Iowa Code Title IV. Public Health [Chs. 123-158] § 144.45. Certified copies

1. The state registrar and the county registrar shall, upon written request from any applicant entitled to a record, issue a certified copy of any certificate or record in the registrar's custody or of a part of a certificate or record. Each copy issued shall show the date of registration; and copies issued from records marked “delayed”, “amended”, or “court order” shall be similarly marked and show the effective date.

2. A certified copy of a certificate, or any part thereof, shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, provided that the evidentiary value of a certificate or record filed more than one year after the event, or a record which has been amended, shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certificate is offered as evidence.

3. The national division of vital statistics may be furnished copies or data which it requires for national statistics, provided that the state be reimbursed for the cost of furnishing data, and provided further that data shall not be used for other than statistical purposes by the national division of vital statistics unless so authorized by the state registrar.

4. Federal, state, local, and other public or private agencies may, upon written request, be furnished copies or data for statistical purposes upon terms or conditions prescribed by the department.

5. No person shall prepare or issue any certificate which purports to be an original, certified copy, or copy of a certificate of birth, death, fetal death, or marriage except as authorized in this chapter.