| (a) An amending certificate (medical amendment) may be filed with the appropriate local registrar or state registrar electronically through a Bureau of Vital Statistics electronic death registration system to complete or correct medical certification information on a certificate of death that is incomplete or inaccurate. The medical amendment must be in a format as prescribed by the department. (b) A certificate described in subsection (a) of this section shall only be filed upon completion by the individual responsible for the certification of the original death certificate. If the original was certified by a physician, and a justice of the peace (JP) or medical examiner's office (ME) has subsequently conducted an inquest as authorized by the Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 49, the medical amendment may be filed by the JP or ME that conducted the inquest. (c) The registrar shall carefully examine each medical amendment when presented for registration to determine if it is complete as required by the state registrar's instructions. (d) If the medical amendment is incomplete or unsatisfactory, the registrar shall call attention to the error and/or omission in the return. (e) The registrar shall number the medical amendment with the same file number assigned to the original death certificate. The local registrar shall sign each medical amendment to attest to the date the amendment is filed in the local registrar's office. The signature may be either electronic, handwritten or a facsimile stamp. The medical amendment shall be attached to and become a part of the legal record of the death if the amendment is accepted for filing. (f) The registrar shall duplicate the medical amendment as authorized by the Local Government Code, Chapters 201 or 204. The duplicate shall be permanently preserved in the local registrar's office as the local record, in the manner directed by the state registrar. (g) The registrar shall forward all original non-electronic, medical amendments to the state registrar within 10 days of filing. |
| Source Note: The provisions of this §181.30 adopted to be effective August 9, 1998, 23 TexReg 7810; amended to be effective July 3, 2003, 28 TexReg 4904; amended to be effective July 22, 2004, 29 TexReg 6936 |
