§16-5-1. Definitions
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Bureau" means the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources.
§16-5-10. Birth Registration Acknowledgment and Rescission of Paternity
(a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the section of vital statistics, or as otherwise directed by the state Registrar, within seven days after the birth and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. (b) When […]
§16-5-11. Registration of Infants and Minors Born With Specified Birth Defects
(a) When a live birth occurs, the physician or midwife in attendance at, or present immediately after, the birth shall examine the infant for any of the following birth defects: (1) Anencephaly;
§16-5-12. Notation on Birth Records of Missing Children
(a) Upon receiving a report of the disappearance of any child born in this state, the state Registrar shall indicate in a clear and conspicuous manner in the child's birth record or by an electronic process that the child has been reported as missing, including the title and location of the law-enforcement agency providing the […]
§16-5-13. Registration of Infants of Unknown Parentage
(a) Whoever assumes the custody of a live-born infant of unknown parentage shall report, to the state Registrar, on a form and in a manner prescribed by the state Registrar, the following information: (1) The date and city or county, or both, of finding;
§16-5-14. Delayed Registration of Births
(a) The State Registrar may register a delayed certificate of birth in accordance with a legislative rule to be promulgated by the department, which rule will provide for qualifications for applicants and the evidentiary documentation required. The rule may provide for the dismissal of an application which is not actively pursued. (b) When a certificate […]
§16-5-15. Judicial Procedure to Establish Facts of Birth
(a) If the state Registrar refuses to file a certificate of birth under the provisions of section ten or section fourteen of this article, a petition signed and sworn to by the petitioner may be filed in the circuit court of the county in which the petitioner resides or in the circuit court of Kanawha […]
§16-5-16. Certificate of Adoption
(a) When a court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order of adoption in this state, it shall require the preparation of a certificate of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state Registrar. The certificate of adoption shall be certified by the clerk of the court and shall provide: (1) Facts necessary […]
§16-5-17. Court Reports of Determination of Paternity
(a) When a court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order of paternity, the petitioner shall provide the information necessary for the clerk of the court to complete and certify a certificate of paternity on a form prescribed and furnished by the state Registrar. The certificate of paternity shall provide: (1) Facts necessary to locate […]
§16-5-18. Certificates of Birth Following Adoption, Legitimation, Paternity Acknowledgment and Court Determination of Paternity
(a) The State Registrar shall establish a new certificate of birth for a person born in West Virginia when he or she receives the following: (1) A certificate of adoption as provided in section sixteen of this article or a certificate of adoption prepared and filed in accordance with the laws of another state, or […]
§16-5-19. Death registration.(a) a Certificate of Death for Each Death Which Occurs in This State Shall Be Filed With the Section of Vital Statistics, or as Otherwise Directed by the State Registrar, Within Five Days After Death, and Prior to Final Disposition, and Shall Be Registered if It Has Been Completed and Filed in Accordance With This Section
(1) If the place of death is unknown, but the dead body is found in this state, the place where the body was found shall be shown as the place of death.
§16-5-2. Establishment of Section of Vital Statistics in Bureau for Public Health
(a) There is established in the state Bureau for Public Health a section of vital statistics which shall install, maintain and operate the only system of vital statistics throughout this state. (b) The section of vital statistics shall be provided with sufficient staff, suitable offices with a fireproof vault and a nonliquid fire suppression system […]
§16-5-20. Delayed Registration of Death
(a) When a death occurring in this state has not been registered within the time period described by section nineteen of this article, a certificate of death may be filed subject to evidentiary documentation and other requirements as prescribed by legislative rule. (b) If the required evidentiary documentation is not filed with the application for […]
§16-5-21. Reports of Fetal Death
(a) Each fetal death of three hundred fifty grams or more, and if weight is unknown, of twenty completed weeks of gestation or more, calculated from the date the last normal menstrual period began to the date of delivery, which occurs in this state, shall be reported within five days after delivery to the section […]
§16-5-21a. Noah's Law; Certificate of Birth for a Stillbirth; and Contents of Certificate
(a) This section of the code shall be known as "Noah's Law". (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "stillbirth" or "stillborn" means an unintended intrauterine fetal death occurring in this state. (c) Following a report of fetal death as required by section twenty-one of this article, either the mother or father of […]
§16-5-22. Reports of Abortions
(a) Each abortion, as defined in 16-2R-2 of this code, which occurs in this state, shall be reported to the section of vital registration no later than the tenth day of the month following the month the procedure was performed by the person in charge of the hospital in which the abortion was performed. The […]
§16-5-23. Authorization for Disposition and Disinterment and Reinterment Permits
(a) The funeral director or other person who assumes custody of a dead body shall obtain authorization prior to final disposition of the body. (1) The physician or State Medical Examiner, county medical examiner or designee shall authorize final disposition of the body on a form or in a format prescribed by the state Registrar.
§16-5-24. Extension of Time for Filing Certificates, Reports and Authorizations
(a) The department shall, by legislative rule, provide for the extension of the time periods prescribed in sections nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-three of this article for the filing of certificates of death, reports of fetal death, reports of induced termination of pregnancy, medical certifications of the cause of death, and for obtaining authorization for […]
§16-5-25. Correction and Amendment of Vital Records
(a) In order to protect the integrity and accuracy of vital records, a certificate or report registered under this article may be amended only in accordance with the provisions of this article or legislative rule. (b) A certificate or report that is amended under this section must indicate that it has been amended, except as […]
§16-5-26. Reproduction and Preservation of Records
To preserve vital records and other original documents, the state Registrar is authorized to prepare typewritten, photographic, electronic, or other reproductions of certificates or reports and files in the section of vital statistics. When verified and approved by the state Registrar, the reproductions shall be accepted as the original records, and the documents from which […]