Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 432 § 432.133 — Mandatory submission and registration of reports of death; persons required to

Mandatory submission and registration of reports of death; persons required to report. (1)(a) A report of death for each death that occurs in this state must be submitted through the state electronic reporting system to the Center for Health Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar of the Center for Health Statistics, within five calendar days after death or the finding of a dead body and before final disposition, and must be registered if it has been completed and submitted in accordance with this section. (b) If the place of death is unknown, but the dead body is found in this state, the report of death must be completed and submitted in accordance with this section. The place where the body is found must be noted as the place of death except, if in an emergency the decedent is moved by conveyance to another county and is dead on arrival, the death shall be considered to have occurred in the county from where the body was originally moved. (c) When death occurs in a moving conveyance within or outside the United States and the body is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the death must be registered in this state and the place where the body is first removed shall be deemed the place of death. The report of death may note the actual location of death insofar as it can be determined. (d) In all other cases, the place where death is pronounced shall be considered the place where death occurred. (e) If the date of death is unknown, the medical certifier shall determine the date by approximation. If the date cannot be determined by approximation, the date that the body was found shall be entered on the report of death. (2)(a) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner who first assumes custody of the dead body shall submit the report of death to the Center for Health Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the state registrar. In cases where there is no funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner, the medical examiner shall submit the report of death. (b) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain the medical certification from the person responsible for the medical certification. (c) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall provide sufficient information to identify the decedent to the medical certifier within 48 hours after death unless the medical certification has already been submitted. (3) A medical certification shall be completed within 48 hours after having access to the report of death by the decedent’s primary or attending medical certifier who was in charge of the care of the patient for the illness or condition that resulted in death, except when inquiry is required under ORS chapter 146. In the absence or inability of the medical certifier, or with the medical certifier’s approval, the report of death may be completed by an associate of the medical certifier, the chief medical officer of the institution where death occurred or the physician who performed an autopsy upon the decedent, provided that the associate, chief medical officer or physician has access to the medical history of the case and death is due to natural causes. The person completing the cause of death shall attest to its accuracy by electronic signature. (4) When inquiry is required under ORS chapter 146, the medical examiner in the jurisdiction where death occurred or the body was found shall determine the cause and manner of death and shall complete and sign the medical certification within 48 hours after taking charge of the case. If the cause or manner of death is unknown or pending investigation, the cause or manner of death shall be noted as such on the report of death. (5) When the death occurs in a hospital, the person in charge of the hospital shall require the medical certification to be reported through the state electronic reporting system and the report of death to include the electronic signature of the medical certifier. (6)(a) When a death occurs in a hospital described in subsection (5) of this section and the death is not under the jurisdiction of a medical examiner, the person in charge of the hospital or the designated representative of the person in charge of the hospital shall enter the following information on the report of death within 48 hours of death: (A) If the report of death does not exist in the state electronic reporting system, the name of the decedent, the date of the decedent’s birth, the date of the decedent’s death and the county in which the decedent died; and (B) The medical certification of death, accompanied by the electronic signature of the person completing the cause of death as described in subsection (3