An Act Regarding the Filing of Death and Marriage Records
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1237
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: BRAKEY, SANDERSON, GATTINE
Amends: 19-A MRSA §660, 22 MRSA §2848

Legislative Document 
No. 1237 
S.P. 442 
In Senate, April 7, 2015 
An Act Regarding the Filing of Death and Marriage Records 
Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin. 
Cosponsored by Representative SANDERSON of Chelsea and 
Representative: GATTINE of Westbrook. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  19-A MRSA §660 is enacted to read: 
§660.  Delayed certificate of marriage 
1.  Application.  The parties, or the legal representatives of the parties, to a marriage 
that occurred more than one year previously may apply for a delayed certificate of 
marriage by submitting to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics the following: 
A.  The license and certification statement completed in accordance with section 656; 
B.  The required filing fee; and 
C.  An application for a delayed certificate of marriage, which must include, if 
available, a copy of the marriage intentions obtained from the clerk of the 
municipality where the intentions were filed and other documents specified in rules 
adopted by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. 
2.  Indication of date of filing.  The delayed certificate of marriage must be marked 
"delayed" and must indicate the date that the delayed certificate of marriage was filed. 
3.  Rules.  The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall adopt rules to carry out the 
purposes of this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical 
rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §2848 is enacted to read: 
§2848.  Registering a presumed death 
When a death is presumed to have occurred in the State but the body has not been 
located, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall register a death in accordance with this 
section upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court issued in accordance with 
Title 18-A, section 1-107, subsection (3). 
1.  Required information.  In order to register a death on the basis of a court order, 
the court order must include: 
A.  The decedent's full legal name; 
B.  The date of death, as determined from the evidence presented; 
C.  The municipality, county and place of death, as determined from the evidence 
presented; 
D.  The decedent's address, including street address, municipality, county, state and 
zip code at the time of death; 
E.  The decedent's marital status at the time of death; 
F.  The given name of the decedent's surviving spouse, if any; and 
G.  If known, information necessary to complete the medical certification including 
the cause and manner of death.  If the death occurred from an injury, the court order 
must include information on how and when the injury occurred.  If such information 
is not known, the order must indicate the lack of available information. 
2.  Death certificate; identification of court order.  A death certificate issued 
pursuant to this section must identify the court that issued the order on which the death 
certificate is based and include the date of the court order. 
3.  Record marked "presumptive."  The record of a death registered pursuant to 
this section must be marked "presumptive." 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing the filing of death and 
marriage records: 
1.  It authorizes the parties to a marriage, or the legal representatives of the parties to 
a marriage, that occurred more than one year previously to apply for a delayed certificate 
of marriage; 
2.  It establishes a procedure for registering an official record of death when a death is 
presumed to have occurred in the State but the body has not been located.