In addition to the definitions contained in 50-15-101 , MCA, the following definitions apply to this chapter:

(1) "Amendment" means alteration of any item on the face of a vital record after it is on file with the department or in a county clerk and recorder's office.

(2) "Authorized certifier" means, in relation to a certified copy of a vital record, either a county clerk and recorder or a person designated by the department to issue certified copies on its behalf.

(3) "Certified copy" means a document copied or electronically extracted from a vital record filed with the department or from a duplicate copy of that record filed with a county clerk and recorder and that is printed on the department's security paper and contains an attestation by an official designated by the department that the document is a true and correct copy of the information contained in the original vital record.

(4) "Certifying official" means an individual authorized to issue a certified copy of a vital record by the department's office of vital statistics or a county clerk and recorder.

(5) "Literal format" means, in regard to a date, the name of the month spelled out, the numerical day of the month, and the numerical four-digit year, e.g., January 1, 1998.

(6) "Next of kin" means the spouse, parents, adult children, and adult brothers and sisters of a registrant and any other person declared next of kin by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) "Registrant" means an individual for whom a vital record is completed and filed, including, for example, the decedent on a death certificate, the person for whom a birth certificate is filed, the husband and wife on a divorce record, and the bride and groom on a marriage record.