TITLE 31 HEALTH

Section 10. Vital Records, 31-10-1 through 31-10-33.

ARTICLE 10 DRUG REPOSITORY PROGRAM

31-10-26. Issuance of certified copies of vital records, voluntary acknowledgments of paternity, voluntary acknowledgments of legitimation; certificates; use for statistical purposes; transmittal of records out of state; use for commercial or speculative purposes.

In accordance with Code Section 31-10-25 and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto:
1. The state registrar or local custodian, upon receipt of a written application, shall issue:
  1. A certified copy of a vital record in that registrar's or custodian's custody or abstract thereof to any applicant having a direct and tangible interest in the vital record;
  2. Certified copies of voluntary acknowledgments of paternity as provided in subsection (e) of Code Section 19-7-46.1;
  3. Certified copies of voluntary acknowledgments of legitimation executed on or before June 30, 2015, to the same individuals and entities specified in subsection (e) of Code Section 19-7-46.1; and
  4. Certified copies of certificates to:
    1. The person whose record of birth is registered;
    2. Either parent, guardian, or temporary guardian of the person whose record of birth or death is registered;
    3. The living legal spouse or next of kin, the legal representative, or the person who in good faith has applied and produced a record of such application to become the legal representative of the person whose record of birth or death is registered;
    4. A court of competent jurisdiction upon its order or subpoena; or
    5. Any governmental agency, state or federal, provided that such certificate shall be needed for official purposes; and
2. Each certified copy issued shall show the date of registration and duplicates issued from records marked "delayed" or "amended" shall be similarly marked and show the effective date. The documentary evidence used to establish a delayed certificate of birth shall be shown on all duplicates issued. All forms and procedures used in the issuance of certified copies of vital records in this state shall be provided or approved by the state registrar.
The federal agency responsible for national vital statistics may be furnished such duplicates or data from the system of vital records as it may require for national statistics, provided such federal agency shares in the cost of collecting, processing, and transmitting such data and provided further that such data shall not be used for other than statistical purposes by the federal agency unless so authorized by the state registrar.
The state registrar may, by agreement, transmit duplicates of records and other reports required by this chapter to offices of vital records outside this state when such records or other reports relate to residents of those jurisdictions or persons born in those jurisdictions. The agreement shall require that the duplicates be used for statistical and administrative purposes only and the agreement shall further provide for the retention and disposition of such duplicates. Duplicates received by the department from offices of vital statistics in other states shall be handled in the same manner as prescribed in this Code section.
No person shall prepare or issue any certificate which purports to be an original, certified copy or duplicate of a vital record except as authorized in this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter.
No duplicates or parts thereof of a vital record shall be reproduced or information copied for commercial or speculative purposes. This subsection shall not apply to published results of research.

(Ga. L. 1914, p. 157, § 20; Ga. L. 1927, p. 353, § 20; Ga. L. 1931, p. 7, §§ 16, 17; Ga. L. 1933, p. 7, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-1212; Code 1933, § 88-1724, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, p. 499, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 651, § 3; Ga. L. 1969, p. 715, § 2; Code 1933, § 88-1726, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 723, § 1; Code 1981, §31-10-14; Code 1981, §31-10-26, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 723, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 31; Ga. L. 2004, p. 477, § 9; Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 43/HB 24; Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 17/SB 64.)

The 2011 amendment, effective January 1, 2013, substituted "duplicates" for "copies" throughout this Code section; substituted "this state" for "the state" in the middle of the last sentence of paragraph (a)(2); deleted former subsection (b), which read: "A certified copy of a vital record or any part thereof, issued in accordance with subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original and shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated therein, provided that the evidentiary value of a certificate or record filed more than one year after the event, or a record which has been amended, shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certificate is offered as evidence."; redesignated former subsections (c) through (f) as present subsections (b) through (e), respectively; substituted "Duplicates" for "Copies" at the beginning of the last sentence of present subsection (c); substituted "duplicate" for "copy" in the middle of present subsection (d); and substituted "copied" for "copies" near the end of the first sentence of present subsection (e). See Editor's notes for applicability.

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, rewrote subsection (a). See Editor's notes for applicability.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 101/HB 24, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Act shall apply to any motion made or hearing or trial commenced on or after January 1, 2013.

Ga. L. 2016, p. 304, § 18/SB 64, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall not be construed to affect a voluntary acknowledgment of legitimation that was valid under the former provisions of Code Section 19-7-21.1, nor any of the rights or responsibilities flowing therefrom, if it was executed on or before June 30, 2016."

Law reviews.

- For article, "Evidence," see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2011). For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2011).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Death certificate not inadmissible even though not filed within statutory time period.

- Failure to file death certificates within 72-hour period required by O.C.G.A. § 31-10-15(a) did not render certificates inadmissible as hearsay when certified copies of the certificates were issued in accordance with subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26, although such copies constituted prima-facie evidence which raised a rebuttable presumption of truth of the facts stated therein. Sherrer v. Lynn, 172 Ga. App. 745, 324 S.E.2d 500 (1984).

Evidentiary effect of death certificate.

- Death certificate is prima facie evidence of facts therein stated but presumption raised is rebuttable. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Holcombe, 132 Ga. App. 111, 207 S.E.2d 537 (1974).

Death certificate serves as prima facie evidence only of death and immediate agency of death, and other conclusions, such as those regarding events leading up to death or whether cause of death was intentional or accidental, are not admissible. King v. State, 151 Ga. App. 762, 261 S.E.2d 485 (1979).

Certified copy of death certificate properly filed is no longer prima facie evidence of facts stated therein, and when facts stated therein are shown to result from statements made by others, such facts amount to hearsay. Under present law, a certified copy of a duly filed death certificate is allowed in evidence only for the purpose for which it was intended, that is, to show that the person named therein is no longer in life. Interstate Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Wilmont, 123 Ga. App. 337, 180 S.E.2d 913 (1971), criticized in Allstate Ins. Co. v. Holcombe, 132 Ga. App. 111, 207 S.E.2d 537 (1974).

Certified copy of birth certificate shall be prima facie evidence only of facts therein contained and such evidence may be rebutted. It was therefore competent for the state to introduce a birth certificate to prove that a witness was under 14 years of age, and to further prove by parol evidence that the record contained an error as to the witness' race and that of the witness' parents. Cunningham v. State, 85 Ga. App. 216, 68 S.E.2d 614 (1952).

Introduction of death certificate appropriate.

- Introduction of a death certificate in which the coroner assigned accidental suffocation as the cause of death made out a prima facie case on behalf of the insured's beneficiary in an action to recover under a double indemnity policy. Family Fund Life Ins. Co. v. Wiley, 91 Ga. App. 225, 85 S.E.2d 448 (1954).

Statement in death certificate stating cause of death is rebuttable. McWaters v. Employers Liab. Assurance Corp., 73 Ga. App. 586, 37 S.E.2d 430 (1946).

Certificate not completed in accordance with requirements not prima facie evidence of facts stated therein.

- Being in derogation of common law, this statute must be strictly construed. When certificate is not completed in accordance with statutory requirements, it is not prima facie evidence of facts stated therein. Liberty Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Power, 112 Ga. App. 547, 145 S.E.2d 801 (1965) (see O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26).

Matters for which death certificate not admissible to prove.

- Under rule of strict construction that must be applied to this section, a death certificate is not admissible to prove particular matters stated in the certificate: (1) if the statement is based on hearsay and not upon personal knowledge of a physician or official completing certificate; or (2) if the statement is one of opinion to which a physician or official would not be qualified to testify personally. In these instances, statements contained in the certificate are not statements of fact within the meaning of the statute and an exception to the hearsay rule is inapplicable. Liberty Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Power, 112 Ga. App. 547, 145 S.E.2d 801 (1965) (see O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26).

Cited in Branton v. Independent Life & Accident Ins. Co., 136 Ga. App. 414, 221 S.E.2d 217 (1975); Huskins v. State, 245 Ga. 541, 266 S.E.2d 163 (1980).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 76 C.J.S., Records, §§ 74 et seq., 112 et seq.

ALR.

- Official death certificate as evidence of cause of death in civil or criminal action, 21 A.L.R.3d 418.

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