Opinion ID: 2740291
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Indiana’s Contemporary Death Record System

Text: Indiana’s death record system begins with the death certificate, which contains data used to generate a variety of other records. A certificate of death is created pursuant to Indiana Code section 16-37-3-3(a) (Supp. 2013),2 which provides: The physician last in attendance upon the deceased or the person in charge of interment shall file a certificate of death or of stillbirth with the local health officer of the jurisdiction in which the death or stillbirth occurred. The local health officer shall retain a copy of the certificate of death. It must include the decedent’s cause of death as certified by the attending physician or local health officer. Ind. Code §§ 16-37-3-5 (2008 & Supp. 2013), -6(b) (2008). Since January 1, 2011, the person filing the death certificate must use a state-created electronic database, the Indiana Death Registration System, “to file a certificate of death with the local health officer of the jurisdiction in which the death occurred.” Ind. Code § 16-37-3-3(b); see also Ind. Code § 16-37-1-3.1 (Supp. 2013) (establishing the Indiana Death Registration System). 2 Unless otherwise indicated, we cite herein the relevant statutes as they are currently in force. Certain cosmetic amendments went into effect on July 1, 2012, see P.L. 122-2012 §§ 3–4, 2012 Ind. Acts 2157 (amending Ind. Code § 37-16-3-3 & -5), but those amendments have no bearing on our decision today. 4 Once the death certificate is filed, the local health officer must use the information thereon to “make a permanent record” that does not include the cause of death. Ind. Code § 16-37-3-9(a) (2008). The permanent record, with the exception of the decedent’s Social Security number, “shall be open to public inspection.” Ind. Code § 16-37-3-9(b). The local health officer must also report the death to the Indiana State Health Department within five days. Ind. Code § 16-37-1-3.1(e) (Supp. 2013). Finally, upon request of a qualifying individual, the “local health officer shall provide a certification of birth, death, or stillbirth registration.” Ind. Code § 16-37-1-8(a) (2008). The requesting party must demonstrate he has “a direct interest in the matter” and “the certificate is necessary for the determination of personal or property rights or for compliance with state or federal law.” Id. Depending on the requesting party’s preference, the local health officer has the discretion to include or omit “information concerning the cause of death.” Ind. Code § 16-37-1-8(d) (2008).