SECTION I. HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE. TITLE 3. VITAL STATISTICS
Chapter 193. Death Records The text discussed here is the latest version of the chapter provided on the state of Texas website. It can be accessed at https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?link=HS. Sections updated in 2023 were 193.001, Form of Certificate, and 193.005, Personal Information. Sec. 193.001. Form of Certificate (a) The department shall prescribe the form and contents of death certificates and fetal death certificates. (a-1) In prescribing each form under Subsection (a), the department shall ensure that the form instructs the person required to file the death certificate or fetal death certificate to: (1) Enter the date in the standard order of “month, day, year”; and (2) Spell out the name of the month when entering the date. (b) The social security number shall be recorded on the death certificate and on any other records related to the death. (c) The department shall require death certificates and fetal death certificates to include the name of the place and the specific number of the plot, crypt, lawn crypt, or niche in which a decedent’s remains will be interred or, if the remains will not be interred, the place and manner of other disposition. (c-1) The department shall require death certificates to include the county where the decedent died and the decedent’s county of last legal residence. (d) The department and each local registrar shall make the information provided under Subsection (c) available to the public and may collect a fee in an amount prescribed under Section 191.0045 for providing that service. Sec. 193.002. Person Required to File The person in charge of interment or in charge of removal of a body from a registration district for disposition shall: (1) Obtain and file the death certificate or fetal death certificate; (2) Enter on the certificate the information relating to disposition of the body; (3) Sign the certificate; and (4) File the certificate electronically as specified by the state registrar. Sec. 193.0025. Expedited Death Certificates for Religious Purposes in Certain Counties (a) This section applies only to a county: (1) With an office of medical examiner established in accordance with Section 1, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure; and (2) For which the commissioners court of the county by resolution elects for this section to apply. (b) This section does not apply to a county that entered into an agreement with another county to create a medical examiners district under Section 1-a, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, unless: (1) The office of medical examiner is located in the county and the county has adopted a resolution described by Subsection (a)(2); or (2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the county elects for this section to apply in the agreement creating the district. (c) An individual may submit to the person required to file a death certificate under Section 193.002 a written request for the person to expedite the completion of a decedent’s death certificate if the requestor demonstrates that: (1) The expedited completion is necessary for religious purposes; (2) The decedent’s remains will be interred, entombed, buried, cremated, or otherwise laid to rest in a foreign country; and
(3) The requestor is authorized to obtain a copy of the death certificate. (d) A person who receives a request under Subsection (c) shall issue a copy of the decedent’s death certificate to the requestor not later than 48 hours after the time the person receives the request unless an inquest will be conducted for the decedent. (e) For purposes of completing an expedited death certificate decedent’s medical history relevant to the death; (B) The decedent’s death is due to natural causes; and (C) The medical examiner serves as medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred. (f) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section. Sec. 193.003. Time and Place for Filing Death Certificate (a) Not later than the 10th day after the date of a death that occurs in this state, a death certificate shall be filed with the local registrar of the registration district in which: (1) The death occurs; or (2) The body is found, if the place of death is not known. (b) Subject to department rules, a certificate of a fetal death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the local registrar of the registration district in which: (1) The fetal death occurs; or (2) The body is found, if the place of fetal death is not known. Sec. 193.004. Personal and Medical Information (a) The person required to file a death certificate shall obtain the required personal information from a competent person with knowledge of the facts. under this section, a medical examiner may: (1) Perform a medical examination; and (2) Complete the medical certification, provided: (A) The medical examiner has access to the (b) The person required to file a fetal death certificate shall obtain the required personal information from the person best qualified to furnish the information. (c) A person required to obtain information under this section shall obtain the information over the signature of the person who furnishes the information. Sec. 193.0041. Disciplinary Action Prohibited A state agency that licenses a person required to file a death certificate under this chapter may not take disciplinary action against the person for failure to timely file the certificate if the person supplies written documentation that the person has made a good faith effort to file the certificate within the time required by Section 193.003(a) and the failure to timely file the certificate results from circumstances beyond the person’s control. Sec. 193.005. Personal Information (a) A person required to file a death certificate or fetal death certificate shall obtain the required medical certification from the decedent’s attending physician, or a physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse of the decedent, if the death occurred under the care of the person in connection with the treatment of the condition or disease process that contributed to the death. (a-1) Repealed by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 733 (H.B. 4048), Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2021. (b) The attending physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse shall complete the medical certification not later than five days after receiving the death certificate. (c) An associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution where the death occurred, or the physician who performed an autopsy on the decedent may complete the medical certification if:
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Book Code: FTX1624
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