§ 130A-93.1.  Fees for vital records copies or search; automation fund.

(a) The State Registrar shall collect, process, and utilize fees for services as follows:

(1) A fee not to exceed twenty-four dollars ($24.00) shall be charged for issuing a first copy of a vital record or for conducting a routine search of the files for the record when no copy is made. A fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) shall be charged for each additional certificate copy requested from the same search. When certificates are issued or searches conducted for statewide issuance by local agencies using databases maintained by the State Registrar, the local agency shall charge and forward to the State Registrar for the purposes established in subsection (b) of this section fourteen dollars ($14.00) and shall charge and retain ten dollars ($10.00) if a copy of the record is made. Provided, however, that a local agency may waive the ten dollar ($10.00) charge for its retention when the copy is issued to a person over the age of 62 years.

(2) A fee not to exceed fifteen dollars ($15.00) for in-State requests and not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) for out-of-state requests shall be charged in addition to the fee charged under subdivision (1) of this subsection and to all shipping and commercial charges when expedited service is specifically requested.

(2a) The fee for a copy of a computer or microform database shall not exceed the cost to the agency of making and providing the copy.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, fees collected under this subsection shall be used by the Department for public health purposes.

(b) The Vital Records Automation Account is established as a nonreverting account within the Department. Five dollars ($5.00) of each fee collected pursuant to subdivision (a)(1) shall be credited to this Account. The Department shall use the revenue in the Account to fully automate and maintain the vital records system. When funds sufficient to fully automate and maintain the system have accumulated in the Account, fees shall no longer be credited to the Account but shall be used as specified in subdivision (a)(3) of this section.

(c) Upon verification of voter registration, the State Registrar shall not charge any fee under subsection (a) of this section to a registered voter who signs a declaration stating the registered voter is registered to vote in this State and does not have a certified copy of that registered voter's birth certificate or marriage license necessary to obtain photo identification acceptable under G.S. 163-166.16. Any declaration shall prominently include the penalty under G.S. 163-275(13) for falsely or fraudulently making the declaration. (1991, c. 343, s. 2; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1039, s. 5; 1997-242, s. 2; 2002-126, s. 29A.18(a); 2009-451, s. 10.22; 2012-18, s. 2.1; 2013-381, s. 3.2; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-144, s. 3.2(a); 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)