Reference Documents
Office of the State Registrar
Topical Index to Reference Material
Amendments to Birth Records
Confidential Birth Records
Corrections
Disposition Permits
Delayed Registrations
Fees
Home Births
Online Verification of Decedent Social Security Number
Parent Notice
Recognition of Parentage Program
Retention Schedule
Tangible Interest
Amendments to Birth Records
A change in Amendment Procedures which took effect Monday, March 8, 2004,
requires all amendments to birth records to be processed by the Minnesota
Department of Health exclusively.
Requests for amendments must be sent via mail to the Office of the State Registrar (OSR). Please remember that we do not have in person service so DO NOT direct people to come to our office in person. They must request the amendment via mail.
Linked below is an information packet that can be provided to the public who request amendments at your office. The public may also be referred to OSR's public web page at www.health.state.mn.us (choose Certificates and Records, then Changing (amending a birth record) for the same information.
Information Packet for Amending Records
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Confidential Birth Records
Births to unmarried parents are classified as confidential in Minnesota
Statutes, section 144.225, subdivision 2.
See the information about confidential birth records
on the Office of the State Registrar's web page for the general public.
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Corrections
Corrections are amendments that are made to birth and death records before
issuance and within 45 days of the date filed. Most corrections to birth
records are made through the parent notice process.
Requirements for processing corrections are in Minnesota Rules, part 4601.1000,
subpart 2.
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Disposition Permits
Effective August 1, 2005, disposition permits must be printed from MN VRV2000. Local Registrars will be asked to
print disposition permits for funeral directors who are not filing death records electronically. Please note that the documentation of death worksheet must be completed
(i.e., cause of death provided) before a local registrar can enter the death record and print the disposition permit.
Linked below is a fact sheet about the disposition permit and other permits required for funeral directors. Please note
that the only permit that prints from MN VRV2000 is the disposition permit.
Fact Sheet regarding Changes For Funeral Directors - Minnesota Statutes, Section 144.221 and 149A.
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Delayed Registrations
According to Minnesota Statutes, section 144.212, subdivision 2a, delayed registration means registration of a record of birth or death filed one or more years after the date of birth or death.
Requests for delayed birth and death registrations are processed in the Office of the State Registrar.
Refer customers to 651-201-5961 for information.
Fees
Fees for services related to birth and death records are established in
Minnesota Statutes, section 144.226 and
Minnesota Rules, part 4601.0400.
For a quick references for fees for providing birth and death record data
and fees for services related to birth and death records see Fees Table.
Home Births
Effective January 1, 2003, requests to register births that did not occur in or en route to a hospital or other
institution (home births) are processed in the Office of the State Registrar.
Refer customers to 651-201-5961 for information.
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Online Verification of Decedent Social Security Number
Through online verification of social security number (OVS), a decedent's social security
number (SSN) reported through death registration is transmitted to the Social Security
Administration (SSA) to be electronically verified. Funeral directors receive notification
through MN VRV2000 about the accuracy of the SSN as compared with the name, sex, and date
of birth reported on the death record. SSNs transmitted to SSA to be electronically verified
when a local registrar enters a death record. However, the local registrar will not receive
a notification about the accuracy of the SSN.
Through MN VRV2000, fact of death is transmitted to SSA within one day (24 hours) of the date
the fact of death record was filed (i.e., saved).
For more information about the online verification of decedent SSN project,
please refer to the Electronic Death
Registration: Online Verification of Social Security Number fact sheet. (Adobe
PDF Document)
Parent
Notice
A parent notice is a feature of MN VRV2000 that allows a parent to correct
birth record data according to Minnesota Rules, part 4601.1000,
Recognition
of Parentage Program
The Recognition of Parentage Program is a program administered by the
Minnesota Department of Human Services. By completing a Recognition of
Parentage form according to Minnesota Statutes, section 257.75,
both unmarried parents acknowledge the parentage of the child. Completion
of the Recognition of Parentage form allows the father to be added to
the birth record.
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Retention Schedule
The Office
of the State Registrar has submitted and received approval for an addition
to the County General Retention Schedule for Local Registrars (Schedule
Number 04-115). The schedule covers:
This schedule is offered to assist you in your management of birth and
death records. Adoption of this schedule is not required. However to destroy
records, according to Minnesota Statutes, section 138.17, you must have
an approved records retention schedule.
For more information see:
Options for the Use of Schedule Number 04-115 Adobe PDF (15.4kb/1 page)
County General Retention Schedule for Local Registrars (Schedule Number
04-115)
Adobe
PDF (7.4MB/5pgs) (This document requires Adobe Reader 6.0 or higher.)
The Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) provides records management
assistance to county government entities. For a copy of the general county
schedule and an informational booklet, call AMC at 651-224-3344.
Tangible Interest
Tangible Interest restricts access to birth and death certificates according
to Minnesota Statutes, section 144.225,
subdivision 7 and Minnesota Rules, part 4601.2600.
See the information about tangible interest on the Office of the State
Registrar's web page for the general public.
For requests for certified birth and death certificates that are not made in person, the application must be notarized to demonstrate tangible interst (Minnesota Rules, part 4601.2600, subpart 5, item B).
Recruiting offices are part of the Department of Defense. Therefore, a recruiting officer has tangible interest in a certified birth certificate as a "local, state or federal government agency". However, if the birth
record is confidential, in addition to demonstrating tangible interest, the recruiting officer must have a notarized statement from the registrant that authorizes access to the record.
Issuing Death Certificates: Clarification of the current policy
for issuance of death certificates is provided to aid both local registrar
and funeral home staff. Suggestions include allowing staff assistants
to pick up death certificates ordered by funeral directors in certain
instances.
For information
specific to the issuance of Certified Death Records to Funeral Directors
and their Staff Assistants, please reference the following documents:
Issuance of Certified
Death Certificates (During the first 180 days after death)
Issuance of Certified
Death Certificates (More than 180 days after death)
Sample "A"
Instructions for Sample "A"
