§338-9 Filing and preparation of death and fetal death certificates. (a) The person in charge of the disposition of the body shall file with the department of health in Honolulu or with the local agent of the department of health in the district in which the death or fetal death occurred, or a dead body was found, a certificate of death or fetal death within three days after the occurrence, except that reports of intentional terminations of pregnancy performed in accordance with section 453-16 may be deferred for up to one month.
(b) In preparing a certificate of death or fetal death the person in charge of the disposition of the body shall:
If the circumstances of the case suggest that the death or fetal death was caused by other than natural causes, the local agent shall refer the case to the coroner for investigation and certification.
(c) A death certificate may be filed by the next of kin and accepted by the local agent without meeting the requirements set forth above when there has been a judicial finding and declaration by a court of record that a person is dead; provided that the certificate is in a form approved by the department and has been certified by the clerk of court. [L 1949, c 327, §13; am L 1951, c 92, §3; RL 1955, §57-12; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §19; am L 1965, c 113, §1; HRS §338-9; am L 1973, c 17, §6; am L 1975, c 74, §1; am L 1978, c 86, §1; am L 1981, c 113, §3; am L 2016, c 183, §4; am L 2022, c 293, §7]