Hon. James M. Cotten Opinion No. V-145.0 

County Attorney 

Parker County Re: Duty of the County 

Weatherford, Texas Clerk to record 

deaths and births 

occurring in Parker 

County within or without the City of 

Dear Sir: Weatherford. 

Yo'ur request for an opinion of this office reads in part as follows: 

"Must the Co~unty Clerk of Parker 

County, Texas file death certificates 

presented to him for filing by an undertaker.. Also: must he file birth and death 

certificates presented ;to him by a Justice of the Peace or the City Secretary 

of Weatherford. 

"Weatherford is an incorporated 

city of 10,500 population. The City 

Secretary Is charged by ordinance with 

the duty of maintaining true and accurate copies of each birth and death and 

stillbirth certificate permanently filed 

in his office. There are six Justice 

Precincts In Parker County outside of 

Weatherford. Normally no births occur 

In these precincts, but deaths do occur 

in these precincts." 

Rule 42a, Article 4477, V.C.S., provides 

in part: 

"Undertaker's certificate.--That the 

undertaker, or person acting as undertaker, shall file the certificate of 

death with the local registrar of the 

district in which the death occurred 

and obtain a burial or removal permit 

prior to any disposition of the body; 
Hon. James M. Cotten, page 2 (v-1450) 

provided that any person who furnishes 

a casket, coffin or box in which to bury 

the dead and who renders service like or 

similar to that usually rendered by an 

undertaker, shall for the p'urposes of 

this Act be deemed an undertaker. He 

shall obtain the req'uired personal and 

statistical particulars from the person 

best qualified to supply them, over the 

signature and address of his informant. 

He shall then present the certificate 

to the attending physician, If any, or 

to the health officer, justice of peace, 

or coroner, as directed by the local 

registrar, for the medical certificate 

of the cause of death and other partlculars necessary to complete the record, 

as specified in Sections 7 and 8. . . ." 

Rule 40a, Article 4477, V.C.S., sets out 

the information which is required to be contained 

in death certificates. 

Rule 42a clearly requires the ,undertaker 

to file the certificate of death with the local 

registrar, in the district in which the death 

occurred. "Local registrar," as provided in Rule 

36a, Article 4477, V.C.S., does not include the 

county clerk. Neither Article 4477 nor any other 

law requires the county clerk to file death certificates presented to him by an undertaker. Prior 

to the passage of House Bill 243, Acts 52nd Leg., 

R.S, 1951, ch. 87, p. 145 (Article 4477, V.C.S.), 

all local registrars (including those in cities having an ordinance requiring that a true and correct 

copy of birth and death certificate be permanently 

filed in the office of the city registrar) were required to deposit copies of each blrth, death, and 

stillbirth certificate, filed with him, with the 

county clerk, who was required to record them. 

However, House Bill 243, s'upra, amends, 

among others, Rules 36a and 53a of Article 4477, 

V.C.S. 

Rule 36a now provides: 

"For the purposes of this Act the State 

shall be divided into primary~registration 
. 

Hon. James M. Cotten, page 3 (v-1450) 

districts as follows: _ Each justice of the . 

peace precinct an5 each incorporated town 

of two tho,usand, five hundred (2,500) or 

more population, according to the last United 

States Census, shall constitute a primary 

registration district, provided the State 

Board of Health may combine two (2) or more 

registration districts, or may divide a 

primary registration district into two (2) 

or more parts, so as to facilitate registration, and in the justice of the peace precinct, the justice of the peace shall be 

local registrar, and in cities of two thousand, five hundred (2,500) or more, according to the last United States Census, the 

city clerk or city secretary shall be the 

local registrar of births and deaths. 

"It is hereby declared to be the duty 

of the justice of the peace in the justice 

of the peace precinct, and the city clerk 

or city secretary in the city of two thousand, five hundred (2,5.OO) or more population to secure a complete record of each 

birth, death, and stillbirth that occurs 

within their respective jurisdictions." 

Rule 53a now provides in part: 

"And provided further, that the justice 

of the peace, city clerk or secretary, and 

the appointed local registrar shall submit 

to the commissioners court or county auditor, 

as the case may be, a true and accurate copy 

of each birth, death, and stillbirth certificate filed with him, and such copies shall 

bear his file date and signature and shall 

be deposited In the co,unty clerk's office, 

provided, however, that this provision shall 

not apply to cities having an ordinance requiring that true and accurate copies of each 

birth, death, and stillbirth certificate be 

permanently filed in the office of the city 

registrar. The county clerk shall be paid for 

indexing and preserving.such records, such 

compensation as may be agreed-upon by the 

commissioners court." (Emphasis added,) 

It is seen from the above stat,utes that 
Hon. James M. Cotten, page 4 (V-1450) 

the local registrar in a city having an ordinance 

requiring that a true and correct copy of each birth 

and death certificate filed In his office is not 

required to deposit a copy with the county clerk. 

Neither is the county clerk required to record such 

copies. 

It is noted, however, that ,under R~ule 53a 

all local registrars except those in cities having 

such an ordinance are required to deposit a copy of 

each birth, death, and stillbirth filed with them in 

the county clerk's office, and the county clerk is 

to record the same. 

In view of the foregoing, it is our opinion that the county clerk is req~uired to record all 

birth, death,,and stillbirth certificates filed with 

him by the justices of the peace of Parker Co,unty. 

However, the co,unty clerk Is not req,uired to file 

or record birth or death certificates presented to 

him by the city secretary of Weatherford. 

SUMMARY 

The county clerk of Parker County is 

req,uired to record copies of all birth and 

death certificates deposited with him by 

all justices of the peace of the county. 

However, he is not required to file birth 

or death certificates presented to him by 

the city secretary of Weatherford, a city 

requiring the permanent filing of such certificates with the city registrar. Neither 

is the county clerk required to file death 

certificates presented to him b an undertaker, s.ince Rule Ma, Article 1 477, V.C.S,, 

requires that undertakers file death certificates with the local registrars named in 

the statute. 

APPROVED: Yours very truly, 

J. C. Davis, Jr. PRICE DANIEL 

County Affairs Division Attorney General 

E, Jacobson 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Assistant 

BA:mh 

Assistant