2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FOUR - Health and Sanitation (§§ 1 — 15010) › PART IV - Vital Statistics Registry (§§ 1041 — 1325) › Chapter 95 - Administrative Provisions (§§ 1231 — 1251) › § 1237 - Certified copies of certificates

(a) Petition of certified copies of certificates. — At the request of the interested party, the Secretary of Health or the person authorized by him/her shall issue a certified copy of any birth, marriage or death certificate that has been recorded and registered in the General Registry pursuant to the provisions of this part. The interested party shall complete an application for a certified copy of the birth certificate which shall include the following:
(1) Name and address of the interested party.
(2) Existing relation between the interested party and the person whose birth certificate is requested.
(3) Reason or motive for which a certified copy of the birth certificate is requested.
(4) Any data necessary for searching the information.
The petitioner shall pay for the issue and certification of certified copies of birth certificate the fee established through regulations to such effect by means of internal revenue stamps, thus canceling the total sum thereof and attaching them to the certificate so issued and imprinting on the application the word “released” and the corresponding date for the issue and certification of the certified copy of the birth certificate.
(b) Electronic transcripts of birth certificates. — The agencies of the federal or the Commonwealth Government, including the courts, may obtain free of charge, but without any cost for the Government of Puerto Rico, electronic transcripts of all birth, marriage, and death certificates registered when they are to be used for official purposes.
These electronic transcripts shall be issued directly by the Vital Statistics Registry to the federal or Commonwealth agency or court.
(c) Prima Facie evidence. — A copy of the record of any birth, marriage or death, after being certified by the Secretary of Health or the person authorized by him/her, and the electronic transcripts issued as provided by the subsection above shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein before any court of justice.
(d) The surrender of a certified copy of the birth certificate is prohibited. — Surrendering the custody of a certified copy of a birth certificate obtained by any interested party to any person or public or private entity requiring the same is hereby prohibited.
In the event that a certified copy of the birth certificate is required, the presentation of a certified copy of the birth certificate issued by the Vital Statistics Registry shall suffice. There shall be allowed to retain, keep under custody or keeping on record a photocopy, in electronic or digital format, of the certified copy of a birth certificate, which copy retained shall attest that the same is a true and exact copy of the certified copy of the birth certificate. However, by no means and under no circumstances shall the certified copy of the birth certificate be retained.
(e) Document search and payment of fees. — Any party interested in searching any document or information in the records of the Department of Health, when no certified copy is issued, shall pay the fee established through regulations by means of internal revenue stamps which shall be fully cancelled by having them attached to the negative note issued, stating the word “released” and the corresponding date, for every hour or fraction thereof employed in searching for such document or information.
Provided, further, That the Secretary of Health shall keep a record of any internal revenue stamps cancelled on account of certified copies and negative notes issued by him/her or his/her duly authorized representatives. The sums thus collected shall be covered into a Special Fund in the Department of the Treasury and shall be destined to the budget of the Vital Statistics Registry for operating expenses.
(f) Unregistered births. — If at any time after the birth of a person, a certified copy of the record of such birth should be required for any purpose, and if, after the files have been searched by the Secretary of Health or his/her representatives, it is found that said birth was never registered in accordance with the provisions of this part, the Secretary of Health shall then immediately require the person responsible for making said declaration and presenting the certificate for its registration, to present as complete a certificate as possible as the time elapsed since said birth may allow to the keeper of the Registry of the corresponding District. There shall be filed with said certificate all such affidavits and other documents as the Secretary of Health may deem necessary, and the person responsible for said violation shall be prosecuted, as required by this part, if he/she refuses to present said certificate promptly. In case the person responsible for the presentation of the certificate has died or cannot be found, the person requesting the certified copy of the record may present said birth certificate, together with such affidavits or other documents as may be required by the Secretary of Health, all of which shall be filed in the Department, and a certified copy of the certificate shall then be issued to the applicant, upon payment of the hereinbefore mentioned fees.
(g) Unregistered marriages. — If at any time after the performance of a marriage, a certified copy of the record thereof should be required for any purpose, and after the files have been searched by the Secretary of Health or his/her representatives, it is found that said marriage was never registered in accordance with the provisions of this part, the interested party shall resort to the Part of the Court of First Instance in which the marriage was performed, for an order to the effect that the recording of said marriage be made by the keeper of the Vital Statistics Registry. In order to obtain said order, the interested party shall file a petition with the court explaining his/her request, under oath, accompanied by proper documentary evidence to support his/her petition. After filing the petition, the court shall direct the publication of a notice for public knowledge in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico for a period of fifteen (15) days and at least once a week. The petitioner shall remit to the Department of Justice a copy of the petition and all the documentary evidence, simultaneously with its filing. Any person interested in the matter may participate in the proceedings.
If after ten (10) days from the date of publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation, and service of notice and remittance of any and all proof to the Department of Justice, it or any party interested has not raised any objection on the matter, the court shall deliberate and resolve the petition on its merits without need for holding a hearing, or shall hold it, in its discretion, if deemed advisable, and shall issue the corresponding writ.
A certified copy thereof shall be remitted to the Secretary of Health for the purpose of recording said marriage. The decision of the Court of First Instance shall be based on attesting evidence of the performance of the marriage, the fitness of the contracting parties and the authority of the person who performed the marriage.
(h) Unregistered deaths. — If at any time after the interment of the remains of a human being, a certified copy of the death certificate of said person should be required for any purpose, and if, after the files have been searched by the Secretary of Health or his/her representatives, it is found that said death was never registered in accordance with the provisions of this part, the interested party shall resort to the Part of the Court of First Instance in which the death occurred, to request an order to the effect that the registration of said death be made by the keeper of the Vital Statistics Register. For the purpose of obtaining said order, the interested person shall file a petition with the court explaining his/her request, under oath, accompanied by the proper documentary evidence in support of his/her petition. The petitioner shall remit to the Department of Justice a copy of the petition and other documentary evidence, simultaneously with its filing. If after ten (10) days of the remittance and notice to the Department of Justice, it has not raised any objection, the court shall deliberate and resolve the petition on its merits without the need for holding a hearing, if it deems it advisable, and within the shortest time possible shall issue the proper writ, and a certified copy of same shall be remitted to the Secretary of Health for the purpose of recording said death. The decision of the Court of First Instance shall be based on attesting evidence of the death.
(i) Registration ordered by the court. — Any birth, marriage or death registration ordered by a court with competent jurisdiction shall bear the word “Belated”.
History —Apr. 22, 1931, No. 24, p. 228, § 38; Apr. 17, 1936, No. 25, p. 212, § 1; May 6, 1941, No. 112, p. 792, § 1; May 12, 1943, No. 99, p. 266, § 1; May 10, 1947, No. 297, p. 496, § 5; May 2, 1951, No. 188, p. 470, § 1; July 23, 1974, No. 204, Part 2, p. 100, § 2; Feb. 23, 1978, No. 1, p. 3, § 1; Apr. 19, 1983, No. 22, p. 39, § 1; Aug. 9, 1998, No. 220, § 4; Jan. 5, 1999, No. 1, § 3; Dec. 22, 2009, No. 191, § 8, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.