Vital Records

To protect the integrity of vital records and to insure their proper use and the proper administration of those records, the General Assembly made it unlawful for a custodian of these records to permit inspection of, or to disclose information contained in vital records, or to copy or issue a copy of all or part of any such records except in strict accordance with procedures found in the law or in accordance with a court order.^[1] But the law goes on to state that an application for a marriage license and the authenticating documentation for the events of birth, death, marriage, divorce or annulment of a marriage, in the possession of a county clerk, court clerk, state registrar, or other authorized custodian are public records and that verified information from such documents may be provided upon request. However, the information contained in the “Information for Medical and Health Use Only” section of a birth certificate and the “Confidential Information” section of marriage, divorce, or annulment certificates remains confidential.^[2]