## 701. General.

- A. A report of death for each death which occurs in this state shall be submitted to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar, within five (5) calendar days after death or the finding of a dead body and shall be registered if it has been completed and submitted in accordance with this section.

(1) If the place of death is unknown but the dead body is found in this state, the report of death shall be completed and submitted in accordance with this section. The place where the body is found shall be noted as the place of death.

(2) When death occurs in a moving conveyance within the United States and the body is first removed from the conveyance in this State, the death shall be registered in this state and the place where it is first removed shall be deemed the place of death. When a death occurs on a moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the body is first removed from the conveyance in this State, the death shall be registered in this State, but the report shall show the actual place of death insofar as can be determined.

(3) If the date of death is unknown, the medical certifier shall determine the date by approximation. If the date cannot be determined by approximation, the date found shall be entered and identified as date found.

- B. The funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of the dead body shall submit the report of death to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. In cases where there is no funeral director or person acting as such, the coroner shall submit the report of death. In no event shall a transport company file a death record.

(1) The funeral director or person acting as such shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain the medical certification from the person responsible, therefore.

(2) The funeral director or person acting as such shall provide the report of death containing sufficient information to identify the decedent to the medical certifier within forty-eight (48) hours after death unless the medical certification has already been submitted.

(3) In cases where the family chooses not to engage the services of a licensed funeral director, they may dispose of the body by way of a natural burial as defined in Section 100 of this regulation. In such cases, the person listed on the Burial-Removal-Transit Permit (BRTP) as first assuming custody or handling the final disposition of the body shall also be responsible for submitting the report of death to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. If no report is filed within thirty (30) calendar days after the date of death and the Bureau has been unsuccessful in contacting the person listed as responsible for the disposition of the body via the means of contact listed on the BRTP form, they shall file the certificate with the available information.

(4) Medical certifiers or their staff should review cases of deceased individuals designated to them at least once each business day. The medical certification shall be completed within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and federal or state holidays, after receipt of notice of the death by the decedent’s primary or attending physician, except when inquiry is required by S.C. Code Section 44-43-720. In the absence or inability of said medical certifier, or with his or her approval, the report may be completed by his or her associate physician, physician’s assistant, or APRN, the chief medical officer of the institution in which death occurred, or the physician who performed an autopsy upon the decedent, provided such individual has access to the medical history of the case, and death is due to natural causes. The person