10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 10, § 4

Current through 2024-25, June 19, 2024

Section 146-10-4 - Births Outside an Institution

A. Certificate

1. When a birth occurs outside an institution, it must be registered with the clerk of the municipality in which it occurred on the "Certificate of Live Birth" form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar for this purpose except as specified below.

2. When a birth occurs en route to an institution or is attended in an institution immediately following the birth, it shall be registered as specified in section 3, above. The place of birth for a birth which occurs in a moving conveyance is determined as specified in section 5, below.

B. Responsibility for Filing

The certificate must be prepared and filed by one of the following in the indicated order of priority:

1. The physician or other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth;

2. the father;

3. the mother; or

4. the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred.

C. Registration

1. Either of the parents of the child, or other informant, shall verify the accuracy of the personal data to be entered on the certificate.

2. The birth certificate shall be filed with the municipal clerk within 7 days after the birth.

3. The municipal clerk shall forward the original copy of the certificate with the state registrar within 7 days after receipt of the record.

4. If the birth occurred in a municipality other than the mother's place of residence, the municipal clerk shall send the resident copy of the record to the clerk of the municipality where the mother resides.

D. Certification

The person filing the certificate must certify, by signature, that the child was born alive at the place and time and on the date stated.

E. Evidence

Additional documentation in support of the facts of birth may be required by the state registrar, including evidence of pregnancy, evidence that the infant was born alive, and evidence of the mother's presence in the state on the date of the birth.

F. Out-of-Wedlock Births

1. Acknowledgment of Paternity

The "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form may be obtained from any municipal clerk. The parents may sign the form (original and two copies) at the same time or separately. Signatures must be witnessed by a notary, lawyer, municipal clerk, or other person authorized to take oaths, or at the Office of Vital Statistics.

2. Information on Certificate

When both parents have signed the "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form, the name of the father and the other information about him shall be recorded on the birth certificate. Otherwise, neither the name of the putative father nor any information about him may be entered on the certificate.

3. Filing

The "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form may be filed with the municipal clerk at the place of birth, the clerk at the place of residence, or the Office of Vital Statistics. When an acknowledgment of paternity for a child born out-of-wedlock is received by the clerk at the place of birth or of residence, the clerk shall enter the father's name on the birth certificate and forward the state copy of the acknowledgment to the state registrar. The state registrar shall forward copies to other custodians of the record as appropriate.

10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 10, § 4