Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 46 - Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths
Section 14 - Penalty for False Returns

Massachusetts General Laws

Part I - Administration of the Government

Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts

Chapter 46 - Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths

Section 1 - Certificates of Birth, Marriage, Death and Acknowledgments and Adjudications of Paternity; Contents; Residence Defined

Section 11/2 - Certificates of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth; Filing

Section 1a - Birth Records of Abandoned Children or Foundlings

Section 1b - Filing Reports of Out-of-State Births or Adoptions

Section 1c - Filing Reports of Out-of-State Deaths

Section 1d - Adoption of Surname Upon Marriage

Section 1e - Definitions

Section 2 - Separate Registries for Births, Deaths and Marriages

Section 2a - Disclosure of Information About Vital Statistics; Conditions

Section 2b - Pre-Adoption Birth Certificates; Application for Inspection by Adopted Persons

Section 2c - Pre-Adoption Birth Certificates; Access by Child of Deceased Adopted Parent

Section 3 - Physician's Record of Birth; Out of Hospital Birth

Section 3a - Hospital Administrator's Duties; Report; Verification

Section 3b - Birth Without Immediate Admittance to Hospital for Postnatal Care; Report

Section 3c - Children Born Out of Wedlock; Information Regarding Benefits and Responsibilities of Parentage; Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage

Section 3d - Acknowledgments and Adjudications of Paternity; Records Available to Iv–d Agency

Section 4 - Birth Without Attending Physician; Report; Recording; Petition; Hearing

Section 4a - Local Officials; Processing of Birth Certificates

Section 4b - Artificial Insemination

Section 6 - Notification of Births and Deaths

Section 7 - Report of Births and Deaths at Sea

Section 7a - Report of Births on Airplanes; Penalty for Violation

Section 8 - Penalty for Failure to Report Births and Deaths

Section 9 - Death Certificates; Issuance; Contents; Declaration of Death by Nurse, Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant

Section 9b - Penalties

Section 10 - Death Certificates of Veterans; Contents; Penalty for Violation

Section 11 - Duties of Undertakers

Section 12 - Certified Copies of Birth Certificates and Death Records; Transmission to Parents or Next of Kin; Exceptions

Section 13 - Correction of Records

Section 13a - Correction of Birth Records; Procedure

Section 14 - Penalty for False Returns

Section 16 - Blank Forms for Vital Records; Security Features; Approval of Non-State Registrar Supplied Forms; Standards for Forms Used for Permanent Records

Section 17 - Birth Records; State Registrar; Originals; Certified Copies

Section 17a - Marriage Records; State Registrar; Originals; Certified Copies

Section 17b - Death Records; State Registrar; Originals; Certified Copies

Section 17c - Original Forms and Evidence of Amendments and Corrections in Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Section 17d - Amended Birth, Marriage and Death Records; Certified Copies to Holders of Originals

Section 18 - Script Used on Forms; State Standards for Uniformity, Security, Materials, Devices and Preservation

Section 19 - Use of Records as Evidence

Section 19a - Unauthorized Reproduction of Records; Penalty

Section 19b - Certified Copies of Birth Records; Restricted Information Regarding Mother

Section 19c - Authentication of Copies of Birth, Marriage and Death Records; Use as Evidence

Section 20 - Births and Deaths in Tewksbury Hospital; Records

Section 22 - Registrars of Vital Statistics

Section 23 - Prosecution of Persons Failing to File Required Reports

Section 24 - Statements of Births and Deaths; Penalty

Section 25 - Disposition of Fines and Forfeitures

Section 26 - Fees

Section 27 - Clerks; Penalty for Neglecting Required Duties

Section 28 - Administration of Oaths

Section 29 - Attestation of Certificates

Section 30 - Alteration, Forgery or Counterfeiting; Penalty

Section 31 - Adoption Contact Information Registry

Section 32 - Reasonable Cause to Believe There Has Been Misconduct Regarding Vital Records; Actions by Clerk and State Registrar

Section 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

Section 34 - Agreements to Verify Existence of Birth, Marriage or Death Records