Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 46 - Return and Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths
Section 3a - Hospital Administrator's Duties; Report; Verification

Section 3A. The administrator or person in charge of a hospital shall be required to obtain, within twenty-four hours after a birth occurring therein or the admittance thereto of a mother and child for post-natal care, the report required by section three. If the hospital in which such birth occurred delivers more than 99 births per year, such report shall be prepared on an electronic system of birth registration approved by the commissioner of public health and transmitted to the state registrar. Said administrator or person in charge shall then forthwith make, or cause to be made, a copy of such report on forms prepared and furnished by the commissioner of public health and shall, within ten days after obtaining such report, file such copies with the town clerk of the city or town wherein the birth occurred. Such copies shall be signed or otherwise verified by the mother in a manner developed pursuant to regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, or, if she is not able, then by the father or other responsible adult, attesting to the truth and accuracy of the facts appearing in the report. Such copies shall also be signed or otherwise verified, in a manner specified under regulations promulgated pursuant to section 4 of chapter 17, by the physician, certified nurse midwife or hospital medical officer in charge of such birth or by an administrator designated by the hospital as overseeing birth registration.

Structure Massachusetts General Laws

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