RCW 70.58.055 requires certificates for vital records to include, at a minimum, items recommended by the federal agency responsible for national vital statistics. RCW 70.58.055 allows the state board of health to require additional information for the confidential section of the birth certificate, and eliminate items from the federal forms that it identifies as not necessary for statistical study.

RCW 43.70.150 requires the secretary of the department of health to operate and maintain a state system for registering births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, divorce decrees, annulments and separations. RCW 43.70.160 requires the state registrar to prepare, print and supply the forms for registering, recording, and preserving vital statistics. These rules identify the forms used and information collected by the state on live birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, dissolution of marriage and annulment.