{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-317v1","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1-317v1","heading":"Death certificate - Filing – Contents - Immunity","body":"A. A death certificate for each death which occurs in this\n\nstate shall be filed with the State Department of Health within ten\n\n(10) calendar days after such death.\n\nB. It shall be the duty of the funeral director to file the\n\ndeath certificate. If the funeral director is not available, the\n\nperson acting as such who first assumes custody of a dead body in\n\naccordance with Section 1158 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes\n\nshall personally sign and file the death certificate. The funeral\n\ndirector shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the\n\nbest qualified person or source available, enter the personal data\n\ninto the electronic system prescribed by the State Registrar of\n\nVital Statistics, and electronically transmit the partial\n\ncertificate produced by the electronic system to the physician,\n\nphysician assistant, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, or medical\n\nexaminer responsible for completing the medical certification\n\nportion of the certificate of death within twenty-four (24) hours\n\nafter the death.\n\nC. 1. The medical certification shall be completed and\n\ncertified within five (5) calendar days after receipt of the partial\n\ncertificate by the physician, physician assistant, or Advanced\n\nPractice Registered Nurse in charge of the patient’s care for the\n\nillness or condition which resulted in death, except when inquiry as\n\nto the cause of death is required by Section 938 of this title. The\n\nphysician, physician assistant, or Advanced Practice Registered\n\nNurse shall enter and certify the medical certification portion of\n\ncertificate data in the electronic system prescribed by the State\n\nRegistrar of Vital Statistics.\n\n2. In the event that the physician, physician assistant, or\n\nAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse in charge of the patient’s care\n\nfor the illness or condition which resulted in death is not in\n\nattendance at the time of death, the medical certification shall be\n\ncompleted and signed within five (5) calendar days after receipt of\n\nthe partial certificate by the physician, physician assistant, or\n\nAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse in attendance at the time of\n\ndeath, except:\n\na. when the patient is under hospice care at the time of\n\ndeath, the medical certification may be signed by the\n\nhospice’s medical director, and\n\nb. when inquiry as to the cause of death is required by\n\nSection 938 of this title.\n\nProvided, that such certification, if signed by other than the\n\nattending physician, physician assistant, or Advanced Practice\n\nRegistered Nurse, shall note on the face the name of the attending\n\nphysician, physician assistant, or Advanced Practice Registered\n\nNurse and that the information shown is only as reported.\n\nD. Within four (4) calendar days after receipt of the medical\n\ncertification from the physician, physician assistant, or Advanced\n\nPractice Registered Nurse as described in subsection C of this\n\nsection, the funeral director shall conduct a final review of the\n\npersonal data and the medical certification, electronically sign the\n\ndeath certificate, and submit the death certificate to the State\n\nRegistrar of Vital Statistics through the electronic system\n\nprescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics for official\n\nregistration.\n\nE. A certifier completing cause of death on a certificate of\n\ndeath who knows that a lethal drug, overdose or other means of\n\nassisting suicide within the meaning of Sections 3141.2 through\n\n3141.4 of this title caused or contributed to the death shall list\n\nthat means among the chain of events under cause of death or list it\n\nin the box that describes how the injury occurred. If such means is\n\nin the chain of events under cause of death or in the box that\n\ndescribes how the injury occurred, the certifier shall indicate\n\n“suicide” as the manner of death.\n\nF. The authority of a physician assistant to carry out the\n\nfunctions described in this section shall be governed by the\nain of events under cause of death or list it\n\nin the box that describes how the injury occurred. If such means is\n\nin the chain of events under cause of death or in the box that\n\ndescribes how the injury occurred, the certifier shall indicate\n\n“suicide” as the manner of death.\n\nF. The authority of a physician assistant to carry out the\n\nfunctions described in this section shall be governed by the\n\npractice agreement as provided by Section 519.6 of Title 59 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes.\n\nG. A physician, physician assistant, or Advanced Practice\n\nRegistered Nurse completing and signing a medical certification in\n\naccordance with this section shall not be liable in a civil action\n\nto recover damages for any acts or omissions relating to the medical\n\ncertification if the cause of death is determined in good faith\n\nusing the individual’s best clinical judgment consistent with\n\ncurrent guidance provided by the applicable licensing board, unless\n\nthe acts or omissions amount to willful or wanton misconduct. The\n\nimmunity provided by this subsection shall be in addition to any\n\nother immunity from liability to which these individuals may be\n\nentitled.","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"59dbd387293a0162a26d1e79021da16bfbb2b4dc9ecc5cfb7d27f735096ce4b7","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-317d","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-317v2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}