Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-07-01-.11 - DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS
(1) Vital records
are public records and information from a record may be provided and verified
upon request except that
(a) Information from
the "Information for Medical and Health Use Only" section of the birth
certificate and information from the "Confidential Information" section of the
certificate of marriage or the certificate of divorce or annulment may not be
provided except for statistical or research purposes.
(b) Information concerning the cause of death
from the death certificate may be provided only to the spouse, children,
parents, or other next of kin of the decedent or their respective authorized
representative or for one of the following reasons:
1. when a documented need for the cause of
death to establish a legal right or claim has been demonstrated;
2. when the request for the information is
made by or on behalf of an organization that provides benefits to the
decedent's survivors or beneficiaries;
3. when needed for research purposes approved
by the State Registrar;
4. when
requested by local, state or federal agencies for research or administrative
purposes approved by the State Registrar; or
5. upon the order of a court of competent
jurisdiction ordering such release.
(c) Information from birth records which have
been sealed pursuant to T.C.A. 68-3-313 will not be verified. The sealed
records are subject to opening only pursuant to T.C.A. 68-3-313, 36-1-126,
36-1-127 and 36-1-138.
(d) To be
consistent with the purpose of protecting persons in the federal witness
protection program, verified information concerning such person will not be
provided to anyone other then the subject person or that person's supervising
federal marshal.
(e) In order to
protect the personal, identifying information of children who are adopted or
legitimated within the first year after birth, requests for listings or copies
of the database of birth records that are not for research purposes and are
received from non-governmental agencies will not be filled until eighteen (18)
months past the end of the calendar year in which the birth occurred.
(2) To maintain the physical
security of the documents, the records in the custody of the State Registrar or
Local Registrars are not available for hands-on public inspection.
(3) A search for the record will be conducted
when the applicant provides sufficient information to locate the record in
question, including, but not limited to, the year of the event; for births, the
name of the registrant or the father, if named on the record, or the mother, if
the father is not named on the record; for deaths, the name of the decedent;
for marriages, the name of the groom; and for divorces, the name of the
husband.
(4) Both the request and
the response may be verbal or written; however, in all cases, the required fee
must be paid at the time of inquiry, pursuant to Rule 1200-7-.13.
(5) The State Registrar may respond to an
inquiry seeking verification in any of the following ways:
(a) Provision of the requested verified
information.
(b) Notification that
no record matching the requested information could be located.
(c) Notification that information submitted
by the requestor is insufficient and more information is needed in order to
locate the record in question.
(d)
Notification that more than one record matches the information submitted so
that the requestor may either submit additional information to identify the
exact record in question or purchase information from all records matching the
requested information.
(6) The term "authorized representative"
shall include the attorney, physician, funeral director, or other such
authorized agent acting in behalf of the registrant or his family.
(7) The natural parents of adopted children
or natural parents whose parental rights have been otherwise terminated shall
not be considered to have a direct and tangible interest, as required in T.C.A.
68-3-206.
(8) The State Registrar
may permit the use of data from vital records for research purposes. No data
shall be furnished from records for research purposes until the State Registrar
has prepared, in writing, the conditions under which the records or data will
be used and has received an agreement signed by a responsible agent of the
research organization agreeing to meet with and conform to such
conditions.
(9) The State Registrar
may disclose data which is not confidential from vital records to any federal,
state, county or municipal agencies, courts, or law enforcement agencies which
request such data in the conduct of their official duties. The Social Security
numbers of the parent(s) as listed on the child's birth certificate may be
disclosed for the purpose of child support enforcement.
(10) The State Registrar or Local Registrar
shall not issue a certified copy of a record until the applicant has provided
sufficient information so that the record can be located. Whenever it shall be
deemed necessary to establish an applicant's right to a certified copy of a
vital record, the State Registrar or Local Registrar may also require
identification of the applicant or a sworn statement as to the identity of the
applicant and the applicant's relationship to the registrant.
(11) When 100 years have elapsed after the
date of birth or 50 years have elapsed after the date of death, marriage or
divorce or annulment of marriage, the records of these events in the custody of
the State Registrar may be transferred to the state Library and Archives, if
procedures of the State Library and Archives will allow for continued
safekeeping of the records and for public access to the information from the
records.
(12) Records which have
been sealed pursuant to T.C.A. 68-3-313 may be disclosed only pursuant to
T.C.A. 68-3-313, 36-1-126, 36-1-127 and 36-1-138.
(a) The requestor must present the original
letter of authorization bearing the embossed State Seal from the Tennessee
Department of Children's Services or a certified copy of a court order from a
court of competent jurisdiction, must identify the record by either name at
birth or adopted name, must provide the full date of birth, and must pay the
required fee.
(b) The requestor
will be provided copies of all documents in the sealed file, except that
information from the "Information for Medical and Health Use Only" section of
the birth certificate and information from the "Confidential Information"
section of the certificate of marriage or the certificate of divorce or
annulment shall not be provided.
(c) If, after opening the sealed file, a
review of the contents demonstrates to the State Registrar that the file
contains records of siblings or other records that do not pertain to the
adoption, legitimation or paternity of the individual case being requested,
such records will not be copied and released. Such records will be removed and
placed in the correct sealed file or in a separate file as
appropriate.
Notes
Authority: T.C.A. ยงยง 4-5-202, 36-1-126, 36-1-127, 36-1-138, 68-3-103, 68-3-104, 68-3-205, 68-3-206, and 68-3-313.
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