1. (a) The state registrar shall establish and maintain an index to all vital records filed within the Bureau of Vital Statistics.

2. (b) Birth indexes.

   1. (1) General birth indexes maintained or established by the bureau of vital statistics or a local registration official shall be prepared by event year, in alphabetical order by surname of the registrant, followed by any given names or initials, the date of the event, the county of occurrence, the state or local file number, the name of the father, the maiden name of the mother, and sex of the registrant.
   2. (2) A general birth index is public information and available to the public to the extent the index relates to a birth record that is public on or after the 50th anniversary of the date of birth as shown on the record unless the fact of an adoption or paternity determination can be revealed or broken or if the index contains specific identifying information relating to the parents of the child who is the subject of an adoption placement. The bureau of vital statistics and local registration officials shall expunge or delete any state or local file numbers included in any general birth index made available to the public because such file numbers may be used to discover information concerning specific adoptions, paternity determinations, or the identity of the parents of children who are the subjects of adoption placements.
   3. (3) A summary birth index maintained or established by the bureau of vital statistics or a local registration official shall be prepared by event year, in alphabetical order by surname of the registrant, followed by any given names or initials, the date of the event, the county of occurrence, and sex of the registrant.

3. (c) Death indexes.

   1. (1) A general death index maintained or established by the bureau of vital statistics or a local registration official shall be prepared by event year, in alphabetical order by surname of the registrant, followed by any given names or initials; the date of the event; the county of occurrence; the registrant's social security number, sex, and marital status; the name of the registrant's spouse, if applicable; and the state or local file number.
   2. (2) A general death index is public information and available to the public to the extent the index relates to a death record that is public on or after the 25th anniversary of the date of death as shown on the record unless the fact of an adoption or paternity determination can be revealed or broken or if the index contains specific identifying information relating to the parents of the child who is the subject of an adoption placement. The bureau of vital statistics and local registration officials shall expunge or delete any state or local file numbers included in any general death index made available to the public because such file numbers may be used to discover information concerning specific adoptions, paternity determinations, or the identity of the parents of children who are the subjects of adoption placements.
   3. (3) A summary death index maintained or established by the bureau of vital statistics or a local registration official shall be prepared by event year, in alphabetical order by surname of the registrant, followed by any given names or initials, the date of the event, the county of occurrence, and sex of the registrant.
4. (d) Indexes to marriage and divorce records shall be cross-referenced by the names of the husband and wife and include the event date and county of occurrence.
5. (e) Consolidated indexes are indexes of vital records consisting of more than one event year. Consolidated indexes may be prepared for any vital event at the discretion of the state registrar in the form he may prescribe.
6. (f) Please refer to §181.10(c) of this title (relating to Confidentiality of Birth Records Covering Adoption Placement) for additional information relating to general indexes including information concerning adoptions, paternity determinations, or the parents of a child who is the subject of an adoption placement and summary indexes of births and deaths.

Source Note:The provisions of this §181.23 adopted to be effective November 19, 1991, 16 TexReg 6297; amended to be effective March 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 2068.