LegalizeThe Evidence (United States of America) Order 1969
Made: 10th February 1969
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of February 1969
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas Her Majesty in Council is satisfied that there exist in the United States of America public registers kept under the authority of the laws of the States and District named in the Schedule to this Order and recognised by the courts thereof as authentic records, and that those registers are regularly and properly kept:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue and in the exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 5(1) of the Oaths and Evidence (Overseas Authorities and Countries) Act 1963 and all other powers in that behalf in Her vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
1
This Order may be cited as the Evidence (United States of America) Order 1969.
2
This Order extends to all parts of the United Kingdom.
3
The registers specified in the second column of the Schedule to this Order shall be deemed to be public registers kept under the authority of the law of the respective States and District mentioned in the first column of that Schedule and recognised by the courts of the respective States and District as authentic records and to be documents of such a public nature as to be admissible as evidence of the matters regularly recorded therein.
4
For the purposes of the preceding Article all matters recorded in any such register as aforesaid shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to be regularly recorded therein.
5
Subject to any requirements of rules of court, a document which purports to be issued in any of the said States and District as an official copy of an entry in any such register as aforesaid and which purports to be authenticated as such by the signature of any person appearing to be the officer specified in the third column of the Schedule or any other officer who may from time to time be authorised to perform the certifying functions at present performed by the officer so specified shall, without evidence as to the custody of the register or of inability to produce it and without any further or other proof, be received as evidence that the register contains such an entry.
6
Nothing in this Order shall be taken to prohibit or restrict the admission in evidence of any copy, extract, summary, certificate or other document whatsoever which, apart from the provisions of this Order, would be admissible as evidence of any particular matter, or to affect any power which, otherwise than by virtue of this Order, is exercisable by any court with respect to the admission of documents in evidence.
SCHEDULE
| State or District | Register | Certifying Officer |
|---|---|---|
| ALABAMA | Births and Deaths | State Registrar or Local Health Officer. |
| Marriages | State Registrar or County Probate Judge. | |
| ALASKA | Births, Deaths and Marriages | State Registrar of Vital Statistics or Local Registrars: Magistrates and District Judges. |
| ARIZONA | Births and Deaths | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Registrar for Pima or Maricopa Counties. |
| Marriages | Clerk of Superior Court. | |
| ARKANSAS | Births and Deaths | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Clerk. | |
| CALIFORNIA | Births and Deaths | Chief, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Local Registrar, County Recorder, City or County Health Officer. |
| Marriages | Chief, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Recorder. | |
| COLORADO | Births and Deaths | Chief, Records and Statistics Section, or Local Registrar. |
| Marriages | Court Clerk of Records or Chief, Records and Statistics Section. | |
| CONNECTICUT | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Chief, Public Health Statistics Section, or Local Registrar. |
| DELAWARE | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Chief, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or Local Registrar. |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | Births and Deaths | Supervisor, Vital Records Unit. |
| Marriages | Deputy Clerk, Marriage Bureau or Clerk, U.S. District Court. | |
| FLORIDA | Births and Deaths | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or Local Registrar. |
| Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Judge. | |
| GEORGIA | Births and Deaths | Director, Vital Records Service, or County Ordinary. |
| Marriages | County Ordinary. | |
| HAWAII | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Registrar General. |
| IDAHO | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Recorder. |
| ILLINOIS | Births and Deaths | Deputy State Registrar, Local Registrar or County Clerk. |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| INDIANA | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Records, or Local Registrar: Health Officer. |
| Marriages | Clerk of Circuit Court or Clerk of Superior Court. | |
| IOWA | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Records and Statistics Section, or County Clerk. |
| KANSAS | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Statistics and Records. |
| Marriages | Director, Division of Vital Statistics and Records, or Probate Judge. | |
| KENTUCKY | Births and Deaths | Director, Office of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | Director, Office of Vital Statistics, or County Court Clerk. | |
| LOUISIANA | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Public Health Statistics, or City Registrar in New Orleans. |
| Marriages | Clerk of Court, or City Registrar in New Orleans. | |
| MAINE | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Division of Research and Vital Records, or Town and City Clerks. |
| MARYLAND | Births and Deaths | Chief, Division of Vital Records, or Director, Bureau of Vital Records in Baltimore. |
| Marriages | Chief, Division of Vital Records, County Clerk of Circuit Court or Clerk of Court of Common Pleas of Baltimore. | |
| MASSACHUSETTS | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Secretary of the Commonwealth, Town and City Clerks or Local Registrars of Vital Statistics. |
| MICHIGAN | Births and Deaths | Chief, Vital Records Section, County Clerk or City and Village Clerks. |
| Marriages | Chief, Vital Records Section, or County Clerks. | |
| MINNESOTA | Births and Deaths | Chief, Section of Vital Statistics, District Court Clerk or City Health Officer. |
| Marriages | District Court Clerk. | |
| MISSISSIPPI | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Public Health Statistics. |
| Marriages | Director, Division of Public Health Statistics, or County Circuit Clerk. | |
| MISSOURI | Births and Deaths | Supervisor, Vital Records, St. Louis City Health Officer, St. Louis County Health Officer or Kansas City Health Officer. |
| Marriages | Supervisor, Vital Records, or Recorder of Deeds. | |
| MONTANA | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, County Clerk and Recorder or Local Registrar. |
| Marriages | Clerk of District Court. | |
| NEBRASKA | Births and Deaths | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or Omaha-Douglas Health Officer. |
| Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, or County Court. | |
| NEVADA | Births and Deaths | Chief, Section of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | County Recorder or Chief, Section of Vital Statistics. | |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Town or City Clerk. |
| NEW JERSEY | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Chief, Vital Statistics and Registration, or Local Registrar. |
| NEW MEXICO | Births and Deaths | Chief, Division of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| NEW YORK (a) other than New York City | Births and Deaths | Director, Bureau of Vital Records, Local Health Officer, City, Town or Village Clerk, County Commissioner of Health or Local Registrar of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Records, or County Clerk. | |
| (b) New York City | Births and Deaths | The Borough Registrar, Bureau of Records and Statistics in the Borough. |
| Marriages | City Clerk. | |
| NORTH CAROLINA | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Chief, Public Health Statistics Section, or County Register of Deeds. |
| NORTH DAKOTA | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | County Judge. | |
| OHIO | Births and Deaths | Chief, Division of Vital Statistics, Local Registrar or Clerk of the County Court. |
| Marriages | Probate Judge. | |
| OKLAHOMA | Births and Deaths | Supervisor of Vital Records. |
| Marriages | Clerk of Court. | |
| OREGON | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, Portland Health Officer or County Registrar of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | State Registrar or County Clerk. | |
| PENNSYLVANIA | Births | State Registrar of Vital Statistics. |
| Deaths | State Registrar of Vital Statistics, or Local Registrar in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Erie or Scranton. | |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| RHODE ISLAND | Births and Deaths | Chief, Division of Vital Statistics, or Local Registrar. |
| Marriages | Chief, Division of Vital Statistics, Local Registrar, Town or City Clerk. | |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, County Health Officer or Clerk of Court. |
| Marriages | State Registrar or Probate Judge. | |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Division of Public Health Statistics, or County Clerk of Court. |
| TENNESSEE | Births and Deaths | State Registrar. |
| Marriages | State Registrar or County Court Clerk. | |
| TEXAS | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, County Clerk or Local Registrar. |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| UTAH | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Statistics, or Local Registrar in Ogden, Provo or Logan. |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| VERMONT | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Secretary of State, Town or City Clerk. |
| VIRGINIA | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, City or County Health Officer. |
| Marriages | State Registrar or Clerk of Court. | |
| WASHINGTON | Births and Deaths | State Registrar, Local Registrar or County Auditor. |
| Marriages | State Registrar of Vital Statistics or County Auditor. | |
| WEST VIRGINIA | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Statistics, or County Clerk. |
| Marriages | County Clerk. | |
| WISCONSIN | Births, Deaths and Marriages | Director, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Register of Deeds or City Health Officer. |
| WYOMING | Births and Deaths | Director, Division of Vital Statistics. |
| Marriages | Director, Division of Vital Statistics, or County Clerk. |
Signed
N. E. Leigh
Explanatory note
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Order makes entries contained in specified public registers of the United States of America admissible in evidence in the United Kingdom and provides for their proof by official certificates.
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