Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 641 - Public Health Department
Chapter 95 - Vital Records: General Administration
Rule 641-95.7 - General Public Access of Vital Records in the Custody of the County Registrar
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
A vital record may be in the custody of the county registrar if the event occurred in that county and the record is not excluded by statute or definition for purposes of confidentiality.
(1) There shall be public access and the right to inspect all vital records in the custody of the county registrar after the vital records are purged of confidential information pursuant to rule 641-95.11 (144). The county registrar shall allow the general public access to the electronic statewide vital records system to search as a public user as a right under Iowa Code chapter 22 for events which occurred in that county.
(2) Information inspected and copied shall not be used to establish an official system for the registration of vital statistics except as authorized by Iowa Code chapter 144.
(3) County registrars may issue uncertified copies of vital records held in the registrars' physical custody or accessible through the electronic statewide vital records system, except those records excluded by statute. Uncertified copies issued by the county registrar shall be issued on plain white paper and clearly stamped "not for legal purposes." Security paper provided by the state registrar shall not be used to produce uncertified copies.
(4) For records available in the electronic statewide vital records system, the state registrar shall send to the county registrars a list of all records that have been modified. County registrars shall, as directed by the state registrar, remove all forms of any vital record in their physical custody from the county vital records system if the vital record appears on the list of modified records.
(5) For records not available in the electronic statewide vital records system, the state registrar shall send a copy of any modified vital record to the county of event and, if the record is a death record, to the county of residence.
