1. (1) All vital records, such as marriage license applications, birth certificates, death certificates, fetal death certificates, and marriage certificates, shall be submitted electronically using the department’s electronic registration system, and in rare instances where access to the department’s electronic registration system is unavailable, submitted on forms provided or authorized by the department.
2. (2) When vital records are submitted outside of the department’s electronic registration system due to unavailability of the system, each vital record application and certificate must be typed or plainly written in unfading black ink that is legible on all copies or must be completed using computer printers that produce dense and legible characters in black. The characters entered onto these forms must be adequate for high quality reproduction by microfilming or photocopying and may not contain any alterations or obliteration of the original data.
3. (3) If the preparation of a certificate or application is so poor as to make the reading of the form difficult or if the entries are not dark enough to reproduce satisfactorily, the registrar shall notify the person who submitted the certificate or application that it is unacceptable. The person who filed the certificate or application must prepare and file a new certificate or application within ten days after receipt of the notification.

Authorizing statute(s): 50-15-102, 50-15-103, MCA

Implementing statute(s): 40-1-107, 50-15-102, 50-15-103, 50-15-121, 50-15-124, MCA

History: Eff. 12/31/72; AMD, 1981 MAR p. 1188, Eff. 10/16/81; TRANS, from DHES, 1997 MAR p. 1460; AMD, 2002 MAR p. 397, Eff. 2/15/02; AMD, 2008 MAR p. 169, Eff. 1/1/08; AMD, 2025 MAR, 37-1075, Eff. 3/17/25.