<P> In Europe and North America, death records were kept by the local churches, along with baptism and marriage records . In what would become the United States, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first to have the secular courts keep these records, in 1639 . By the end of the 19th century, European countries were pursuing centralized systems for recording deaths . </P> <P> In the United States, a standard model death certificate was developed around 1910 . This promoted uniformity and consistency in record keeping . </P> <P> In the United States, certificates issued to the general public for deaths after 1990 may in some states be redacted to erase the specific cause of death (in cases where death was from natural causes) to comply with HIV confidentiality rules . In New York State, for instance, the cause of death on a general death certificate is only specified if death was accidental, homicide, suicide, or declared in absentia; all other deaths are only referred to as natural . All states have provisions, however, whereby immediate family members, law enforcement agencies, and governmental authorities (such as occupational health and safety groups) are able to obtain death certificates containing the full cause of death, even in cases of natural death . </P> <P> In some cases, such as the death of a minor or infant, certificates may be kept confidential from the public as requested by legal guardian and therefore cannot be obtained by the general public but rather through immediate family members . </P>

What information is on a death certificate usa