Concerns About the 2024 Model Vital Statistics Act

Jan Alpert

RPAC will be presenting “Impact of the 2024 Model Vital Statistics Act on Genealogists’ access to Vital Records” at the 2026 Family History Conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Thursday, 28 May 2026 at 11:15 a.m.  Please join us for Session TH10.

Over the past fifty years, the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) has periodically introduced a new model act to adapt to changes in laws, technology, privacy, and identity theft. NAPHSIS is the national association of the State Vital Records Officers and/or State Health Officers. The recent 2024 Model Act approved at the 2025 NAPHSIS Annual Meeting is of particular concern to genealogists because it proposes closing public access to vital recordsfor

  • 100 years for marriage and divorce records, and
  • 75 years for death records.

If the 2024 Model Act is approved in your state, these embargo periods will become law and only an individual and their immediate family can have access during the embargo periods. Some state vital records officers see the Model Act as non-negotiable and others view it as suggested language which may or may not be applicable in their state. Many state vital records officers are concerned about fraud and/or privacy and feel strongly that public access should be severely restricted even though the data clearly shows no greater incidence of fraud in open record states as compared to states with closed access.

RPAC’s priority in 2026 will be working with the RPAC State Liaisons to identify and monitor any vital records legislation in their state and meeting with their legislators who chair or serve on the state health committees. If the Model Act is introduced in a state, Genealogists will be notified and requested to respond to a Call to Action. For more information see the RPAC article in the NGS Magazine, January-March 2026, Volume 52, Number 1, pages 11-12.

The following two tabs change content below.
mm

Jan Alpert

Chair of the Records Preservation and Access Committee, former president and board member of the National Genealogical Society, and chair of the NGS conference committee.

Leave a Reply