Section 45-56-171 - County Health Officer Issuing Official Death Certificate

(a) In Randolph County, any county health officer oradministrator may issue an official death certificate in any case within thecounty, except where an autopsy is required.Data obtained from the attending physician or funeral director shall bekept on file for one year following the death for the purpose of issuing thedeath certificate. The certificateshall be in all particulars the same as those issued by the Alabama Departmentof Public Health and shall be sufficient proof of death in any court or forinsurance purposes. Nothing in this sectionshall affect any existing duty of any personto gather and transmit data to the local registrar or to the state health department.(b) The county health officer, not later than 10 days from the date of death,shall make the official death certificate available to the surviving spouse ornext of kin of the deceased at a fee not greater than that charged by the statehealth department for the same service. Anyofficer failing to comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.(Act 81–423, p. 664, §§ 1, 2.)