GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 311
SENATE BILL 632

AN ACT TO AMEND THE VITAL RECORDS LAW.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 130A-26 is repealed.
Sec. 2.  Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new section to read:
"§ 130A-26A.  Violations of Article 4.
(a)	A person who commits any of the following acts shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor:
(1)	Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter;
(2)	Removes or permits the removal of a dead body of a human being without authorization provided in Article 4 of this Chapter;
(3)	Refuses or fails to furnish correctly any information in the person's possession or furnishes false information affecting a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter;
(4)	Fails, neglects, or refuses to perform any act or duty required by Article 4 of this Chapter or by the instructions of the State Registrar prepared under authority of the Article.
(5)	Charges a fee for performing any act or duty required by Article 4 of this Chapter or by the State Registrar pursuant to Article 4 of this Chapter, other than fees specifically authorized by law.
(b)	A person who commits any of the following acts shall be guilty of a Class I felony:
(1)	Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in an application for a certified copy of a vital record, or who willfully and knowingly supplies false information intending that the information be used in the obtaining of any copy of a vital record;
(2)	Without lawful authority and with the intent to deceive makes, counterfeits, alters, amends, or mutilates a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report;
(3)	Willfully and knowingly obtains, possesses, sells, furnishes, uses, or attempts to use for any purpose of deception, a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report, which is counterfeited, altered, amended, or mutilated, or which is false in whole or in part or which relates to the birth of another person, whether living or deceased;
(4)	When employed by the Vital Records Section of the Department or designated under Article 4 of this Chapter, willfully and knowingly furnishes or processes a certificate of birth, death, marriage, or divorce, or certified copy of a certificate of birth, death, marriage, or divorce with the knowledge or intention that it be used for the purposes of deception;
(5)	Without lawful authority possesses a certificate, record, or report required by Article 4 of this Chapter or a certified copy of the certificate, record, or report knowing that it was stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained;
(6)	Willfully alters, except as provided by G.S. 130A-118, or falsifies a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter; or willfully alters, falsifies, or changes a photocopy, certified copy, extract copy, or any document containing information obtained from an original or copy of a certificate or record required by Article 4 of this Chapter; or willfully makes, creates, or uses any altered, falsified or changed record, reproduction, copy or document for the purpose of attempting to prove or establish for any purpose whatsoever any matter purported to be shown on it;
(7)	Without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses the seal of:  (i) the Vital Records Section, (ii) a county register of deeds, or (iii) a county health department, or without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses a reproduction or a counterfeit copy of the seal;
(8)	Without lawful authority prepares or issues any certificate which purports to be an official certified copy of a vital record;
(9)	Without lawful authority, manufactures or possesses Vital Records Section, county register of deeds, or county health department vital records forms or safety paper used to certify births, deaths, marriages, and divorces, or reproductions or counterfeit copies of the forms or safety paper; or
(10)	Willfully and knowingly furnishes a certificate of birth or certified copy of a record of birth with the intention that it be used by an unauthorized person or for an unauthorized purpose."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1995.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 21st day of June, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives