Title 23, Title 23 and Safety

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisio…

(a) The director is authorized and directed to establish a program for the licensure of adult daycare programs. “Adult daycare program” shall mean a comprehensive, nonresidential program designed to address the biological, psychological, and social needs of adults through individ…

(a) The director is hereby authorized and may in his or her discretion recover the reasonable cost of legal services provided to the department of health by attorneys of the office of legal counsel or attorneys under contract to perform attorney functions and activities for the d…

Fees payable to the department shall be as follows:

The department of health and director of health shall also perform the function of the sanitary regulation of shellfish packing houses as provided in chapter 14 of title 21.

The department of health and director of health shall perform the functions relating to industrial hygiene, which shall include the following: (1) The study of the problems of industrial hygiene and occupational diseases in industry; (2) Recommendation to the general assembly of …

The director of health shall appoint in accordance with law a suitable and qualified forensic scientist to conduct examinations of evidence in connection with scientific crime detection, and for that purpose the director shall cooperate with the Rhode Island state police, the dep…

Whenever in the general laws the words “local health officers,” “health officer” or “board of health” or any other word or phrase connoting a local health board or local health officer is used, appropriate wording shall be substituted so as to vest the power and authority in the …

As used in this chapter: (1) “Adoptee” means a person who was born in this state and who has had an original birth certificate sealed due to an adoption. (2) “Adoptee vital records file” means a file operated by the division of vital records that maintains adoptees’ birth certifi…

(a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records, or as otherwise directed by the state registrar, within four (4) days after that birth. (b) When a birth occurs in an institution, the person in cha…

The state registrar of vital records shall maintain a record of the social security number of each parent whose name is recorded on any certificate of birth established or amended under this chapter on or after September 1, 1996, unless the registrar finds good cause for not requ…

(a) The state registrar of vital records shall establish a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth for fetal deaths, defined as the naturally occurring intrauterine death of a fetus that occurs after the twentieth (20th) week of pregnancy. The certificate shall be issued onl…

A person eighteen (18) years of age or older may request that the description of the person’s race be modified or amended on their birth certificate in a manner that utilizes culturally sensitive language and terminology. Such a request shall be made through the state office of v…

(a) Whoever assumes the custody of a living infant of unknown parentage shall report on a form and in the manner prescribed by the state registrar of vital records within four (4) days to the local registrar of the city or town in which the child was found, the following informat…

(a) When the birth of a person born in this state or adopted by residents of this state has not been registered, a certificate may be filed in accordance with regulations of the state department of health. This certificate shall be registered subject to evidentiary requirements t…

(a) When a death or marriage occurring in this state has not been registered, a certificate may be filed in accordance with regulations of the state director of health. This certificate shall be registered subject to evidentiary requirements that the state director of health shal…

(a) If any certificate of birth is rejected by the state registrar of vital records, including a delayed certificate of birth under the provisions of § 23-3-12, the applicant may, in the absence of an order from the family court, acknowledging or establishing paternity, or change…

(a) For each adoption decreed by any court in this state, the court shall require the preparation of a record of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar of vital records. The record shall include those facts that are necessary to locate and identify the…

(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) An adoption report as provided in § 23-3-14 or a certified copy of the decree of adoption together with the information n…

(a) A child who has automatically acquired United States citizenship following a foreign adoption and possesses a certificate of citizenship in accordance with the “Child Citizenship Act” (CAA, P.L. 106-395) shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter which require judici…

(a) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within seven (7) calendar days after death and prior to removal of the body from the state, and shall be regis…

(a) A fetal death certificate for each fetal death which occurs in this state after a gestation period of twenty (20) completed weeks or more shall be filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed by the state registrar within seven (7) calendar days af…

(a) The funeral director, his or her duly authorized agent, or another person acting as a duly authorized agent, who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus shall prepare a burial-transit permit prior to final disposition or removal from the state of the body or fetus and w…

(a) The director of health may, by regulation and upon conditions that he or she may prescribe to assure compliance with the purposes of this chapter, provide for the extension of the periods prescribed in §§ 23-3-16, 23-3-17, and 23-3-18 for the filing of death certificates, fet…

There is established in the state department of health a division of vital records that shall install, maintain, and operate the system of vital records throughout this state.

(a) For each divorce granted by any court in this state, a report shall be prepared and filed by the clerk of the court with the state registrar of vital records. The report shall be furnished, with the final decree, to the clerk of the court by the prevailing party or his or her…

(a) A certificate or record registered under this chapter may be amended only in accordance with this chapter and regulations adopted under this chapter by the director of health to protect the integrity and accuracy of vital statistics records. (b) A certificate that is amended …

To preserve original documents, the state registrar of vital records is authorized to prepare typewritten, photographic, or other reproductions of original records and files in his or her office. These reproductions, when certified by him or her, shall be accepted as the original…

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

In accordance with § 23-3-23 and the regulations adopted pursuant to that section: (1) The state registrar of vital records shall upon request issue a certified copy of any certificate or record in the registrar’s custody or a part thereof. Each copy issued shall show the date of…

Any American Indian or Native American whose certified copy of a birth record contains a racial designation that is incorrect may, without paying a fee, obtain one certified copy of his or her birth record from which the incorrect racial designation has been amended. The person r…

(a) The state registrar shall charge fees for searches and copies as follows: (1) For a search of two (2) consecutive calendar years under one name and for issuance of a certified copy of a certificate of birth, fetal death, death, or marriage, or a certification of birth, or a c…

Any veteran who served honorably in the military or naval service of the United States shall be processed without a charge or fee when making a request for vital statistics regarding a request for his or her own personal records.

Any incarcerated person who is set to be released from prison to re-enter the community shall be processed without a charge or fee when making a first request for vital statistics at the department of health regarding a request for their own personal records.

(a) Every person in charge of an institution, as defined in this chapter, shall keep a record of personal particulars and data concerning each person admitted or confined to that institution. This record shall include the information required by the standard certificates of birth…

Any person having knowledge of the facts shall furnish information that he or she may possess regarding any birth, death, fetal death, marriage, or divorce, upon demand of the state registrar of vital records.

(a)(1) Any person who willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in a report, record, or certificate required to be filed under this chapter, or in an application for an amendment of those, or who willfully and knowingly supplies false information intending that this false…

Wherever in the general or public laws there appear the words “division of vital statistics” and the words “state registrar of vital statistics” in relation to the Rhode Island department of health, the word “records” shall be substituted for the word “statistics”.

The state director of health is authorized after notice and public hearing to adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Those rules and regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication.

The director of health shall appoint the chief of the division of vital records in accordance with civil service laws and regulations, who shall be known as the state registrar of vital records and shall carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(a) The state registrar of vital records shall: (1) Administer and enforce this chapter and the rules and regulations issued under this chapter, and issue instructions for the efficient administration of the statewide system of vital records. (2) Direct and supervise the statewid…

(a) At the end of each calendar year, original records of births and marriages that have occurred one hundred (100) years or more from the date of transfer and deaths that have occurred fifty (50) years or more from the date of transfer, shall be permanently transferred by the st…

The town clerks of the several towns or any person whom the city council of any city or the town council of any town may appoint for that purpose shall be known as the local registrar, and he or she shall perform the duties provided for in § 23-3-7.

The local registrar, with respect to his or her respective city or town, shall: (1) Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and instructions, rules, and regulations issued under this chapter. (2) Require that certificates be completed and filed in accordance with pr…

(a) Each local registrar not otherwise compensated out of the respective town or city treasuries for this purpose shall be paid by the town or city the sum of twenty cents ($0.20) for each certificate of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage registered by him or her and transmit…

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