Title 20 — Public Health and Welfare

This chapter may be cited as the “Vital Statistics Act”.

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Board” means the State Board of Health;(2) “Date of filing” means the date a vital record is accepted for registration by the Division of Vital Records of the Department of Health;(3) “Dead body” means a human body or parts of a human body from th…

The provisions of this chapter also apply to all certificates of birth, death, marriage, divorce, or annulment and to reports of fetal death and induced termination of pregnancy previously received by the Division of Vital Records of the Department of Health and in the custody of…

A.C.A. § 20-18-104Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) The following persons shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both:(1) Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in a certificate, record, or report required to be filed under…

(a) There is established in the Department of Health a Division of Vital Records which shall install, maintain, and operate the only system of vital statistics throughout this state. (b) The division shall be provided with sufficient staff, suitable offices, and other resources f…

The State Board of Health may adopt, amend, and repeal rules for the purpose of carrying out this chapter. All rules adopted under this chapter shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and La…

(a) The Secretary of the Department of Health shall appoint the State Registrar of Vital Records. (b) (1) The state registrar shall:(A) Administer and enforce this chapter and the rules issued under this chapter and issue instructions for the efficient administration of the state…

(a) In order to promote and maintain nationwide uniformity in the system of vital statistics, the forms of certificates, reports, and records required by this chapter or by rules adopted under this chapter shall include as a minimum the items recommended by the federal agency res…

(a) (1) Every person in charge of an institution as defined in this chapter shall keep a record of personal data concerning each person admitted or confined to the institution.(2) The record shall include such information as required by the certificates of birth and death and the…

(a) Any person having knowledge of the facts shall furnish such information as he or she may possess regarding any birth, death, spontaneous fetal death, induced termination of pregnancy, marriage, divorce, or annulment upon demand of the State Registrar of Vital Records. (b) Any…

(a) To protect the integrity of vital records and vital reports, to ensure their proper use, and to ensure the efficient and proper administration of the system of vital statistics, it shall be unlawful for any person to permit inspection of or to disclose information contained i…

(1) In accordance with § 20-18-304 and the rules adopted pursuant to § 20-18-304:(1) (A) The State Registrar of Vital Records and other custodians of vital records designated by the state registrar under § 20-18-203(b)(2) shall upon receipt of written application issue a certifie…

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (d) of this section, all fees for certified copies of vital records or vital reports under this chapter are listed in § 20-7-123. (b) (1) Certified copies of the records shall be furnished to veterans or their dependents without costs…

(a) A certificate, vital report, or vital record registered under this chapter may be amended only in accordance with this chapter and rules adopted by the State Board of Health to protect the integrity and accuracy of vital records and vital reports. (b) (1) A certificate, vital…

(a) To preserve vital records, the State Registrar of Vital Records may prepare typewritten, photographic, electronic, or other reproductions of original records and files in the Division of Vital Records. (b) When verified and approved by the state registrar, the reproductions s…

(a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the Division of Vital Records of the Department of Health, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar of Vital Records, within ten (10) days after the birth and shall be registered …

(a) When the certificate of birth of a person born in the state has not been filed within one (1) year, a delayed certificate of birth may be filed in accordance with rules of the State Board of Health. No delayed certificate shall be registered until the evidentiary requirements…

(a) If the State Registrar of Vital Records refuses to file a certificate of birth under § 20-18-401 or § 20-18-402, a petition may be filed with a court of competent jurisdiction for an order establishing a record of the date and place of the birth and the parentage of the perso…

(a) Whoever assumes the custody of a live-born infant of unknown parentage shall report on a form and in a manner prescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Records within ten (10) days to the Division of Vital Records the following information:(1) The date and city or county, or…

A.C.A. § 20-18-405Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) The State Registrar of Vital Records shall establish a new certificate of birth for a person born in this state when he or she receives the following:(1) A certificate of adoption as provided in § 9-9-219, or a certificate of adoption prepared and filed in accordance with the…

(a) Social Security account information of parents of a child born within this state shall be furnished to the Division of Vital Records of the Department of Health at the time of filing the certificate of birth, but such information shall not appear on the certificate. (b) The D…

(1) Upon the birth of a child to a woman who was unmarried at the time of either conception or birth or between conception and birth, the person responsible under § 20-18-401 for providing birth registration information shall:(1) Provide an opportunity for the child's mother and …

(a) The hospital, birthing center, certified nurse practitioner, or licensed midwife shall make available to the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration completed affidavits of paternity. Such a disclosure shall …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth” means a birth certificate issued to record the birth of a stillborn child; and(2) “Stillbirth” means an unintended, intrauterine fetal death occurring in this state after a gestational age of not less …

(a) A record of each marriage performed in this state shall be filed with the Division of Vital Records and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. (b) The official who issues the marriage license shall prepare the record on the for…

(a) (1) For each divorce or annulment granted by any court in this state, a record shall be filed by the clerk of court with the Division of Vital Records and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section.(2) The record shall be prepared o…

(a) (1) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the Division of Vital Records or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar of Vital Records within ten (10) days after the death or the finding of a dead body and shall be registered if th…

(a) When a death occurring in this state has not been registered within the time period prescribed by § 20-18-601, a certificate may be filed in accordance with rules promulgated by the State Board of Health. The certificates shall be registered subject to such evidentiary requir…

(a) (1) (A) (i) A fetal death, when the fetus completed twelve (12) weeks' gestation or more, calculated from the date the last normal menstrual period began to the date of delivery, that occurs in this state shall be reported within five (5) days after delivery to the Division o…

(a) The funeral director or the person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall obtain authorization for final disposition of the dead body as provided in the rules. (b) Prior to final disposition of a dead fetus, irrespective of the duration …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Child” means a person under eighteen (18) years of age for whom paternity has not been established;(2) “Court” means a court in this state or another state or territory of the United States of competent subject matter jurisdiction;(3) [Repealed…

(a) (1) There is established in the Department of Health a Putative Father Registry.(2) The purpose of the registry is to entitle putative fathers to notice of legal proceedings pertaining to the child for whom the putative father has registered.(3) A putative father shall establ…

(a) Information supplied to the Putative Father Registry may be revoked by a written statement, signed and acknowledged by the registrant before a notary public. (b) The statement shall include a declaration that, to the best of the registrant's knowledge and belief, he is not th…

(a) The Department of Health shall make available to attorneys the telephone number of the Putative Father Registry for purposes of inquiry as to a putative father's name and address contained in the registry. (b) Information contained in the registry shall be admissible in any c…

Any person who knowingly registers as a putative father pursuant to this subchapter when the registrant knows that he is not the biological father of the child shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.