Effective immediately, the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Vital Records (OVR) no longer approves the issuing of certified birth or death certificates to great-grandparents and great-grandchildren. Rice County has updated eligible requesters on the following form: Birth Certificate Request (PDF)
As the demand for historical records has increased, questions surfaced regarding the eligibility of "great-grand" requesters. A legal review by the Minnesota Department Health Office of Vital Records has determined great-grandparents and great-grandchildren are not eligible to receive certified birth or death certificates.
The relationships were previously listed as authorized requesters on the certified birth certificate request form but not on the death certificate form, though it has been common practice to issue certified death certificates to "great-grand" requesters. See Minnesota Statutes, Section 144.225, Subd. 7 for reference.
