One of the primary purposes of the Vital Statistics Act is to insure that each vital statistics event is registered, completely and accurately, at the time the event occurs, and in an orderly and logical fashion; and that such certificates are collected and preserved in a central location, so that any citizen may when necessary obtain information from or copies of such vital records pertaining to his family and himself, in order to secure and protect his legal rights. The time limits set for filing certain certificates, or for obtaining certain permits are short; they are so set to insure that such certificates will be completed before the necessary facts are forgotten, while the persons from whom they may best be obtained are available, and that the certificate is filed before it is forgotten. It is recognized that in certain cases this time limit may cause an undue hardship upon the person or persons responsible, or upon the family concerned. For this reason, and in hardship cases only, these regulations provide for a means of obtaining an extension of time for the filing of birth, death, and fetal death certificates, and medical certifications of cause of death; and for the obtaining of permits; and also for the issuance of a burial-transit permit prior to the filing of a death or fetal death certificate. The State Registrar is authorized to grant further extensions of time in individual hardship cases over and beyond those herein authorized, or in cases not herein covered; provided he is satisfied as to the necessity therefor, and that the purposes of the Act will not be impeded thereby. Such extensions of time are a privilege; anyone abusing such privilege may not be granted it the next time.
7 AAC 05.550
Authority:AS 18.50.260