103526.
(a) If the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder receives a written or faxed request for a certified copy of a birth or death record pursuant to Section 103525, or a military service record pursuant to Section 6107 of the Government Code, that is accompanied by a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury, or a faxed copy of a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury, that the requester is an authorized person, as defined in this section, that official may furnish a certified copy to the applicant in accordance with Section 103525 and in accordance with Section 6107 of the Government Code. If a written request for a certified copy of a military service record is submitted to a county recorder by fax, the county recorder may furnish a certified copy of the military record to the applicant in accordance with Section 103525. A faxed notary acknowledgment accompanying a faxed request received pursuant to this subdivision for a certified copy of a birth or death record or a military service record shall be legible and, if the notary’s seal is not photographically reproducible, show the name of the notary, the county of the notary’s principal place of business, the notary’s telephone number, the notary’s registration number, and the notary’s commission expiration date typed or printed in a manner that is photographically reproducible below, or immediately adjacent to, the notary’s signature in the acknowledgment. If a request for a certified copy of a birth or death record is made in person, the official shall take a statement sworn under penalty of perjury that the requester is signing his or her own legal name and is an authorized person, and that official may then furnish a certified copy to the applicant.(b) In all other circumstances, the certified copy provided to the applicant shall be an informational certified copy and shall display a legend that states “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.” The legend shall be placed on the certificate in a manner that will not conceal information.
(c) For purposes of this section, an “authorized person” is any of the following:
(1) The registrant or a parent or legal guardian of the registrant.
(2) A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
(3) A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business.
(4) A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant.
(5) An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant’s estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant’s estate.
(6) Any agent or employee of a funeral establishment who acts within the course and scope of his or her employment and who orders certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of any individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100.
(d) Any person who asks the agent or employee of a funeral establishment to request a death certificate on his or her behalf warrants the truthfulness of his or her relationship to the decedent, and is personally liable for all damages occasioned by, or resulting from, a breach of that warranty.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
(1) Any member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of a state or local government agency, as provided by law, who orders a copy of a record to which subdivision (a) applies in conducting official business may not be required to provide the notarized statement required by subdivision (a).
(2) An agent or employee of a funeral establishment who acts within the course and scope of his or her employment and who orders death certificates on behalf of individuals specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100 shall not be required to provide the notarized statement required by subdivision (a).
(f) Informational certified copies of birth and death certificates issued pursuant to subdivision (b) shall only be printed from the single statewide database prepared by the State Registrar and shall be electronically redacted to remove any signatures for purposes of compliance with this section. Local registrars and county recorders shall not issue informational certified copies of birth and death certificates from any source other than the statewide database prepared by the State Registrar. This subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2006.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2003.