§ 23-3-10 - Birth registration.
SECTION 23-3-10
§ 23-3-10 Birth registration. – (a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shallbe filed with the state registrar of vital records or as otherwise directed bythe state registrar within four (4) days after that birth and shall beregistered by the local registrar if it has been completed and filed inaccordance with this section; provided, that when a birth occurs on a movingconveyance a birth certificate shall be filed in the city or town in which thechild was first removed from the conveyance.
(b) When a birth occurs in an institution, the person incharge of the institution or his or her designated representative shall obtainthe personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required bythe certificate, and file it with the state registrar of vital records or asotherwise directed by the state registrar. The physician in attendance shallcertify to the facts of birth and provide the medical information required bythe certificate within three (3) days after the birth.
(c) When a birth occurs outside an institution, thecertificate shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in theindicated order of priority:
(1) The physician in attendance at or immediately after thebirth, or in the absence of a physician;
(2) Any other person in attendance at or immediately afterthe birth, or in the absence of any person in attendance at or immediatelyafter the birth;
(3) The father, the mother, or, in the absence of the fatherand the inability of the mother, the person in charge of the premises where thebirth occurred.
(d) If the mother was married either at the time ofconception or birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on thecertificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been determinedotherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of thefather as determined by the court shall be entered.
(2) If the mother was not married either at the time ofconception or birth, the child shall bear the mother's surname and the name ofthe father shall not be entered on the certificate of birth without the writtenconsent of the mother and the person to be named as the father unless adetermination of paternity has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction,in which case the name of the father as determined by the court shall beentered on the birth certificate.
(e) Neither the state registrar nor any local official shalldecline to register and/or issue any birth certificate or certified copy of anybirth certificate on the grounds that medical or health information collectedfor statistical purposes has not been supplied.