<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> <P> Registration in the UK is organised separately in the constituent jurisdictions . A register of deaths contains the information supplied by an informant, nowadays usually containing and repeating the information given in a Medical Certificate of Death (MCOD) supplied by the medical practitioner who certifies that life is extinct, this being the real "death certificate" distinct from the "registration of a death" in a register . Further information might be added after the first registration if the death was the subject of an inquest (Northern Ireland or England and Wales) or a Fatal Accident Inquiry (Scotland); this can result in a later copy of a death registration giving more details of the cause of death or the associated circumstances . </P>

Where does a death have to be registered