I. When a death has occurred in New Hampshire and has not been registered with the division within 6 months of the date of death or within 6 months of the presumed date of death, a delayed certificate of death shall be filed, subject to such evidentiary requirements as specified in paragraph IV, to substantiate the alleged facts of death.
II. A certificate of death registered 6 months or more after the date of death or the presumed date of death shall be marked “delayed” by the registrar and include the date of the delayed filing.

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 5-C:80

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • sworn: when applied to public officers required by the constitution to take oaths therein prescribed, shall refer to those oaths; when applied to other officers it shall mean sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their offices before a justice of the peace, or other person authorized to administer official oaths in such cases. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:25

III. For those certificates filed 6 months or more after the date of death, the physician, APRN, physician assistant, or medical examiner and the funeral director shall submit an affidavit stating the reason why the death certificate was not filed in a timely manner.
IV. In the absence of the attending physician, APRN, physician assistant, or medical examiner and the funeral director, the certificate shall be filed by the next of kin or designated agent of the decedent. The certificate shall be accompanied by a notarized affidavit of the person initiating the filing, swearing to the accuracy of the information and explaining the reasons why the certificate has not been filed previously. Two additional notarized or certified documents that identify the decedent, the decedent’s date and place of death, and the circumstances surrounding the decedent’s death shall also be attached to the certificate. A summary statement of the evidence submitted in support of the delayed registration shall be prepared by the clerk of the town or city of death occurrence on the certificate, and the certificate shall be marked “delayed.” When all of the evidence has been gathered, the clerk of the town or city of death occurrence shall forward the application for a delayed death certificate and all supporting documentation to the state registrar.
V. When the state registrar has reasonable cause to question the validity or adequacy of the applicant’s sworn statements or the documentary evidence because of inconsistencies with other records, the state registrar shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the deficiencies and that the vital record shall not be amended unless the deficiencies are corrected. The registrar also shall notify the applicant that he or she has 30 days to appeal the registrar’s decision regarding the issuance of a delayed death certificate.
VI. All certified copies of delayed death certificates issued by the division or the clerk of a town or city shall be stamped or suitably noted to indicate “DELAYED.”