What the Amended Vital Records Law Means for Genealogists

On May 4th, the amendments to LD 258 affecting researchers' access to Maine vital records cleared their final hurdle and were signed into law. They will go into effect 90 days after the end of the current legislative session (projected to end June 15th). Here's a summary of what the law (pdf) means for genealogists:

• The people allowed certified or noncertified copies of a closed vital record are "that person's spouse, registered domestic partner, descendant, parent or guardian, grandparent, sibling, stepparent, stepchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, motherinlaw, fatherinlaw, personal representative or that person's duly designated attorney or agent"
• Noncertified copies of birth certificates are available to anyone 75 years after the date of birth
• Noncertified copies of fetal death certificates are available to anyone 50 years after the date of death
• Noncertified copies of death certificates are available to anyone 25 years after the date of death
• Noncertified copies of marriage certificates are available to anyone 50 years after the date of marriage
• Noncertified copies of the registration of domestic partnerships are available to anyone 50 years after the date of registration
• Copies of records created prior to 1892 continue to be available without restriction
• "Custodians of certificates and records of birth, marriage and death shall permit inspection of records by and issue noncertified copies to researchers engaged in genealogical research who hold researcher identification cards, as specified by rule adopted by the department."

The "Application for a Maine CDC Vital Records Researcher Card" linked from the MeCDC website currently requires a $50 application fee and "Proof of membership in an established genealogical society." The card allows the holder access to closed records "from any municipality or from the Vital Records Unit of the Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics."