State of Florida Vital Records
Original Florida Department of Health Building located in Jacksonville
Vital Statistics consists of official records
for birth, death, fetal death, marriage, and dissolution of marriage (divorce).
These records are essential for just administration of our law and for the
protection of individual rights. In addition, the statistical data from these
records are of great value to public health and other agencies. The need for accurate statistical
data on epidemics and the causes of death was instrumental in establishing our
present day vital statistics registration system. Before 1899, some cities
enacted city ordinances requiring the recording of vital events and provided
their own system for vital statistics. The City of Key West has the oldest
known records, dating back to 1865. A law was enacted in 1927 providing for the
centralization of marriage and divorce records. Currently, the Office of Vital
Statistics maintains approximately 21.5 million vital records.
Physicians' Online Tutorial for Completing Cause of Death on the Florida Death
Record
The Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, in cooperation with the
Florida Medical Association and the Florida Association of Medical Examiners,
has developed an online tutorial
for physicians. This tutorial is constructed for
physicians, providing an overview of the death registration process in
Florida and how to go about properly completing the medical information on the
death record.
The tutorial provides sample case histories; an explanation of the physicians,
the medical examiners, and the funeral director’s responsibilities in getting
death records filed; how mortality data is used and why the death record is so
important to families.
The Florida Medical Association
has approved this activity for
AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM.
This complimentary tutorial takes about one hour to complete and can be accessed
at the website shown
below.
