Title HS, Health and Safety Code

Sec. 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 for the record by mail unless the person has provided notarized proof of identity in accordance with rules a…

Sec. 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 state registrar shall prepare and issue detailed instructions necessary for the uniform observance…

Sec. 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, including: (1) performing searches of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulme…

Sec. 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 to secure employment. The certificate shall be limited to a statement of the child's date of birth. (b…

Sec. 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 provide services for the benefit of a min…

Sec. 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 healthy early childhood by supporting the Texas Home Visiting Program …

Sec. 191.0049. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH OR HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH. On request of a child or youth described by this section, the state registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue, without fee or parental consent, a certified copy of the child'…

Sec. 191.00491. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO VICTIMS AND CHILDREN OF VICTIMS OF DATING OR FAMILY VIOLENCE. On request of an individual described by this section, the state registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue, without payment of a fee, a certified copy of the ind…

Sec. 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 department from the vital statistics account to be used to defray expenses incurred in th…

Sec. 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 enter for treatment of disease or for confinement. (b) When…

Sec. 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 of mortality. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 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 possible, according to the following geographic areas: (1) the Texas-Mexico bor…

Sec. 191.009. USE OF DIACRITICAL MARKS. (a) In this section, "diacritical mark" means a mark used in Latin script to change the sound of the letter to which it is added or used to distinguish the meaning of the word in which the letter appears. The term includes accents, tildes, …

Sec. 191.010. DEATH INFORMATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. (a) The department shall implement an efficient and effective method to verify death information to assist the Department of Public Safety with maintaining records of holders of driver's licenses and personal identi…

Sec. 191.011. DEATH INFORMATION PROVIDED TO SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) The department shall implement an efficient and effective method to provide death information to the secretary of state to assist in maintaining the statewide computerized voter registration list under Section 18…

Sec. 191.012. DEATH INFORMATION PROVIDED TO CERTAIN HOSPITALS. (a) In this section: (1) "Hospital" means a hospital licensed under Chapter 241. (2) "Trauma facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 773.003. (b) The department shall implement an efficient and effective procedu…

Sec. 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 of the peace precinct; and (2) each municipality with a population of 2,50…

Sec. 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 registering births and deaths may be transferred to the county clerk if the justice of the peace and the county clerk …

Sec. 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 may be transferred to the county in which the muni…

Sec. 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, or fetal death shall supply the information to the state registrar in person,…

Sec. 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, and each county shall supply the county clerk, with permanent record books for …

Sec. 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 local registrar shall consecutively number birth and death certificates in separate series, beginni…

Sec. 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 this title and by the state registrar's instructions. (b) If a de…

Sec. 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 Subsection (b). (b) An amending certificate may be filed to complete or correct a record that is incomple…

Sec. 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 during the preceding month; or (2) a report of no births or deaths…

Sec. 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 the record complete and satisfactory if neces…

Sec. 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 adopt rules necessary to implement this section. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 67…

Sec. 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 the information in a birth, death, or fetal death record required to be maintained in the vital statistic…

Sec. 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 date of death on the person's birth certificate. (b) The state registrar sh…

Sec. 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 to obtain information about the birth rates and mortality patterns of persons with Spanish surnames;…

Sec. 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 copy of a record, or part of a record, of a birth, death, or fetal death reg…

Sec. 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 of the facts stated in the record. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 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 of the fees prescribed by this chapter. (b) The department may contrac…

Sec. 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 a person authorized by this title to maintain a duplicate system of records for each birth, death, or …

Sec. 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 system unless the department, or another person acting on behalf o…