Section 5-C:66 Responsibility of Funeral Director, Next of Kin, or Designated Agent Relative to Completion and Filing of the Death Record.


   I. When a funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent is requested to take custody of a body, he or she shall first ascertain whether a pronouncing physician, pronouncing registered nurse, APRN, or a medical examiner has established the cause of death and released the body for final disposition.
   II. If a physician or APRN was present at or immediately after the death, the funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent shall obtain medical certification for the death record in accordance with RSA 5-C:64.
   III. The personal history of the deceased and the facts of the death shall be obtained by the funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent from a member of the immediate family of the deceased, or another person possessing the necessary information; medical records from the hospital or institution; or the medical examiner having jurisdiction over the investigation or final determination of the cause of death.
   IV. The funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent shall identify the deceased by more than one name, if it is known that the deceased used more than one name during his or her lifetime, by entering the name by which the deceased was most commonly known first on the death record and also indicating any additional name or names, other than maiden name, with the abbreviation ""A.K.A.''
   V. In the case where an additional name becomes known after a death record has been registered with the division, the added name with the notation ""A.K.A.'' shall be filed with the division on the appropriate form to amend a vital record.
   VI. The funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent shall file all death record information, including the medical certification, within 36 hours of receiving the body and prior to final disposal of the body.
   VII. The state registrar shall inform the state board of registration of funeral directors and embalmers in writing of any violation of RSA 290:11 or RSA 290:12.

Source. 2005, 268:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006. 2007, 215:9, eff. June 25, 2007. 2009, 54:4, eff. July 21, 2009.