32.1-263 - Filing death certificates; medical certification; investigation by medical examiner.
§ 32.1-263. Filing death certificates; medical certification; investigationby medical examiner.
A. A death certificate, including, if known, the social security number orcontrol number issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to §46.2-342 of the deceased, shall be filed for each death which occurs in thisCommonwealth with the registrar of the district in which the death occurredwithin three days after such death and prior to final disposition or removalof the body from the Commonwealth, and shall be registered by such registrarif it has been completed and filed in accordance with the followingrequirements:
1. If the place of death is unknown, but the dead body is found in thisCommonwealth, a death certificate shall be filed in the registration districtin which the dead body is found in accordance with this section. The placewhere the dead body is found shall be shown as the place of death. If thedate of death is unknown, it shall be determined by approximation, takinginto consideration all relevant information, including but not limited to,information provided by the immediate family regarding the date and time thatthe deceased was last seen alive, if the individual died in his home; and
2. When death occurs in a moving conveyance, in the United States of Americaand the body is first removed from the conveyance in this Commonwealth, thedeath shall be registered in this Commonwealth and the place where it isfirst removed shall be considered the place of death. When a death occurs ona moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or in aforeign country or its air space and the body is first removed from theconveyance in this Commonwealth, the death shall be registered in thisCommonwealth but the certificate shall show the actual place of death insofaras can be determined.
B. The licensed funeral director, funeral service licensee, office of thestate anatomical program, or next of kin as defined in § 54.1-2800 who firstassumes custody of a dead body shall file the certificate of death with theregistrar. He shall obtain the personal data, including the social securitynumber of the deceased or control number issued to the deceased by theDepartment of Motor Vehicles pursuant to § 46.2-342, from the next of kin orthe best qualified person or source available and obtain the medicalcertification from the person responsible therefor.
C. The medical certification shall be completed, signed in black or dark blueink, and returned to the funeral director within 24 hours after death by thephysician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition whichresulted in death except when inquiry or investigation by a medical examineris required by § 32.1-283 or 32.1-285.1, or by the physician that pronouncesdeath pursuant to § 54.1-2972.
In the absence of the physician or with his approval, the certificate may becompleted and signed by an associate physician, the chief medical officer ofthe institution in which death occurred, or the physician who performed anautopsy upon the decedent, if such individual has access to the medicalhistory of the case and death is due to natural causes.
D. When inquiry or investigation by a medical examiner is required by §32.1-283 or 32.1-285.1, the medical examiner shall investigate the cause ofdeath and shall complete and sign the medical certification portion of thedeath certificate within 24 hours after being notified of the death. If themedical examiner refuses jurisdiction, the physician last furnishing medicalcare to the deceased shall prepare and sign the medical certification portionof the death certificate.
E. If the cause of death cannot be determined within 24 hours after death,the medical certification shall be completed as provided by regulations ofthe Board. The attending physician or medical examiner shall give the funeraldirector or person acting as such notice of the reason for the delay, andfinal disposition of the body shall not be made until authorized by theattending physician or medical examiner.
(Code 1950, § 32-353.20; 1960, c. 451; 1978, c. 308; 1979, c. 711; 1983, c.240; 1993, c. 965; 1997, cc. 794, 898; 2003, c. 484; 2004, c. 124; 2008, c.137.)