In addition to the definitions contained in 50-15-101, MCA, the following definitions apply to this chapter:

(1) "Amendment" means alteration or addition of any item on the face of a vital record after it is on file with the department, in a county clerk and recorder's office, or with a clerk of district court.

(2) "Ashes" which are the result of a cremation of a human body are considered the same as a dead body as defined in 50-15-101(3), MCA.

(3) "Authorized certifier" means, in relation to a certified copy of a vital record, either a county clerk and recorder or a person designated by the department to issue certified copies on its behalf.

(4) "Certified copy" means a document copied or electronically extracted from a vital record filed with the department or from a duplicate copy of that record filed with a county clerk and recorder and that is printed on the department's security paper and contains an attestation by an official designated by the department that the document is a true and correct copy of the information contained in the original vital record.

(5) "Certifying official" means an individual authorized to issue a certified copy of a vital record by the department or a county clerk and recorder.

(6) "Department" means the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Office of Vital Statistics.

(7) "Filing date" means the date a vital record is accepted for registration by the department.

(8) "Literal format" means, in regard to a date, the name of the month spelled out, the numerical day of the month, and the numerical four-digit year, e.g., January 1, 1998.

(9) "Next of kin" means the spouse, parents, adult children, and adult brothers and sisters of a registrant and any other person declared next of kin by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(10) "Registrant" means an individual for whom a vital record is completed and filed, including, for example, the decedent on a death certificate, the person for whom a birth certificate is filed, the husband and wife on a divorce record, and the bride and groom on a marriage record.

(11) "Summary of evidence" means a number assigned to an affidavit, administrative order, or court order which is used to track the evidence provided to amend, correct, or reissue a vital record.

(12) "Supporting documentation" means any document required as evidence for the filing of a delayed vital record or for verification of changes to original data or adding missing data on a filed vital record.