W. Va. Code R. § 64-32-14 - Disclosure and Protection of Integrity of Vital Records

14.1. The State Registrar, a local registrar or any other custodian of vital records shall not permit inspection of, or disclose information contained in, vital statistics records, or copy or issue a copy of all or part of any vital statistics record unless he or she is satisfied that the applicant is authorized to obtain a copy or abstract of the record.

14.1.a. Unless access to vital records would jeopardize acceptance by any agency of the federal government as specified in regulations promulgated under the Intelligence Reform Act or other similar provisions of federal law, in addition to applicants specified in W. Va. Code § 16-5-28(a), the following persons or entities are authorized to obtain a copy or abstract of a vital record:

14.1.a.1. A person or entity who can prove that they have a direct and tangible interest in the content of the record and that the information contained in the record is necessary for the determination of a personal or property right.

14.1.a.2. In the case of birth records, the registrant, a member of his or her immediate family, his or her guardian, or their respective authorized representatives.

14.1.a.3. In the case of a death record, any immediate family member, any surviving relative who has a direct or tangible interest in the record, or their authorized representative.

14.1.a.4. In the case of a fetal death record or report, a parent listed on the record or his or her authorized representative.

14.1.a.5. In the case of marriage and divorce records, the parties married, their adult children, adult grandchildren and additional generations or their authorized representatives.

14.1.b. Family members doing genealogical research and genealogists representing a family member may obtain copies of records needed for their research. The registrant or relevant family members as defined in § 16-5-28(a) of the W. Va. Code or rules promulgated shall submit appropriate authorization.

14.1.c. The term "authorized representative" includes an attorney, physician, funeral director, or other designated agent acting on behalf of the registrant or his or her family.

14.1.d. The term "immediate family" includes:

14.1.d.1. A mother or father;

14.1.d.2. A son or daughter;

14.1.d.3. A brother or sister;

14.1.d.4. A husband or wife;

14.1.d.5. A mother-in-law or father-in-law;

14.1.d.6. A son-in-law or daughter-in-law;

14.1.d.7. Grandparents, great-grandparents, and additional generations of the same family;

14.1.d.8. Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and additional generations of the same family;

14.1.d.9. A stepmother or stepfather; and

14.1.d.10. A stepchild.

14.1.e. If the father's name is not shown on the certificate of birth, he or his family members cannot obtain copies of the record without a court order, a court ordered determination of paternity naming him as the father, a completed notarized affidavit of paternity accepted for filing by the section of vital statistics, proof of marriage to the mother at the time of conception or birth of child, or proof of adoption.

14.1.f. The natural parents of adopted children may not obtain copies or abstracts of the record unless the requesting natural parent retains legal rights as a parent after the adoption.

14.1.g. The State Registrar shall not provide listings of names or addresses from vital records to the general public for private use or distribution or commercial firms or agencies for commercial or business use.

14.2. All requests for disclosure of information contained in vital records or reports for research which identifies any person or institution shall be submitted in writing or by an approved electronic process to the State Registrar.

14.2.a. Each request shall contain:

14.2.a.1. The objectives of the research;

14.2.a.2. Peer review and approval of the research protocol for any contact of research subjects or their families;

14.2.a.3. Storage and security measures to be taken to assure confidentiality of identifying information, and provision for return or destruction of the information at the conclusion of the research;

14.2.a.4. A time frame for the research;

14.2.a.5. An acknowledgment and agreement that ownership of all information provided by the State Registrar remains exclusively in the Bureau and that use of the information by the researcher constitutes a license only for usage during the course of the research and creates no ownership rights by the researcher; and

14.2.a.6. An acknowledgment and agreement that release of identifying information contained in vital records or reports by the researcher to any other person or entity may be made only with prior written approval of the State Registrar.

14.2.b. The State Registrar shall review all requests to determine compliance with the following:

14.2.b.1. The request contains all required elements;

14.2.b.2. The request adequately justifies the need for the requested information;

14.2.b.3. The requested information can be provided within the time frame set forth in the request; and

14.2.b.4. The Bureau has adequate resources with which to comply with the request;

14.2.c. The State Registrar shall enter into research agreements for all approved research requests. Each research agreement shall specify exactly what information will be disclosed and shall prohibit release by the researcher of any information which may identify any person or institution. Additionally, each research agreement may provide that in the event of a breach of the agreement the principal investigators and collaborators shall be barred from participation in future research agreements and shall pay to the Bureau the sum of $5,000 per violation of the research agreement.

14.2.d. For all requests for disclosure of information contained in vital records or reports for research which does not contain identifiers but may identify any person or institution, the State Registrar shall obtain a signed agreement from the person or entity requesting the information which provides the following assurances:

14.2.d.1. The recipient will neither use nor permit others to use the information in any way except for statistics reporting and analysis;

14.2.d.2. The recipient will neither release nor permit other persons or entities to release the information or any part of the information to any person who is not a member of the organization without approval of the State Registrar;

14.2.d.3. The recipient will neither attempt to link nor permit others to attempt to link the data set with individual identifiable records from any other data set;

14.2.d.4. The recipient will neither use nor will allow anyone else to attempt to use the information to learn the identity of any person or institution included in the information provided; and

14.2.d.5. If the identity of any person or institution is discovered inadvertently, the recipient will not make use of this knowledge; will immediately notify the State Registrar; will safeguard or destroy information which led to the identification of the individual or institution as requested by the State Registrar; and will inform no one else of the discovery.

14.3. The State Registrar, a local registrar or another custodian shall not issue a certified copy of a record until the applicant has provided sufficient information to locate the record. Whenever it is necessary to establish an applicant's right to information from a vital record, the State Registrar a local registrar or another custodian may also require identification of the applicant or a sworn statement or other good and sufficient evidence of the applicant's identity and his or her right to the information.

14.4. When 100 years have elapsed after the date of birth, or 50 years have elapsed after the date of death, fetal death, marriage or divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment, the records in the custody of the State Registrar, a local registrar or another custodian, unless otherwise prohibited by statute or rules promulgated, shall become available to any person upon submission of an application containing sufficient information to locate the record. For each copy issued or search of the files made, the State Registrar or local custodian shall collect the same fee charged for the issuance of certified copies or a search of the files for other records in his or her possession.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 64-32-14