Text of Statute

(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the director of health, the state registrar, or a local registrar, on receipt of a signed application and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, shall issue a certified copy of a vital record, or of a part of a vital record, in the director's or registrar's custody to any applicant, unless the vital record has ceased to be a public record pursuant to section 3705.09 , 3705.11 , 3705.12 , or 3705.15 of the Revised Code. The certified copy shall show the date the vital record was registered by the local registrar.

(2) A certified copy of a vital record may be made by a mechanical, electronic, or other reproduction process. It shall be certified as a true copy by the director, state registrar, or local registrar who has custody of the record and shall include the date of issuance, the name of the issuing officer, the signature of the officer or an authorized facsimile of the signature, and the seal of the issuing office.

(3) A certified copy of a vital record or of any part of a vital record, issued in accordance with this section, shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original and shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.

(4)(a) Information contained in the "information for medical and health use only" section of a birth record shall not be included as part of a certified copy of the birth record unless the information specifically is requested by the individual to whose birth the record attests, either of the individual's parents or the individual's guardian, a lineal descendant, or an official of the federal or state government or of a political subdivision of the state charged by law with detecting or prosecuting crime.

(b) Except as provided in division (A)(4)(a) of this section, neither the office of vital statistics nor a local registrar shall disclose information contained in the "information for medical and health use only" section of a birth record unless a court, for good cause shown, orders disclosure of the information or the state registrar specifically authorizes release of the information for statistical or research purposes under conditions the state registrar, subject to the approval of the director of health, shall establish by rule.

(B)(1) Unless the applicant specifically requests a certified copy, the director, the state registrar, or a local registrar, on receipt of a signed application for a birth record and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, may issue a certification of birth, and the certification of birth shall contain at least the name, sex, date of birth, registration date, and place of birth of the person to whose birth the record attests and shall attest that the person's birth has been registered. A certification of birth shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.

(2) The director or the state registrar, on the receipt of a signed application for an heirloom certification of birth and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, may issue an heirloom certification of birth. The director shall prescribe by rule guidelines for the form of an heirloom certification of birth, and the guidelines shall require the heirloom certification of birth to contain at least the name, sex, date of birth, registration date, and place of birth of the person to whose birth the record attests and to attest that the person's birth has been registered. An heirloom certification of birth shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.

(C) On evidence that a birth certificate was registered through misrepresentation or fraud, the state registrar may withhold the issuance of a certified copy of the birth record or a certification of birth until a court makes a determination that no misrepresentation or fraud occurred.

(D) Except as provided in division (A)(4)(b) of this section, the state registrar and a local registrar, on request, shall provide uncertified copies of vital records in accordance with section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

HISTORY: 142 v H 790 (Eff 3-16-89); 146 v H 266 (Eff 5-15-96); 146 v S 223. Eff 3-18-97.

Not analogous to former RC § 3705.23 (GC § 1261-70; 123 v 261; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53; 128 v 542; 136 v S 209), repealed 142 v H 790, § 2, eff 12-15-88.