Gender Identity Certificate of Death

If an individual who completes a certificate of death is presented with a document memorializing the decedent's gender (gender document), the individual must record the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document.

If a gender document is not presented and an individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains objects to the sex recorded by the individual who completes the certificate of death, the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains may state their objection to the individual who completes a certificate of death before the certificate of death is filed, and the individual who completes the certificate of death must record the sex as the gender reported by the individual with the right to control the disposition of the decedent's remains.

If a gender document is presented to the office of state registrar of vital statistics in the department of public health and environment (state registrar) for a decedent that died in the state, the state registrar must issue an amended certificate of death for the decedent that changes the decedent's sex to reflect the gender indicated in the gender document. The state registrar must also amend the certificate of death to reflect a legal name change if the appropriate legal name change documentation is submitted to the state registrar.

An individual with the right to control the disposition of a decedent's remains may file a claim seeking an order of the court to amend the information recorded on the decedent's certificate of death.

The act requires the department of public health and environment to add a gender field to the certificate of death form and the electronic death registration system. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)