECORDS

• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 191.051 - Certified Copies
  (a) Subject to department rules controlling the accessibility of vital records, the state registrar shall supply to a properly qualified applicant, on request, a certified...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 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...

SUBCHAPTER D ACCESS TO RECORDS

• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 191.071 - Criminal Background Check Required
  (a) A person may not access vital records maintained by the department under this chapter and may not access the department's vital records electronic registration...

Last modified: September 28, 2016