S.C. Code Regs. § § 61-19.500.501

Current through Register Vol. 48, 12, December 27, 2024

Section 61-19.500.501 - General

A. A report of live birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be submitted to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar, within five (5) calendar days after such live birth and shall be registered if it has been completed and submitted in accordance with this section.

B. The physician, institution, or other person providing prenatal care shall provide the prenatal care information required for the report to the institution where the delivery is expected to occur not less than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the expected delivery date. Any subsequent prenatal care information shall be submitted to the institution prior to submission of report of live birth.

C. When a live birth occurs in an institution or en route thereto, the person in charge of the institution or his or her authorized designee shall obtain all data required by the Department, prepare the report, certify that the child was born alive at the place and time and on the date stated either by signature or by an approved electronic process, and submit the report within the required five (5) calendar days.

D. In obtaining the information required for the report, all institutions shall use information gathering procedures, including worksheets, provided or approved by the State Registrar. Institutions may establish procedures to transfer, electronically or otherwise, information required for the report from other systems. Such procedures shall be reviewed and approved by the State Registrar prior to implementation to ensure that the information being transferred is the same as that being requested for the report.

E. When a live birth occurs outside an institution:

(1) the information for the report of live birth shall be submitted in the format specified by the Department and in the following order of priority within five (5) calendar days of the live birth by:

(a) the medical institution at which the birth mother or gestational carrier and child are examined within five (5) calendar days of the live birth; or

(b) a licensed midwife or physician in attendance at the live birth; or

(c) the birth mother with documentary evidence as described in Section 502; or

(d) the coroner in cases where investigation is required.

(2) an order from a South Carolina Family Court shall be required to register a live birth when the report submitted does not include the minimum acceptable documentation required in the regulations or the State Registrar has cause to question the validity or adequacy of the documentary evidence.

F. When a live birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States and the child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the live birth shall be registered in this state and the place where it is first removed shall be considered the place of live birth. When a live birth occurs on a moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the live birth shall be registered in this State, but the report shall show the actual place of live birth insofar as can be determined.

G. For purposes of live birth registration and maternity determination:

(1) The woman who gives live birth to the child shall be recorded as the birth mother and the information required by the report of live birth shall be that of the birth mother, except as required by Section 501.G(4);

(2) A court of competent jurisdiction may determine that a woman other than the live birth mother is the biological or genetic mother and order that the original live birth record be so replaced in accordance with Section 1109. The original live birth record shall then be placed under seal.

(3) In the context of birth through gestational carrier, Sections 501.G(1) and G(2) above shall apply for recording the parentage information, unless the intended parent or parents have obtained a pre-birth order from a court of competent jurisdiction. The pre-birth order establishing parentage may be acceptable when the order is issued no more than six (6) months prior to the expected due date and contains all of the following information:

(a) The full name and date of birth of the gestational carrier;

(b) The expected due date and intended name of the child;

(c) The intended hospital of birth;

(d) A finding of no parental rights to the child of the gestational carrier and her spouse, if married; and

(e) The full names (including names prior to first marriage), dates of birth, state of birth (or country, if foreign born), and any other necessary information of the intended parents to create the birth certificate.

(4) In the context of birth through a gestational carrier agreement in which a pre-birth order is obtained, the institution will record information from both the gestational carrier and the intended parent(s) when filing the birth certificate.

H. Up to two (2) individuals may be listed as the parents on a certificate of live birth. Paternity/second parent shall be determined as follows:

(1) If the birth mother was married at the time of either conception or live birth, or between conception and live birth, the name of the spouse shall be entered on the report as the second parent of the child.

(2) If the birth mother was not married at the time of either conception or live birth or between conception and live birth, the name of the father shall not be entered on the report without an Acknowledgment of Paternity on a form developed by the Department and as prescribed by state law and signed by the birth mother and the person to be named as the father. The Acknowledgment shall be filed with the Department.

(3) If the second parent is not named on the report of live birth, no information about that second parent will be entered on the report.

(4) Thereafter, paternity or second parentage of a child may be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to South Carolina law. The name of the father or second parent and surname of the child shall be entered on the report of live birth in accordance with the finding of the court when a valid court order is submitted to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. The original live birth record shall then be placed under seal.

I. The birth mother of the child or, in the case of a gestational carrier, the intended parents and gestational carrier shall verify the accuracy of the personal data to be entered on the report to permit the submission of the report within the five (5) calendar days as prescribed in Section 501.A.

(1) If the birth mother or gestational carrier is incapacitated or deceased, the legal spouse, or other informant as determined appropriate by the State Registrar shall provide and verify the accuracy of the information.

(2) If the birth mother, the legal spouse, or other informant does not verify the accuracy of the personal data entered within the prescribed five (5) days, the report of live birth shall be filed without verification.

(3) A child's name may not include more characters than is allowed in the system for registration and may not include types of characters not allowed by the system for registration utilized by the Bureau of Vital Statistics for the purpose of registering birth records.

J. Reports of live birth submitted after five (5) calendar days, but within one (1) year from the date of live birth shall be registered in the standard format of live birth reports in the manner prescribed above. Such reports shall not be marked or flagged "Delayed."

K. The State Registrar may require additional evidence in support of the facts of live birth.

S.C. Code Regs. § 61-19.500.501

Replaced and amended by State Register Volume 40, Issue No. 06, eff. 6/24/2016; State Register Volume 47, Issue No. 05, eff. 5/26/2023.