Massachusetts Chapter 46 — Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths

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Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1— Certificates of birth, marriage, death and acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; contents; residence defined
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1A— Birth records of abandoned children or foundlings
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1B— Filing reports of out-of-state births or adoptions
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1C— Filing reports of out-of-state deaths
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1D— Adoption of surname upon marriage
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 1E— Definitions
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 2— Separate registries for births, deaths and marriages
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 2A— Disclosure of information about vital statistics; conditions
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 2B— Pre-adoption birth certificates; application for inspection by adopted persons
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 2C— Pre-adoption birth certificates; access by child of deceased adopted parent
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 3— Physician's record of birth; out of hospital birth
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 3A— Hospital administrator's duties; report; verification
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 3B— Birth without immediate admittance to hospital for postnatal care; report
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 3C— Children born out of wedlock; information regarding benefits and responsibilities of parentage; voluntary acknowledgment of parentage
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 3D— Acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity; records available to IV–D agency
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 4— Birth without attending physician; report; recording; petition; hearing
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 4A— Local officials; processing of birth certificates
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 4B— Repealed, 2024, 166, Sec. 2
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 5— Repealed, 1968, 84, Sec. 5
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 6— Notification of births and deaths
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 7— Report of births and deaths at sea
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 7A— Report of births on airplanes; penalty for violation
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 8— Penalty for failure to report births and deaths
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 9— Death certificates; issuance; contents; declaration of death by nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 9A— Repealed, 1977, 598, Sec. 1
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 9B— Penalties
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 10— Death certificates of veterans; contents; penalty for violation
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 11— Duties of undertakers
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 12— Certified copies of birth certificates and death records; transmission to parents or next of kin; exceptions
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 13— Correction of records
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 13A— Correction of birth records; procedure
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 14— Penalty for false returns
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 15— Repealed, 2010, 327, Sec. 1
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 16— Blank forms for vital records; security features; approval of non-state registrar supplied forms; standards for forms used for permanent records
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 17— Birth records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 17A— Marriage records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 17B— Death records; state registrar; originals; certified copies
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 17C— Original forms and evidence of amendments and corrections in birth, marriage and death records
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 17D— Amended birth, marriage and death records; certified copies to holders of originals
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 18— Script used on forms; state standards for uniformity, security, materials, devices and preservation
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 19— Use of records as evidence
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 19A— Unauthorized reproduction of records; penalty
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 19B— Certified copies of birth records; restricted information regarding mother
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 19C— Authentication of copies of birth, marriage and death records; use as evidence
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 20— Births and deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; records
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 21— Repealed, 1976, 486, Sec. 15
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 22— Registrars of vital statistics
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 23— Prosecution of persons failing to file required reports
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 24— Statements of births and deaths; penalty
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 25— Disposition of fines and forfeitures
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 26— Fees
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 27— Clerks; penalty for neglecting required duties
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 28— Administration of oaths
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 29— Attestation of certificates
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 30— Alteration, forgery or counterfeiting; penalty
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 31— Adoption contact information registry
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 32— Reasonable cause to believe there has been misconduct regarding vital records; actions by clerk and state registrar
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 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
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 46, § 34— Agreements to verify existence of birth, marriage or death records