New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 7 - HEALTH
Chapter 2 - VITAL STATISTICS
Part 2 - VITAL RECORDS AND STATISTICS
Section 7.2.2.13 - REGISTRATION OF DEATH
Universal Citation: 7 NM Admin Code 7.2.2.13
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Registration
(1) When a death occurs in this state, a
certificate of death shall be filed through the state's approved electronic
system within five days after the death and prior to final disposition.
(a) The medical certification of death must
be completed in the state's approved electronic system by the individual
responsible for the medical certification.
(b) The demographic section of the
certificate od death must be completed in the state's approved electronic
system by the funeral practitioner or the person acting as such.
(2) Cases completed by tribal and
federal entities will have up to 30 days after the receipt of medical records
or autopsy, including toxicology results, to complete the medical certification
section of the certificate of death in the state's approved electronic system
with manner and cause of death. If these entities need additional time to
complete the medical certification, they must contact the registrar within 30
days of death to request an extension.
(3) Cases referred to the office of the
medical examiner will have up to 30 days after the receipt of medical records
or autopsy, including toxicology results, to complete the medical certification
section of the certificate of death in the state's approved electronic system
with a manner and cause of death other than "pending". If the office of medical
examiner needs additional time to complete the medical certification with
manner and cause of death, they shall contact the state registrar prior to the
expiration of time to request an extension.
(4) Certificates of death for indigent cases
referred to a county shall be completed by the county through the state's
approved electronic system within 30 days of the indigent case assignment to
the county.
(5) An extension of the
required filing times for any portion of a certificate of death may be granted
at the discretion of the state registrar to prevent undue hardship in
accordance with Section
24-14-24 NMSA 1978.
(6) In all cases the medical certification
must be signed by the person responsible for such certification. If the cause
or manner of death is unknown or undetermined, each shall be listed as such on
the certificate.
B. Incomplete certificate of death. If all the information necessary to complete the certificate of death is not available within the time prescribed for filing of the certificate, the funeral service practitioner shall file the certificate completed with all information that is available, and attach a note explaining why the incomplete items cannot be completed at the time of submission.
(1) The affidavit
providing the information missing from the original certificate shall be filed
with the state registrar as soon as possible, but in all cases within 30 days
of the date of the death occurred unless otherwise specifically approved by the
state registrar.
(2) When the
affidavit results in changes to the existing certificate of death, such
affidavit shall be considered an amendment; the certificate of death shall be
marked "amended," and the affidavit shall be attached to the original
certificate which is retained by the bureau.
C. Amendment of a certificate of death. Unless otherwise provided for in these regulations, the certificate of death may be amended only in the following manner:
(1) Statistical items: non-medical
statistical items, including but not limited to: ethnicity, education, race and
occupation may be amended when new facts become available. The affidavit/change
procedure described in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection B of
7.2.2.13 NMAC shall be used.
Additional evidence may be required by the state registrar.
(2) Date of death, place of death, time of
death, date pronounced, time pronounced, manner of death, and any portion of
the cause of death may not be changed through the use of an amended
certificate. These items shall only be changed by the preparation and filing of
a medical affidavit signed by the certifier.
(3) The amendment of medically related items
and items related to injury may only be submitted by the office of the medical
investigator or equivalent military or tribal authorities and only on the form
prescribed by the state registrar. Should the certificate of death be revised,
resulting in changes of referenced material, the state registrar shall advise
customary users of the certificate of the changes.
(4) An amendment of the marital status at
time of death shall be made only if it is:
(a)
requested by the person listed as informant on the certificate of death, upon
completion of the prescribed notarized affidavit form and presentation of
acceptable documentation proving marital status at the time of death.
(b) requested by the funeral practitioner who
provides an affidavit that the information as filed with the bureau was
inconsistent with the information provided to such practitioner by the
informant; or
(c) accompanied by a
certified copy of a district court order directing the change in marital
status, along with a copy of the petition for such order and evidence submitted
to the court in support of the requested amendment, if such information was not
previously supplied to the bureau.
D. Certificate of death occurring in a hospital or other institution and not under the jurisdiction of OMI. When a death occurs in a hospital or other institution, and the death is not under the jurisdiction of the office of the medical investigator, the person in charge of such institution, or his or her designated representative, may initiate the preparation of the certificate of death as follows.
(1) place the full name of the decedent and
the date and place of death on the certificate of death, and obtain information
on the method and place of disposition and enter on the disposition part of the
certificate, and obtain from the certifier the medical certification of cause
of death and the certifier's signature;
(2) present the partially completed
certificate of death to the funeral service practitioner or person acting as
such and advise them that they need to complete the missing items on the
certificate and file it with the bureau of vital records and health
statistics.
(3) for all deaths in
which OMI assumes jurisdiction, including but not limited to a death without
medical attendance and presumptive death, see OMI administrative rules at OMI
86-1.
E. Effect on other vital records.
(1) Upon death of
a registrant, the registrant's birth certificate shall be marked with the word
"deceased".
(2) If the death of an
infant born alive occurs within two months of the date of the infant's birth, a
family may receive one copy of a birth certificate without the "deceased" mark
if the request is made with vital records state office within thirty days of
the date of the infant's death.
(3)
Unnamed birth certificates shall not be issued pursuant to this section. The
child must be named at birth to obtain a birth certificate under this
section.
(4) Amendments to a birth
certificate, including but not limited to paternity, may not be made to a birth
certificate after that registrant's death certificate is registered.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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