Title 70 — Title 70 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

(1) Protection of public health requires a vital records system that provides proof of vital life events and gathers population health data for assessment, evaluation, research, and other public health purposes. An efficient and effective vital records system is a foundational pu…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6025.SL) ***The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Adult" means a person who is at least eighteen years of age, or an emancipated minor under chapter 13.64 RCW.(2) "Amendment" me…

(1) The secretary shall have charge of the state vital records system and shall adopt rules to ensure implementation of the vital records system and this chapter.(2) The secretary may adopt rules to set fees for services related to the vital records system including, but not limi…

The secretary shall appoint the state registrar in accordance with RCW 43.70.020 and 43.70.150.[ 2019 c 148 s 4.]

(1) The state registrar shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall:(a) Administer the operation and maintenance of the vital records system to preserve the security, integrity, and confidentiality of state vital records and vital statistics established …

(1) Under the direction and control of the state registrar, the local health officer of each health jurisdiction is and shall serve as local registrar.(2) Subject to the approval of the state registrar, each local registrar shall appoint a sufficient number of deputy registrars t…

(1) A person may not prepare or issue any vital record that purports to be an original, certification of, or copy of a vital record except as authorized in this chapter.(2) All certifications of vital records must include security features to deter alteration, counterfeiting, or …

(1) Forms prescribed by the state registrar must be used in reporting, registering, and issuing certifications and informational copies, and preserving vital records, or in otherwise carrying out the purpose of this chapter.(2) Reports must contain the data required for registrat…

(1) A facility representative or midwife shall prepare and submit a report of live birth for each live birth at which that person attended that occurs in this state to the department within ten calendar days after the birth occurs. The facility representative or midwife shall:(a)…

(1) When a child is found for whom no record of live birth is known to be on file, within ten calendar days of the child being found, a report of a live birth must be filed with the department in a manner prescribed by the state registrar.(2) If the child is identified at a later…

(1) An individual requesting a delayed report of live birth shall submit to the state registrar a completed and signed delayed report of live birth. Each report must include documentary evidence establishing the facts of the live birth and any applicable fees. The completed delay…

(1) If the state registrar denies a delayed report of live birth under the provisions of RCW 70.58A.120, the individual requesting the delayed report of live birth may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for an order establishing a record of the name, date, and place of th…

(1)(a) Reports of death and fetal death must comply with the requirements of this section.(b) For the purposes of this section, "death" includes "fetal death" as defined in RCW 70.58A.010.(2) A complete report of death must be filed with the local registrar in the local health ju…

(1)(a) Reports of death and fetal death must comply with the requirements of this section.(b) For the purposes of this section, "death" includes "fetal death" as defined in RCW 70.58A.010.(2) If a report of death is completed and filed in accordance with this chapter, the local r…

The state registrar shall register reports of marriage received from a state county auditor pursuant to chapter 26.04 RCW.[ 2019 c 148 s 15.]

The state registrar shall register reports of legal separation, dissolution of marriage, dissolution of domestic partnership, declaration of invalidity of marriage, and declaration of invalidity of domestic partnership from the clerk of each state superior court pursuant to chapt…

(1) The state registrar shall amend the birth record of a child born in state to reflect an adoption decree received from a Washington state court of competent jurisdiction upon receipt of:(a) An application to register an adoption;(b) A certified copy of the adoption decree ente…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6081-S.SL) ***(1) The state registrar may amend certification items on state vital records.(2) The state registrar may amend a live birth record to change the name of a person born in state:(a) Upon receipt of a complete and signed amendment applicatio…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6081-S.SL) ***(1) The state registrar shall develop and implement a preservation management policy for the vital records system for permanent preservation while in the custody of the state registrar.(2) The state registrar shall transfer the custody of…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6081-S.SL) ***(1) The department may disclose vital records information for persons named in any birth, death, or fetal death record only as provided under this chapter.(2) Proposals for research and public health purposes must be reviewed and approved…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6081-S.SL) ***(1)(a) A certification issued in accordance with this section is considered for all purposes the same as the original vital record and is prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.(b) An informational copy is not considered the sam…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 6081-S.SL) ***(1) All or part of any vital records, reports, supporting documentation, vital statistics, data, or information contained therein are not subject to public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW.(2) With the exception of certifica…

(1) This section governs any case in which the state registrar takes one of the following adverse actions:(a) Denies or revokes registration of a report or application for an amendment;(b) Withholds or denies issuance of a certification under this chapter; or(c) Denies a request …

(1) The department and local registrars shall charge a fee of $25 for a certification or informational copy of a vital record or for a search of the vital records system when no matching record was identified, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section.(2) The departmen…

(1) The local registrar shall, on a monthly basis, submit the following to the state registrar:(a) A summary of the number of certifications and informational copies issued by vital life event type in a format provided by the state registrar;(b) A log of all numbered paper certif…

(1) All requirements of this chapter must be uniformly complied with by all local registrars in state.(2) Local registrars are charged with the strict and thorough enforcement of the provisions of this chapter in their health jurisdictions, under the supervision and direction of …

(1) Every person who violates or willfully fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with any provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.(2) Every person who willfully furnishes false information or who makes any false statement to establish a vital record or obtain a cert…

(1) This act applies to all causes of action commenced on or after January 1, 2021, regardless of when the cause of action arose.(2) The requirements of this act apply to all records covered by this act that are held by the department or state registrar, regardless of the date th…

Except for sections 3 and 43 of this act, this act takes effect January 1, 2021.[ 2019 c 148 s 42.]

The secretary and state board of health may adopt rules as authorized by this act to ensure that the sections in this act are implemented on their effective dates.[ 2019 c 148 s 43.]