Handbooks and Guides for Use With U.S. Standard Certificates and Reports

A number of training materials were prepared on each of the certificates and reports and were directed at specific individuals responsible for completing vital records. Information on how the registration system operates, item-by-item instructions for completing each item, and rationale for collecting the information were included.

2023 Revisions

• Physician’s Handbook on Medical Certification of Death [PDF – 1.8 MB]
  This handbook is designed to familiarize physicians, other medical certifiers, medical students, and others with the vital registration system in the United States and to provide instructions for completing and submitting death certificates. This handbook emphasizes certification of medical information, a critical part of the death certificate, which is primarily the responsibility of the physician.

2019 Revisions

• Funeral Director’s Handbook: Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting [PDF – 2 MB]
  This handbook is designed to acquaint funeral directors with the vital registration system in the United States and to provide instructions for completing and filing records of death and fetal death. Emphasis is directed toward the responsibilities of the funeral director in handling these certificates and reports and in obtaining proper authorization for final disposition of a dead body. Background information is included on the importance of these documents for legal and statistical purposes and specific instructions for obtaining the necessary information.

2003 Revisions

• Guide to Completing the Facility Worksheets for the Certificate of Live Birth and Report of Fetal Death
  This guide was developed to assist in completing the facility worksheets for the revised Certificate of Live Birth and Report of Fetal Death (birth certificate [BC], facility worksheet for the report of fetal death [FDFWS], report of fetal death [FDR]).
  NOTE: In February 2019, the following clarification was added to Date of the first prenatal care visit (page 10) and Total number of prenatal care visits (page 11): “Information obtained on prenatal care received in countries other than the United States and in languages other than English is permitted and should be used.”
• Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting [PDF – 2.9 MB]
  This handbook is designed to acquaint medical examiners and coroners with the vital registration system in the United States and to provide instructions for completing and filing death certificates and fetal death reports. Emphasis is directed toward the certification of medical information relating to these events when they come within the jurisdiction of the medical-legal officer (i.e., medical examiner or coroner).
• Funeral Directors’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting

Updated or Supplemental Guidelines

• Decision Tree – Guidelines for Reporting Live Births, Infant deaths, Fetal Deaths, and Induced Terminations of Pregnancy [PDF – 170 KB]This flow chart is intended to help clinicians report the appropriate perinatal event by providing a detailed definition of each event and delineating the sequence of reporting.
  
• Guidelines for Reporting Occupation and Industry on Death Certificates
  This document updates the guidelines written in 1988 by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). It is designed to help funeral directors complete the Decedent’s Usual Occupation and Kind of Business/Industry items on electronic and paper death certificates.
• The Autopsy, Medicine, and Mortality Statistics [PDF – 2.8 MB]
  This report provides additional examples of cause-of-death statements to supplement those available from state and federal vital statistics programs.
• State Definitions and Reporting Requirements for Live Births, Fetal Deaths, and Induced Terminations of Pregnancy (1997 Revision)
  This publication sets forth the following information for all vital registration areas of the United States: current definition of live birth, current definition of fetal death (stillbirth), period of gestation at which a fetal death must be reported, current definition of induced termination of pregnancy (ITOP), and when ITOP must be reported.
• Completion of Death Certificates in the Aftermath of a Hurricane [PDF – 111 KB]

1989 Revisions

• Physicians’ Handbook on Medical Certification of Death
• Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting
• Funeral Directors’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting
• Hospitals’ and Physicians’ Handbook on Birth Registration and Fetal Death Reporting [PDF – 7.5 MB]
• Guidelines for Reporting Occupation and Industry on Death Certificates [PDF – 3.6 MB]
• Handbook on Marriage Registration [PDF – 2.8 MB]
• Handbook on Divorce Registration [PDF – 2.5 MB]
• Handbook on the Reporting of Induced Termination of Pregnancy [PDF – 2.5 MB]