An Act to Allow Unaccompanied and Emancipated Minors to
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0408
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: BRENNAN
Amends: 22 MRSA §2706

Legislative Document
No. 408
H.P. 262
House of Representatives, February 4, 2025
An Act to Allow Unaccompanied and Emancipated Minors to 
Access Their Vital Records At No Cost
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BRENNAN of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, DODGE of Belfast, GRAMLICH 
of Old Orchard Beach, LOOKNER of Portland, MOONEN of Portland, SACHS of Freeport, 
YUSUF of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §2706, sub-§5, as corrected by RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. B, §135, is 
amended to read:
5.  Records disclosed.  Certified or noncertified copies of vital records of a person 
must be made available at any reasonable time upon that person's request or the request of 
that person's spouse, registered domestic partner, descendant, parent or guardian, 
grandparent, sibling, stepparent or stepchild, or a sibling of that person's parent or that 
sibling's spouse, or a child of a sibling of that person or a child of a sibling of that person's 
spouse, or that person's spouse's parent, personal representative or that person's duly 
designated attorney or agent or attorney for an agent designated by that person or by a court 
having jurisdiction over that person whether the request be made in person, by mail, by 
telephone or otherwise, if the state registrar is satisfied as to the identity of the requester 
and, if an attorney or agent, if the state registrar is satisfied as to the attorney's or agent's 
authority to act as that person's agent or attorney.  If the agent or attorney has been 
appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, or the attorney's or agent's appearance for 
the person is entered therein, the state registrar shall upon request so ascertain by telephone 
call to the register, clerk or recorder of the court, and this must be deemed sufficient 
justification to compel compliance with the request for the record.  Certified or noncertified 
copies of the death certificate of a minor's parent must be made available at any reasonable 
time upon the request of that minor's living parent, as defined in Title 19‑A, section 1832, 
subsection 13, if the requester's parental rights with respect to that minor have not been 
terminated and the state registrar is satisfied as to the identity of the requester.  The state 
registrar shall, as soon as possible, designate persons in the Office of Data, Research and 
Vital Statistics who may act in the state registrar's absence or, in case of the state registrar's 
disqualification, to carry out the intent of this subsection. A record of birth, death, fetal 
death, marriage, divorce or domestic partner registration may be disclosed as necessary for 
the department to carry out its responsibilities. The state registrar shall make available the 
vital records of an unaccompanied and emancipated minor to the minor at no cost.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the state registrar to make available the vital records of an 
unaccompanied and emancipated minor to the minor at no cost.