Are you required to have birth and death certificates?

Jenn Henry
The law is everywhere. It affects how we act, what we eat, where we live, and even how we talk. There are laws for pretty much everything. It’s like the law can’t stand to be out of control!

Image courtesy crabchick
But law can’t legislate death away. So when the law confronts birth and death, what does it do? It requires registration of these important life events. (Not to mention lawmaking about euthanasia, contraception, sterilization, and abortion–topics that I will leave for another day.)
Federal law requires national collection and publication of vital statistics. Federal law can also require you to produce a state birth certificates for various activities, like getting a passport (or being President, in Orly Taitz’s universe).
States also regulate vital statistics. Some states had vital statistics laws as early as the late 19th century, but generally they were not enforced until the early 20th century. Missouri, for example, repealed its 1883 vital statistics law in 1893 because most people were not complying (Missouri passed another vital statistics law in 1909, which stuck). Wisconsin passed a vital statistics law in 1852, but counties kept very few records before 1907.
In the hospital, getting a birth or death certificate is pretty straightforward. But what if you are born or die at home?

Home births can sometimes make registering a birth more difficult, though some midwifes assist in the process. Jurisdictions may require more proof of facts like the identity of the parents, the pregnancy of the mother, that the infant was born alive, that the birth occurred in the jurisdiction, and the identity of the witness of the birth.

For deaths, States like Texas require use of an Electronic Death Registration System.

And being buried at home might get your relatives sued! 

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