(b) The Mayor, upon receiving information of any death within his municipal district, shall report the same immediately to the Office of Vital Statistics, on a prescribed form; provided, that:

(1) If the place of death is unknown, a death report shall be filed by the Mayor of the municipal district in which a dead body is found and the place where the body is found shall be shown as the place of death; provided, further

(2) That if death occurs in a moving conveyance, a death report shall be filed by the Mayor of the municipal district in which the dead body was first removed from such conveyance and the location where the body is removed from the conveyance shall be shown as the place of death or if taken to an institution, the death certificate shall be filed by the person in charge of that institution.

(c) Death in an institution shall be reported to the Office of
Vital Statistics by the person in charge of that institution.

(d) Any person who first assumes custody of a dead human body shall report same and file a death certificate with the Office
of Vital Statistics. He shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain the medical certification of cause of death from the person responsible therefor.

(e) The medical certification shall be completed and signed within twenty-four (24) hours after death by a registered nurse pursuant to 10 Guam Code Ann. § 12332; or by the physician in charge of the patient’s care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except when the patient has received no medical attention within seventy-two (72) hours prior to death, or when inquiry is required in accordance with the Post-Mortem Examination Act (10 Guam Code Ann., Chapter 81).

(f) When death occurred without medical attendance as set forth in paragraph (e) of this section, or when inquiry is required by the Post-Mortem Examination Act, the Medical Examiner or his duly authorized representative shall investigate the cause of death and shall complete and sign the medical certification within twenty-four (24) hours after taking charge of the case.

(g) Upon request, the Director shall accept, for purposes of recording deaths, certified copies of death certificates of residents of Guam who died outside Guam.

(h) When a death is presumed to have occurred within Guam but the body cannot be located, a death certificate may be prepared by the Guam Registrar upon receipt of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction, which shall include the finding of facts required to complete the death certificate. Such a death certificate shall be marked “”presumptive”” and shall show on its face the date of registration and shall identify the court and date of decree.

(i) The death certificate of a person shall contain the social security number of the deceased; if none exists, the certificate shall also state that fact.

(j) When a death is presumed to have occurred in and around the waters of Guam and the body cannot be located, after an official search and rescue attempt has been made by the Guam Fire Department Search and Rescue Unit or the U.S. Coast Guard, a death certificate may be prepared by the GuamRegistrar upon receipt of an order from a court of competent jurisdiction, or the Medical Examiner, which shall include the finding of facts required to complete the death certificate. Such a death certificate shall be marked ‘presumptive’ and shall show on its face the date of registration and shall identify the court, or the Medical Examiner, and the date of decree.

SOURCE: Added by P.L. 22-130:2 (May 31, 1994). Subsection (i) added by P.L. 24-129:30 (Feb. 16, 1998). Subsection (j) added as subsection (i) by P.L. 24-320:1 (Dec. 28, 1998). Renumbered by Compiler since subsection (i) already exists.

2017 NOTE: References to “”territory”” and “”territorial”” removed and/or altered to “”Guam”” pursuant to 1 Guam Code Ann. § 420.