death certificates; funeral establishments; timeline

HB2181 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� JAN 09 2026

REFERENCE TITLE:
death certificates; funeral establishments; timeline

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2181

Introduced by

Representative
Willoughby

AN
ACT

Amending section 36-325, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to vital records.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 36-325, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
36-325.

Death certificate registration; moving human remains; immunity

A.
Within seven

As soon as practicable but not more than twenty-one
calendar days
after receiving possession of human remains, a funeral establishment or
responsible person who takes possession of the human remains shall:

1. Obtain and complete the information, including
the social security number of the decedent, on the death certificate required
pursuant to this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

2. Provide on the death certificate the name and
address of the person completing the death certificate.

3. Submit the death certificate for registration to
a local registrar, a deputy local registrar or the state registrar.� The
funeral establishment or responsible person may submit the death certificate by
electronic means in the format prescribed by the state registrar.

B. Within seventy-two hours after receiving a
death certificate pursuant to this section, a local registrar, a deputy local
registrar or the state registrar shall register
a

the
death certificate if it is accurate and complete and
submitted pursuant to this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

C. If a county medical examiner or alternate medical
examiner determines that the circumstances of a death provide jurisdiction
pursuant to section 11-593, subsection B, the medical examiner or
alternate medical examiner shall complete and sign the medical certification of
death on a death certificate within seventy-two hours after the
examination, excluding weekends and holidays. If the medical
examiner or alternate medical examiner cannot determine the cause of death
within that time, the medical examiner or alternate medical examiner shall
enter "pending" for the cause of death and sign the medical
certification of death within seventy-two hours after the examination,
excluding weekends and holidays.

D. A local registrar, a deputy local registrar or
the state registrar shall register a death certificate if there is a medical
certification of death signed by the medical examiner or alternate medical
examiner with a pending cause of death.

E. Final disposition of human remains with a pending
cause of death shall not occur until the medical examiner or alternate medical
examiner releases the human remains for final disposition.

F. When the medical examiner or alternate medical
examiner determines the cause of death, the medical examiner or alternate
medical examiner shall submit the information to the local registrar, deputy
local registrar or state registrar.

G. If a person under the current care of a health
care provider for an acute or chronic medical condition dies of that condition,
or complications associated with that condition, the health care provider or a
health care provider designated by that
health care

provider shall complete and sign the medical certification of death on a death
certificate within seventy-two hours. If current care has not
been provided, the medical examiner or alternate medical examiner shall
complete and sign the medical certification of death on a death certificate
within seventy-two hours after the examination, excluding weekends and
holidays.

H. If a person dies in a hospital, nursing care
institution or hospice inpatient facility of natural causes, the hospital,
nursing care institution or facility shall designate a health care provider to
complete and sign the medical certification of death within seventy-two hours.

I. If a person dies on an Indian reservation in this
state and a county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner is not
available, the tribal law enforcement authority, acting in an official
investigative capacity, may complete and sign the medical certification of
death.

J. If the place of death is unknown, the death is
considered to have occurred in the place where the human remains were found.

K. If a person dies in a moving conveyance, the
death is considered to have occurred in the place where the human remains were
initially removed from the conveyance.� In all other cases, the place where
death is pronounced is considered the place where the death occurred.

L. The state registrar shall create and register a
death certificate when the state registrar receives a court order of a
presumptive death. The court order shall contain the following
information, if known:

1. The decedent's name, social security number, date
of birth, date of death, cause of death and location of death.

2. Any other information necessary to complete a
death certificate for a presumptive death.

M. If a murder victim's body is not recovered, a
conviction for the murder is proof of death. The court shall forward
a record of the conviction to the state registrar.� The state registrar shall
obtain the personal data regarding the murder victim from information provided
by the court, a family member of the murder victim or another reliable source
and create and register the death certificate.

N. A health care provider who completes and signs a
medical certification of death in good faith pursuant to this section is not
subject to civil liability or professional disciplinary action.
END_STATUTE