(a)  The state registrar shall charge fees for searches and copies as follows:

(1)  For a search of two (2) consecutive calendar years under one name and for issuance of a certified copy of a certificate of birth, fetal death, death, or marriage, or a certification of birth, or a certification that the record cannot be found, and each duplicate copy of a certificate or certification issued at the same time, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(2)  For each additional calendar year search, if applied for at the same time or within three (3) months of the original request and if proof of payment for the basic search is submitted, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(3)  For providing expedited service, the additional handling fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(4)  For processing of adoptions, legitimations, or paternity determinations as specified in § 23-3-14 and § 23-3-15, there shall be a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(5)  For making authorized corrections, alterations, and additions, the fee is as set forth in § 23-1-54; provided, no fee shall be collected for making authorized corrections or alterations and additions on records filed before one year of the date on which the event recorded has occurred.

(6)  For examination of documentary proof and the filing of a delayed record, there is a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54; and there is an additional fee as set forth in § 23-1-54 for the issuance of a certified copy of a delayed record.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-25

  • Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after the expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • Filing: means the presentation of a certificate, report, or other record provided for in this chapter, of a birth, death, fetal death, adoption, marriage, or divorce for registration by the division of vital records. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • Registration: means the acceptance by the division of vital records and the incorporation in its official records of certificates, reports, or other records provided for in this chapter, or births, deaths, fetal deaths, adoptions, marriages, or divorces. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-3-1
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

(b)  Fees collected under this section by the state registrar shall be deposited in the general fund of this state, according to the procedures established by the state treasurer.

(c)  The local registrar shall charge fees for searches and copies of records as follows:

(1)  For a search of two (2) consecutive calendar years under one name and for issuance of a certified copy of a certificate of birth, fetal death, death, delayed birth, or marriage, or a certification of birth or a certification that the record cannot be found, the fee is twenty dollars ($20.00). For each duplicate copy of a certificate or certification issued at the same time, the fee is fifteen dollars ($15.00).

(2)  For each additional calendar year search, if applied for at the same time or within three (3) months of the original request and if proof of payment for the basic search is submitted, the fee is two dollars ($2.00).

(d)  Fees collected under this section by the local registrar shall be deposited in the city or town treasury according to the procedures established by the city or town treasurer except that six dollars ($6.00) of the certified copy fees shall be submitted to the state registrar for deposit in the general fund of this state.

(e)  To acquire, maintain, and operate an electronic statewide registration system (ESRS), the state registrar shall assess a surcharge of no more than five dollars ($5.00) for a mail-in certified records request, no more than three dollars ($3.00) for each duplicate certified record, and no more than two dollars ($2.00) for a walk-in certified records request or a certified copy of a vital record requested for a local registrar. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d), any such surcharges collected by the local registrar shall be submitted to the state registrar. Any funds collected from the surcharges listed above shall be deposited into the information technology investment fund (ITIF).

History of Section.
G.L. 1909, ch. 121, § 12; by P.L. 1910, ch. 575, § 6; P.L. 1911, ch. 713, § 1; G.L. 1909, ch. 166, § 24; P.L. 1923, ch. 436, § 2; G.L. 1923, ch. 166, § 11; P.L. 1930, ch. 1603, § 1; P.L. 1932, ch. 1938, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 268, §§ 10, 23; P.L. 1942, ch. 1121, § 1; G.L. 1956, §§ 23-3-35, 23-3-37; G.L. 1956, § 23-3-25; P.L. 1961, ch. 87, § 1; P.L. 1974, ch. 75, § 1; P.L. 1981, ch. 127, § 1; P.L. 1983, ch. 198, § 2; P.L. 1984, ch. 261, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 65, art. 58, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 354, § 5; P.L. 1993, ch. 138, art. 31, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 35, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 404, § 26; P.L. 2007, ch. 73, art. 39, § 26; P.L. 2008, ch. 475, § 34; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 9, § 36; P.L. 2018, ch. 47, art. 7, § 4.