MA S1540

Restricts access to death certificates by making it unlawful to inspect, disclose, or copy death certificate information except as authorized by the statute or court order

Limits certified copies of death certificates to specific parties: spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, next of kin, legal guardian, legal representatives, courts, government agencies, funeral home employees named on the certificate, and persons demonstrating a direct personal or property interest

Creates a new "noncertified informational copy" available to any applicant, with the decedent's Social Security number and cause of death redacted and a watermark indicating it cannot be used for legal purposes

Prohibits reproduction of death certificates or copying of death certificate information for commercial or speculative purposes, with an exception for published research results

Directs the state registrar to promulgate regulations for implementation, including guidelines for disclosure of death certificate information for research purposes