Md. Code Regs. 10.03.01.01

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 25, December 13, 2024

Section 10.03.01.01 - Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) Amendment.

(a) "Amendment" means an alteration of or change to a vital record based on a court order or documentation specified in this chapter.

(b) "Amendment" includes more than one alteration of or change to a vital record, if the alterations or changes are specified in the same court order or the same request supported by documentation specified in this chapter.

(2) "Amendment to change a name" means changing or altering any part of the name on a vital record.

(3) "Attending clinician " means the physician, nurse midwife, or direct-entry midwife in charge of a birth outside an institution.

(4) Authorized Representative.

(a) "Authorized representative" means a parent, guardian, or other representative of the subject of the vital record who presents evidence, satisfactory to the Secretary, that that individual is an authorized representative.

(b) "Authorized representative" includes but is not limited to:

(i) A member of the immediate or surviving family;

(ii) A direct ascendent or descendent;

(iii) An executor;

(iv) An attorney; or

(v) After October 1, 1999, a confidential intermediary or the Director of the Social Services Administration of the Department of Human Resources.

(5) "Common carrier" means a public transportation business, line, or system which moves persons or goods from place to place. For the purpose of these regulations, "common carrier" does not include a funeral director's hearse or vehicle.

(6) "Confidential intermediary" means an individual or child placement agency qualified by the Director of the Social Services Administration of the Department of Human Resources for the purpose of providing search, contact, and reunion services, as defined at §B(19) of this regulation.

(7) "Correction of a name" means altering the spelling of a name to eliminate an obvious misspelling, such as Jaon to Joan, or to eliminate a spelling contrary to the one used by the family, such as Smith to Smythe.

(8) "Dead body" means a lifeless human body or parts of a body or its bones from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death has occurred. The term "dead body" does not apply to amputated parts.

(9) "Delayed birth registration" means registration of a birth when the child is more than 1 year old.

(10) "Department" means the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

(11) "Direct-entry midwife" means an individual licensed to practice direct-entry midwifery under Health Occupations Article, Title 8, Subtitle 6C, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(12) "Electronic signature" means an electronic process associated with a record and executed by an individual with the intent to sign the record.

(13) "Fetal death" means death before the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. The death is indicated by the fact that after the separation, 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.

(14) "Filing" means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record provided for in this subtitle, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, or divorce for registration by the Secretary.

(15) "Final disposition" means the burial, interment, cremation, or other disposition of a dead body or fetus.

(16) "Human remains" means a dead body or dead fetus for whom a death certificate is required to be filed under this chapter or Health-General Article, Title 4, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(17) "Institution" means any establishment, public or private:

(a) Which provides in-patient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment;

(b) Which provides nursing, custodial, or domiciliary care to two or more unrelated individuals; or

(c) To which persons are committed by law.

(18) "Live birth" means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the period of gestation, which, after separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscle, whether the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached.

(19) "Mortician" means a funeral director and mortician as defined in Health Occupations Article, Title 7, Annotated Code of Maryland, or other person who is authorized to make final disposition of the human remains.

(20) "Nurse midwife " means an individual certified to practice as a nurse midwife under Health Occupations Article, Title 8, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(21) "Physician" means a person authorized or licensed to practice medicine in this State pursuant to the provisions of Health Occupations Article, Title 14, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(22) "Physician Assistant" means an individual who is licensed under Health Occupations Article, Title 15, Annotated Code of Maryland, to practice medicine with physician supervision.

(23) "Registration" means the acceptance by the Secretary and the incorporation in the Department's official records of certificates, reports, or other records provided for in this subtitle, of births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, or divorces.

(24) "Search, contact, and reunion service" means a service to:

(a) Locate adopted individuals and biological parents of adopted individuals;

(b) Assess the mutual desire for communication or disclosure of information between adopted individuals and biological parents of adopted individuals; and

(c) Provide, or provide referral to, counseling for adopted individuals and biological parents of adopted individuals.

(25) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene.

(26) "Vital records" means records of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, adoption, and adjudication of paternity required by law to be registered with the Secretary.

Md. Code Regs. 10.03.01.01

Regulations.01 repealed effective November 30, 1987 (14:24 Md. R. 2555)
Regulations.01 adopted effective November 30, 1987 (14:24 Md. R. 2555)
Regulation .01B amended effective August 17, 1992 (19:16 Md. R. 1474); January 2, 1994 (20:26 Md. R. 2027); January 24, 2000 (27:1 Md. R. 75); February 19, 2001 (28:3 Md. R. 205)
Regulation .01B amended as an emergency provision effective September 8, 2003 (30:19 Md. R. 1327); amended permanently effective December 11, 2003 (30:24 Md. R. 1740)
Regulation .01B amended effective October 8, 2007 (34:20 Md. R. 1736); June 15, 2009 (36:12 Md. R. 837)
Regulation .01B amended effective 40:21 Md. R. 1774, eff.10/28/2013 ; amended effective 45:11 Md. R. 578, eff. 6/4/2018