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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
HOUSE BILL 1688 By: Roe
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to vital records; amending 63 O.S.
2021, Sections 1-301, 1-311, as last amended by
Section 131, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024, 1 -312, 1-
315.1, 1-317, as last amended by Section 133, Chapter
452, O.S.L. 2024, 1-317a, 1-318, 1-318.2, 1-319, 1-
321, as amended by Section 4, Chapter 87, O.S.L.
2022, 1-323, 1-329.1, (63 O.S. Supp. 2024, Sections
1-311, 1-317, and 1-321), which relates to vital
statistics; adding a definition; updating statutory
references; clarifyi ng corrections to birth
certificates, death certificates, and fetal death
certificates; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -301, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 63-1-301. As used in this article:
1. "Vital statistics" means records of birth, death, fetal
death and data related thereto;
2. "System of vital statistics " means the registration,
collection, preservatio n, amendment and certification of vital
statistics records, and activities related thereto, including the
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tabulation, analysis and publication of statistical data derived
from such records;
3. "Filing" means the presentation of a certificate, report or
other record provided for in this article, of a birth, death, fetal
death or adoption, for registration by the State Commissioner of
Health;
4. "Registration" means the acceptance by the State
Commissioner of Health and the incorporation in his official rec ords
of certificates, reports or other records provided for in this
article, of births, deaths, fetal deaths or adoptions;
5. "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extrac tion from
the mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the
duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction,
breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the
heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or defin ite movement of
voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or
the placenta is attached;
6. "Stillbirth" or "stillborn child" means a fetal death;
7. "Certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth " means a
certificate issued to memor ialize a stillborn child;
8. "Fetal death" means death prior to the complete expulsion or
extraction from its mother of a product of human conception after
the fetus has advanced to or beyond the twelfth week of
uterogestation. The death is indicated by the fact that, after such
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expulsion or extraction, the fetus does not breathe or show any
other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of
the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles;
9. "Dead body" means an individual wh o is determined to be dead
pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Determination of Death
Act;
10. "Final disposition" means the burial, interment, cremation,
or other disposition of a dead body or fetus;
11. "Physician" means a person who is a member of the class of
persons authorized to use the term "physician" pursuant to Section
725.2 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
12. "Institution" means any establishment, public or private,
which provides inpatient medical, surgical or diagnostic care or
treatment, or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care, to two or more
unrelated individuals, or to which persons are committed by law; and
13. "Disinterment" means the recovery of human remains by
exhumation or disentombment. "Disinterment" does not include the
raising and lowering of remains to accommodate two interments within
a single grave and does not include the repositioning of an outside
burial container that encroaches on adjoining burial space ; and
14. "Minor correction" means the correction or a mendment of
scrivener's errors, transposition of letters in names or words of
common knowledge, or the omission of biological information .
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SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -311, as
last amended by Section 131, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 1-311), is amended to read as f ollows:
Section 1-311. A. A certificate of birth for each live birth
which occurs in this state shall be filed with the State Registrar
of Vital Statistics Commissioner of Heal th, within seven (7) days
after the birth.
B. When a birth occurs in an institution, the person in charge
of the institution or a designated representative shall obtain the
personal data, prepare the certificate and secure the signatures
required by the certificate. The physician in attendance shall
certify to the facts of birth a nd provide the medical information
required by the certificate within five (5) days after the birth.
C. When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate
shall be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated
order of priority:
1. The physician in attendance at or immediately after the
birth;
2. Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the
birth; or
3. The father, the mother or, in the abs ence or inability of
the father or mother, the person in charge of the premise s where the
birth occurred and present at the birth.
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D. 1. If the mother was married at the time of birth, or
married at any time during the three hundred (300) calendar days
before the birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the
certificate as the father of the child unless paternity has been
determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction or a
husband's denial of paternity form has been filed along with an
affidavit acknowledging paternity, in which case the name of the
father as determined by the court or affidavit acknowledging
paternity shall be entered . If there is a refusal to identify
paternity on the birth certificate, the State Department of Health
is authorized to register a birth certificate as such .
2. If the mother was not married at the time of birth, nor
married at any time during the three hundred (300) calendar days
before the birth, the name of the father shall be entered on the
certificate of birth only if:
a. a determination of paternity has been made by an
administrative action through the Department of Human
Services or a court of competent jurisdiction, in
which case the name of the father shall be entered, or
b. the mother and father have agreed as to the biological
paternity of the child and signed an acknowledgement
of paternity pursuant to Section 1 -311.3 of this
title, or substantially similar affidavit from another
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state and filed it with the State Registrar of Vital
Statistics Commissioner of Health .
This shall give the unmarried mother and biological father equal
rights and obligations to the child. A child whose parentage has
been determined as set forth shall be treated as a child of parents
who were married at the time of the birth.
E. Either of the parents of the child shall sign the
certificate of live birth worksheet to attest to the accuracy of the
personal data entered thereon, in time to permit its filing within
the seven (7) days prescribed in this section.
F. If the live birth results from a process in which the
delivering mother was carrying the child of another woman by way of
a prearranged legal contract, the original birth certificate shall
be filed with the personal information of the woman who delivered
the child. A new birth certificate will be placed on file once the
State Registrar Department of Health receives both a court order and
a completed form prescribed by the State Registrar Department which
identifies the various parties and documents the personal
information of the intended parents necessary to complete the new
birth certificate.
G. Beginning on the effective date of this act, the biological
sex designation on a certificate of birth issued under this section
shall be either male or female and shall not be nonbinary or any
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symbol representing a nonbinary designation including but not
limited to the letter "X".
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -312, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-312. (a) Whoever assumes the custody of a living
infant of unknown parentage shall report, on a form and in the
manner prescribed by the State Commissioner of Health within seven
(7) days to the State Registrar Commissioner of Health , the
following information:
(1) the date and place of finding.
(2) sex, color or race, and approximate age of child.
(3) name and address of the persons or institution
with whom the child has been placed for care.
(4) and other data required by the Commissioner.
(b) The place where the child was foun d shall be entered as the
place of birth and the date of birth shall be determ ined by
approximation.
(c) A report registered under this section shall constitute the
certificate of birth for the infant.
(d) If the child is identified and a certificate of bi rth is
found or obtained, any report registered under this section shall be
sealed and filed and may be opened only by order of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
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SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -315.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-315.1. A. If a death certificate is required to
settle a property or financial interest for a person who has
allegedly died in this state twenty -five (25) years ago or longer,
and the following determinations have been made:
1. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics for this state
Department of Health has confirmed that a death certificate is not
on file with the State Department of Health;
2. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics Department of Health
has determined that all due diligence has been performed and the
requirements of Section 1 -317 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes
requiring a death certificate to be filed cannot be met; and
3. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics Department of Health
has determined that all due diligence has been performed and the
requirements of Section 1 -314 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes
for the filing of a delayed death certificate cannot be met; then a
verified petition may be filed with the district court of the county
where the death allegedly occurred for an order establishing a
judicial record of dea th.
B. The verified petition shall contain the following:
1. The full legal name of the person who is allegedly deceased;
2. The date and place of birth of the decedent;
3. The age of the decedent;
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4. The date and place of the death of the decedent;
5. The property or financial interest to be resolved;
6. The determinations of the State Registrar of Vital
Statistics Department of Health as required in paragraphs 2 and 3 of
subsection A of this section; and
7. Other facts deemed pertinent, which incl ude, but are not
limited to, the parents or spouse of the decedent.
C. Upon the filing of the verified petition, the office of the
court clerk for the county where the petition is filed shall give
the petition a number in the probate files of the county. Notice of
the verified petition shall be made upon the State Department of
Health and published once in a newspaper of general circulation in
the county where the petition is fi led.
D. Based on the verified petition, all the evidence the
applicant has in his or her possession such as personal testimony,
affidavits or records and determinations of the State Registrar of
Vital Statistics Department of Health as required in paragra phs 2
and 3 of subsection A of this section, the court may enter an order:
1. Establishing the full legal name of the individual who is
deceased;
2. The date and place of the birth of the decedent;
3. The age of the decedent;
4. The date and place whe re the death occurred;
5. The property or financial interest that is resolved ; and
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6. Other facts deemed pertinent by the court and as set forth
in the verified petition.
Said order shall be final and conclusive of all the facts
therein adjudged.
E. A certified copy of the order shall be filed with the State
Department of Health, and a certified copy thereof shall be issued
by the State Department of Health in the same manner as certificates
of death.
F. Issuance of a certified copy of the order filed w ith the
State Department of Health pursuant to this section shall satisfy
any and all requirements set forth in any statute requiring a death
certificate or order of any court requiring the issuance of a death
certificate.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -317, as
last amended by Section 133, Chapter 452, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 1-317), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-317. A. A death certificate for each death which
occurs in this state shall be filed with the State Department of
Health, within three (3) days after suc h death.
B. The funeral director shall personally sign the death
certificate and shall be responsible for filing the death
certificate. If the funeral director is not available , the person
acting as such who first assumes custody of a dead body in
accordance with Section 1158 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes
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shall personally sign and file the death certificate. The personal
data shall be obtained from the next of kin or the best qualified
person or source available. The funeral director or person ac ting
as such shall notify the person providing the personal data that it
is a felony to knowingly provide false data or misrepresent any
person's relationship to the decedent. T he certificate shall be
completed as to personal data and delivered to the attending
physician or the medical examiner responsible for completing the
medical certification portion of the certificate of death within
twenty-four (24) hours after the death. No later than July 1, 2012,
the personal data, and no later than July 1, 2017, the medical
certificate portion, shall be entered into the prescribed electronic
system provided by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics
Department of Health and the information submitted to the State
Registrar of Vital Statistics Department. The resultant certificate
produced by the electronic system shall be provided to the physician
or medical examiner for medical certification within twenty -four
(24) hours after the death .
C. The medical certification shall be completed and signed
within forty-eight (48) hours after death by the physician,
physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse in charge
of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in
death, except when inquiry as to the cause of death is required by
Section 938 of this title. No later than July 1, 2017, the medical
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certification portion of certificate data shall be entered into the
prescribed electronic system provided by the State Registrar of
Vital Statistics Department of Health and the information submi tted
to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics Department.
D. In the event that the physician, physician assistant, or
advanced practice registered nurse in charge of the patie nt's care
for the illness or condition which resulted in death is not in
attendance at the time of death, the medical certification shall be
completed and signed within forty -eight (48) hours after death by
the physician, physician assistant, or advanced p ractice registered
nurse in attendance at the time of death, except:
1. When the patient is under hospice care at the time of death,
the medical certification may be signed by the hospice 's medical
director; and
2. When inquiry as to the cause of death i s required by Section
938 of this title.
Provided, that such certification, if signed by other than the
attending physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice
registered nurse, shall note on the face the name of the attending
physician, physician a ssistant, or advanced practice registered
nurse and that the information shown is only as reported.
E. A certifier completing cause of death on a certificate of
death who knows that a lethal drug, overdose or other means of
assisting suicide within the me aning of Sections 3141.2 through
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3141.4 of this title caused or contributed to the death shall list
that means among the chain of events under cause of death or list it
in the box that describes how the injury occurred. If such means is
in the chain of events under cause of death or in the box that
describes how the injury occurred , the certifier shall indicate
"suicide" as the manner of death.
F. The authority of a physician assistant to carry out the
functions described in this section shall be governed by the
practice agreement as provided by Section 519.6 of Title 59 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -317a, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-317a. A. The State Registrar of Vital Sta tistics
Department of Health shall make available to all funeral directors
and physicians licensed in this state a system to electronically
capture the required information and file the prescribed death
certificate with the State Department of Health. Acc ess to the
prescribed electronic system shall be provided to registered users
at no cost.
B. Funeral directors and physicians shall be registered with
the State Registrar of Vital Statistics Department of Health prior
to using the prescribed electronic sy stem. The State Registrar of
Vital Statistics Department shall provide such r egistration at no
cost.
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C. Registration shall be updated at least annually to maintain
access to the prescribed system and shall include training on any
changes or updates to th e prescribed system or associated forms.
Funeral directors licensed in this state shall be trained on the use
of the prescribed electronic system to file personal data on the
prescribed death certificate. Physicians licensed in this state
shall be trained on the use of the prescribed electronic system to
complete, sign, and file th e medical certification on the prescribed
death certificate. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics
Department shall provide the required training at no cost.
D. No later than July 1, 2012, funeral directors licensed in
this state shall be required to sign and file death certificates
using the prescribed electronic system.
E. No later than July 1, 2017, physicians licensed in this
state shall be required to sign and file death certificates using
the prescribed electronic system.
SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -318, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-318. (a) A fetal death certificate for each fetal
death which occurs in this state shall be filed with the State
Registrar Department of Health , within three (3) days after such
delivery.
(b) The funeral director or person acting as such who first
assumes custody of a fetus shall file the fetal death certificate.
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In the absence of such a person, the physician or other person in
attendance at or after the delivery shall file the certificate of
fetal death. He shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin
or the best qualified person or source available. He shall complete
the certificate as to personal data and deliver the certificate to
that person responsible for completing the medical certification of
cause of death within twenty -four (24) hours after delivery.
(c) The medical certification shall be completed and signed
within forty-eight (48) hours after delivery by the physician in
attendance at or after delivery, except when inquiry into the cause
of death is required by Section 938 of this title.
SECTION 8. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -318.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-318.2. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics
Commissioner of Health shall establish a certificate of birth
resulting in stillbirth to be offered to the parent or parents of a
stillborn child. The medical staff trea ting the stillbirth shall
notify the parent of the ability to request the cert ificate. The
certificate shall be available to any parent of a stillborn child
upon proper application. This certificate shall not be used as
evidence of live birth or for iden tification purposes.
SECTION 9. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -319, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 1-319. A. A burial transit permit issued under the
laws of another state which accompanies a dead body or fetus broug ht
into this state shall be authority for final disposition of the body
or fetus in this state.
B. A disinterment permit shall be required prior to
disinterment of a dead body or fetus except as authorized by
regulation or otherwise provided by law. Such permit shall be
issued by the State Registrar of Vital Records Commissioner of
Health to a licensed funeral director, embalmer, or other person
acting as such, upon proper application.
C. Application for a disinterment shall include the consent of
the next of kin. The consent of the next of kin shall be completed
by the next of kin in order of priority as established in Section
1158 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
D. If the dead body or fetus is to be disinterred and
reinterred in the same cemeter y, a disinterment permit is not
required.
E. If the dead body or fetus is to be disinterred and
reinterred in the same cemetery, a notice of disinterment and
reinterment shall be completed, signed by the funeral director and
the next of kin, and then subm itted to the State Registrar of Vital
Records at the State Department of Healt h within five (5) days of
such action.
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F. The forms for the Disinterment Permit and Notice of
Disinterment and Reinterment shall be obtained from the State
Registrar of Vital Re cords Department of Health .
SECTION 10. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -321, as
amended by Section 4, Chapter 87, O.S.L. 2022 (63 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 1-321), is amended to read as follows:
Section 1-321. A. A certificate or record registered under
this article may be amended only in accordance with this article and
regulations thereunder adopted by the State Commissioner of Health
to protect the integrity and accuracy of vital statistics records.
B. A certificate that is amended under this section shall be
marked "amended", except as provided in subsection D E of this
section. The date of amendment and a summary description of the
evidence submitted in support of the amendment shall be endorsed on
or made a part of the re cord.
C. The Commissioner shall prescribe by regulation the
conditions under which additions or minor corrections shall be made
to:
1. birth Birth certificates:
a. for minor correction to birth certificates within one
(1) year after the date of birth , the parent, legal
guardian, or legal custodian of the subject of the
record may request minor corrections by submitting the
request to the Department of Health on a form
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prescribed by the Department. Such minor corrections
may be made without the certificat e being considered
as amended, and
b. for minor corrections to birth certifica tes after one
(1) year after the date of birth, either the subject
of the record or the parent, legal guardian, or legal
custodian of the subject of the record, if the subject
of the record is under eighteen (18) years of age, may
request minor corrections by filing a petition with
the Commissioner of Health in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act.
2. Death certificates:
a. for minor corrections to death certificates within one
(1) year after the date of death, the funeral
director, administra tor of the estate, or next of kin
may request minor corrections by submitting the
request to the State Department of Health on a form
prescribed by the Department. Such minor corrections
may be made without the certificate being considered
as amended, and
b. for minor corrections to death certificates after one
(1) year after the date of death, the funeral
director, administrator of the estate, or next of kin,
may request minor corrections by filing a petition
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with the Commissioner of Health in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act.
3. Fetal death certificate:
a. for minor corrections to fetal death certificates
after one (1) year after the date of death, the
funeral director, parent, or next of kin, may request
minor corrections by filing a petition with the
Commissioner of Health on a form prescribed by the
Department. Such minor corrections may be made
without the certificate being considered as amended,
and
b. for minor corrections to fetal death certificates
after one (1) year after the da te of death, the
funeral director, parent, or next of kin, may request
minor corrections by filing a petition with the
Commissioner of Health in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act.
C. D. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order, from a
court of competent jurisdiction, changing the name of a person born
in this state and upon request of such person or his or her parent,
guardian or legal representative, the State Commissioner of Health
shall amend the certificate of birth to reflect t he new name.
D. E. When a child is born out of wedlock, the Commissioner
shall amend a certificate of birth to show paternity, if paternity
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is not currently shown on the birth ce rtificate, in the following
situations:
1. Upon request and receipt of a sworn acknowledgment of
paternity of a child born out of wedlock signed by both parents;
2. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order
adjudicating paternity; or
3. Upon receipt of an electronic record from the Department of
Human Services indicating that an acknowledgement of paternity has
been signed by both parents or a court order adjudicating paternity.
E. F. For a child born out of wedlock, the Commissioner shall
also change the surname of the child on the certificate:
1. To the specified surname upon receipt of acknowledgment of
paternity signed by both parents, upon receipt of a certified copy
of a court order directing such name be changed or upon receipt of
an electronic record from the Department of Human Services
indicating that an acknowle dgement of paternity has been signed by
both parents or a court order directs such name change. Such
certificate amended pursuant to this subsection shall not be marked
"amended"; or
2. To the surname of the mother on the birth certificate in the
event the acknowledgment of paternity is rescinded.
F. G. The Commissioner shall have the power and duty to
promulgate rules for situations in which the State Registrar of
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Vital Statistics Department of Health receives false information
regarding the identity of a parent.
G. If within sixty (60) days of the initial issuance of a
certificate of death, a funeral director, or a person acting as
such, requests a correction to any portion of the death record
except the information relating to the medical certification
portion, due to a scrivener 's error, misspelling or other correction
of information, the Commissioner of Health, through the State
Registrar of Vital Statistics, shall amend the record, provided the
request is made in writing or through an electronic syst em and is
accompanied by documentation disclosing the correct information or
by a sworn statement of the funeral director. The funeral director,
or person acting as such, shall be responsible for any and all
amendment fees that may be imposed by the Commissioner of Health for
the correction. Up to ten certified copies containing the erroneous
original information may be exchanged for certified copies
containing the corrected inf ormation at no additional cost.
H. Beginning on the effective date of this ac t April 26, 2022,
the biological sex designation on a certificate of birth amended
under this section shall be either male or female and shall not be
nonbinary or any symbol repr esenting a nonbinary designation
including but not limited to the letter "X" denoted to a child at
birth on the certificate of birth shall not be amended, except as
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provided in subparagraphs a and b of paragraph 1 of subsection C in
this section.
SECTION 11. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -323, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-323. A. To protect the integrity of vital statistics
records, to ensure their proper use, and to ensure the efficient and
proper administration o f the vital statistics system, it shall be
unlawful for any person to permit inspection of, or to disclose
information contained in, vital statistics records, or to copy or
issue a copy of all or part of any such record except to:
1. The person who is the subject of the record;
2. A parent named on the record or a person acting wi th the
parent's permission unless that parent is currently incarcerated;
3. Someone acting with permission of the person who is the
subject of the record;
4. Someone acting as a legal representative of the estate of
the person who is the subject of the record;
5. Someone acting as a legal representative of a person
involved in a probate of the estate of the person who is the subject
of the record, as demonstrated by affidavit;
6. An attorney licensed to practice in the United States who
demonstrates by affidavit that the record is necessary in order to
administer a client's estate;
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7. Someone in receipt of a court order from a court of
competent jurisdiction ordering access to the record;
8. The Attorney General or to any district attorney upon
request in the course of a criminal investigation;
9. Only in the case of a death certificate, a funeral director;
10. A representative of the Department of Corrections, when the
subject of the record is under supervision of the Department of
Corrections;
11. A representative of the Department of Human Services acting
in accordance with Section 1 -311.2 of this title; or
12. Any other person working in the best interest of the
subject of the record or the estate of the subject of record , as
determined by regulations of the State Commissioner of Health.
Provided, that death certificates shall be considered publicly
available records fifty (50) years after the death and birth
certificates shall be considered publicly available records one
hundred twenty-five (125) years after the birth.
B. The State Department of Health shall, by July 1, 2017, make
available an online public index that includes, as is applicable,
the name, gender, date o f birth, date of death, county of birth, and
county of death of all persons in its records. Birth data shall not
be added to the index until twenty (20) years after the birth.
Death data shall not be added to the index until five (5) years
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after the death. The index shall be made available online at no
cost to users.
Private entities may request assistance from the Department in
receiving digital files including all or part of the index described
in this subsection. Such private entities may be assessed a fee
that shall not exceed the cost of creating and transmitting the
digital file. The Commissioner may promulgate rules regarding
access to such digital files and applicable fees.
C. The Department may grant applications for electronic
verification of the existence of birth and death certificates for
legal and administrative pu rposes at any time following the birth or
death when such applications are made by:
1. A government agency in conduct of its official business;
2. A benefit-paying party including but not limited to an
annuity company, pension plan or life insurance company in order to
determine benefit status;
3. A physician licensed to practice in the United States to
determine if a patient has been lost to care; or
4. Other entities for fra ud protection, subject to verification
of the entity's purpose by the Departme nt.
The recipient of a record verification as provided for in this
subsection may not disclose to a party not involved in the issue for
which the verification was sought.
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The Department may charge up to Four Dollars ($4.00) for each
electronic birth or death verification, although such fee may be
waived when such request is received by an Oklahoma state or local
government agency. The recipient of a record verification as
provided for in this subsection may also be subject to fees levied
by a contractor retained by the Commissioner to provide such
service.
The Commissioner may promulgate rules necessary to implement the
provisions of this subsection.
D. The State Commissioner of Health may authorize the
disclosure of data contained in vital statistics records for public
health surveillance or research purposes.
E. The State Department of Health shall transmit to the
Department of Public Safety:
1. At the end of each quarter year , a list of all registered
deaths which have occurred during such period of ti me. Upon receipt
of such list the Department of Public Safety shall use such list
solely to update Department of Public Safety records and to cancel
the driver license for those deceased individuals with a valid
Oklahoma driver license at the time of death;
2. At the end of each month, a report of all registered deaths
that resulted from a motor vehicle collision which have occurred
during such period of time. The report shall be used by the
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Department solely for the purpose of statistical analysis and
reporting; and
3. Upon written request from the Department, a death
certificate. The certificate shall be used solely by the Fatality
Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Analyst of the Oklahoma Highway
Safety Office to populate the federal FARS database.
F. Each month, the Commissioner shall authorize the
transmission to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority of a certified
list of all registered deaths of residents of this state that have
occurred within the state for the immediately preceding month. The
Oklahoma Health Care Authority shall use the transmitted list to
ascertain the names of those individuals participating in the state
Medicaid program who are deceased, and shall there after terminate
such deceased person 's enrollment in the state Medicaid program.
G. For the purpose of assisting in the location and recovery of
missing children, information pertaining to birth certificates and
requests for copies of birth certificates s hall be provided to the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation pursuant to the provisions of
Section 1-323.1 of this title and Section 150.12A of Title 74 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
H. The Commissioner shall authorize the transmission of death
certificates to the Department of Labor for the purpose of the
Department of Labor conducting a census of total occupational
injuries and illnesses. The Department shall transmit to the
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Department of Labor statistics of fatal occupational injuries that
shall include the following:
1. Name of the deceased;
2. Date of death;
3. Sex;
4. Race;
5. Age;
6. Birth date;
7. Social Security number;
8. Whether an autopsy was conducted;
9. Month of the accident; and
10. Whether decedent was of Hispanic origin.
I. The Department of Labor shall be required to protect the
integrity of the vital statistics records to the same extent
required of the Department pursuant to this section.
SECTION 12. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 1 -329.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1-329.1. Until a permit for disposal has been iss ued in
accordance with this section, no dead human body whose death
occurred within the State of Oklahoma shall be cremated, buried at
sea, or made unavailable for further pathol ogic study by other
recognized means of destruction or dissolution of such remains.
When the person legally responsible for disposition of a dead
human body, whose death occurred or was pronounced within this
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state, desires that the body be cremated, burie d at sea, or made
unavailable for further pathologic study by other recognized means
of destruction or dissolution of such remains, that person shall
complete an application -permit form for such procedure provided by
the Office of the Chief Medical Examine r. The Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner, in accordance with Section 948.1 of this title,
shall charge a fee for each cremation permit issued. The Medical
Examiner shall be notified, as required in Section 938 of this
title. He or she shall perform t he required investigation and shall
issue a valid death certificate as require d by Section 947 of this
title and execute the permit in accordance with rules established by
the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In order to be valid,
each permit must contain an individual number assigned to the
particular permit by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. A
copy of the application -permit form and the original death
certificate shall be filed with the State Registrar Department of
Health. The original application-permit form shall be filed by the
funeral director with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Such filing shall occur or be postmarked within forty -eight (48)
hours of the death.
If death occurred or was pronounced outside the geographic
limits of the State of Oklahoma and the body is brought into this
state for such disposal, a transit permit or a permit for removal,
issued in accordance with the laws and regulations in force where
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the death occurred shall authorize the transportation of t he body
into or through this state and shall be accepted in lieu of a
certificate of death as required above. A valid permit issued for
disposal of such body in accordance with the laws in the
jurisdiction where the body died or death was pronounced shall be
authority for cremation or burial at sea or to make the body
otherwise unavailable for further pathologic study by other
recognized means of destruction or dissolution of such remains.
SECTION 13. This act shall become effective Novembe r 1, 2025.
60-1-10928 TJ 01/15/25