Race and ethnicity are two separate items of information collected on all birth and death certificates. Race information is provided by the parents for a birth certificate or by the informant for a death certificate.

There is no question concerning the race/ethnicity of an infant on the Texas birth certificate. The questions on race and Hispanic origin on the Texas birth certificate apply to the mother and father. Each parent is asked to provide his or her racial/ethnic identity and the questions are answered as the parent desires. Self-identification of parental race/ethnicity is the guiding principle and stated policy of the Bureau of Vital Statistics. For statistical reporting, births are tabulated by the self- stated race and Hispanic origin status of the mother.

Race and Hispanic origin status of the decedent, as reported on the Texas death certificate, is provided by the informant, usually a family member. The decedent’s race/ethnicity may or may not be the same race/ethnicity reported on the decedent’s birth certificate.

The questions on race and Hispanic origin are on the Texas birth and death certificates solely for the purpose of developing aggregate public health statistics for constituent groups of the Texas population.

The following chart explains how the Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, classifies individuals based on their self-reported race and ethnicity information.

Return to the 2003 Annual Report

Center for Health Statistics