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Mass. General Laws c.46

Return and registry of births, marriages and deaths

This page links to an unofficial version of each section of G.L. c. 46.

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§ 1 Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined 

Amended by St. 2024, c. 166, § 1, effective January 1, 2025

§ 1 1/2 Certificates of birth resulting in stillbirth; filing 
§ 1A Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings 
§ 1B Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions 
§ 1C Filing reports of out-of-state deaths 
§ 1D Adoption of surname upon marriage 
§ 1E Definitions 

Amended by St. 2024, c. 186, §§ 7-8, effective November 21, 2024

§ 2 Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages 
§ 2A Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions 
§ 2B Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons 

Amended by St. 2022, c. 158, effective November 3, 2022

§ 2C Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent 
§ 3 Physician's record of birth; out of hospital birth 
§ 3A Hospital administrator's duties; report; verification 
§ 3B Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report 

Amended by St. 2024, c. 186, § 9, effective November 21, 2024

§ 3C Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage 
§ 3D Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV-D agency 
§ 4 Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing 
§ 4A Local officials; processing of birth certificates 
§ 4B Artificial insemination 

Repealed by St. 2024, c. 166, § 2, effective January 1, 2025

§ 6 Notification of births and deaths 
§ 7 Report of births and deaths at sea 
§ 7A Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation 
§ 8 Penalty for failure to report births and deaths 
§ 9 Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant 
§ 9B Penalties 
§ 10 Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation 
§ 11 Duties of undertakers 
§ 12 Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions 
§ 13 Correction of records 

Amended by St. 2024, c. 166, § 3, effective January 1, 2025

§ 13A Correction of birth records; procedure 
§ 14 Penalty for false returns 
§ 16 Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records 
§ 17 Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies 
§ 17A Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies 
§ 17B Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies 
§ 17C Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records 
§ 17D Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals 
§ 18 Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation 
§ 19 Use of records as evidence 
§ 19A Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty 
§ 19B Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother 
§ 19C Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence 
§ 20 Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records 
§ 22 Registrars of vital statistics 
§ 23 Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports 
§ 24 Statements of births and deaths; penalty 
§ 25 Disposition of fines and forfeitures 
§ 26 Fees 
§ 27 Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties 
§ 28 Administration of oaths 
§ 29 Attestation of certificates 
§ 30 Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty 
§ 31 Adoption contact information registry 
§ 32 Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar 
§ 33 Centralized, automated database for vital records and statistics; certified copies issued from database; capacity requirements of database; maintenance and preservation of original paper records 
§ 34 Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records 

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