Section 3705.24. Fees - annual certification by director of health to county treasurers

(A)

(1) The director of health shall, in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code, adopt rules prescribing fees for the following items or services provided by the state office of vital statistics:

(a) Except as provided in division (A)(4) of this section:

(i) A certified copy of a vital record or a certification of birth;

(ii) A search by the office of vital statistics of its files and records pursuant to a request for information, regardless of whether a copy of a record is provided;

(iii) A copy of a record provided pursuant to a request.

(b) Replacement of a birth certificate following an adoption, legitimation, paternity determination or acknowledgement, or court order;

(c) Filing of a delayed registration of a vital record;

(d) Amendment of a vital record that is requested later than one year after the filing date of the vital record;

(e) Any other documents or services for which the director considers the charging of a fee appropriate.

(2) Fees prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of this section shall not be less than twelve dollars.

(3) Fees prescribed under division (A)(1) of this section shall be collected in addition to any fees required by sections 3109.14 and 3705.242 of the Revised Code.

(4) Fees prescribed under division (A) of this section shall not apply to certifications issued under division (H) of this section or copies provided under section 3705.241 of the Revised Code.

(B) In addition to the fees prescribed under division (A) of this section or section 3709.09 of the Revised Code, the office of vital statistics, the board of health of a city or general health district, or a local registrar of vital statistics who is not a salaried employee of a city or general health district shall charge a five-dollar fee for each certified copy of a vital record and each certification of birth. This fee shall be deposited in the general operations fund created under section 3701.83 of the Revised Code and be used to support the operations, the modernization, and the automation of the vital records program in this state. A board of health or a local registrar shall forward all fees collected under this division to the department of health not later than thirty days after the end of each calendar quarter.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (H) of this section, and except as provided in section 3705.241 of the Revised Code, fees collected by the director of health under sections 3705.01 to 3705.29 of the Revised Code shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general operations fund created by section 3701.83 of the Revised Code. Except as provided in division (B) or (I) of this section, money generated by the fees shall be used only for administration and enforcement of this chapter and the rules adopted under it. Amounts submitted to the department of health for copies of vital records or services in excess of the fees imposed by this section shall be dealt with as follows:

(1) An overpayment of two dollars or less shall be retained by the department and deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general operations fund created by section 3701.83 of the Revised Code.

(2) An overpayment in excess of two dollars shall be returned to the person who made the overpayment.

(D) If a local registrar is a salaried employee of a city or a general health district, any fees the local registrar receives pursuant to section 3705.23 of the Revised Code shall be paid into the general fund of the city or the health fund of the general health district.

Each local registrar of vital statistics, or each health district where the local registrar is a salaried employee of the district, shall be entitled to a fee for each birth, fetal death, death, or military service certificate properly and completely made out and registered with the local registrar or district and correctly copied and forwarded to the office of vital statistics in accordance with the population of the primary registration district at the last federal census. The fee for each birth, fetal death, death, or military service certificate shall be:

(1) In primary registration districts of over two hundred fifty thousand, twenty cents;

(2) In primary registration districts of over one hundred twenty-five thousand and less than two hundred fifty thousand, sixty cents;

(3) In primary registration districts of over fifty thousand and less than one hundred twenty-five thousand, eighty cents;

(4) In primary registration districts of less than fifty thousand, one dollar.

(E) The director of health shall annually certify to the county treasurers of the several counties the number of birth, fetal death, death, and military service certificates registered from their respective counties with the names of the local registrars and the amounts due each registrar and health district at the rates fixed in this section. Such amounts shall be paid by the treasurer of the county in which the registration districts are located. No fees shall be charged or collected by registrars except as provided by this chapter and section 3109.14 of the Revised Code.

(F) A probate judge shall be paid a fee of fifteen cents for each certified abstract of marriage prepared and forwarded by the probate judge to the department of health pursuant to section 3705.21 of the Revised Code. The fee shall be in addition to the fee paid for a marriage license and shall be paid by the applicants for the license.

(G) The clerk of a court of common pleas shall be paid a fee of one dollar for each certificate of divorce, dissolution, and annulment of marriage prepared and forwarded by the clerk to the department pursuant to section 3705.21 of the Revised Code. The fee for the certified abstract of divorce, dissolution, or annulment of marriage shall be added to the court costs allowed in these cases.

(H) The fee for an heirloom certification of birth issued pursuant to division (B)(2) of section 3705.23 of the Revised Code shall be an amount prescribed by rule by the director of health plus any fee required by section 3109.14 of the Revised Code. In setting the amount of the fee, the director shall establish a surcharge in addition to an amount necessary to offset the expense of processing heirloom certifications of birth. The fee prescribed by the director of health pursuant to this division shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the heirloom certification of birth fund which is hereby created. Money credited to the fund shall be used by the office of vital statistics to offset the expense of processing heirloom certifications of birth. However, the money collected for the surcharge, subject to the approval of the controlling board, shall be used for the purposes specified by the family and children first council pursuant to section 121.37 of the Revised Code.

(I)

(1) Four dollars of each fee collected by the board of health of a city or general health district for a certified copy of a vital record or a certification of birth shall be transferred to the office of vital statistics not later than thirty days after the end of each calendar quarter. The amount collected shall be used to support public health systems. Of each four dollars collected, one dollar shall be used by the director of health to pay subsidies to boards of health. The subsidies shall be distributed in accordance with the same formula established under section 3701.342 of the Revised Code for the distribution of state health district subsidy funds to boards of health and local health departments.

(2) Four dollars of each fee collected by a local registrar of vital statistics who is not a salaried employee of a city or general health district, for a certified copy of a vital record or certification of birth, shall be transferred to the office of vital statistics not later than thirty days after the end of each calendar quarter. The amount collected shall be used to support public health systems.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003; 09-29-2005; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007