If you will ever be called upon to sign a death certificate, you must register with the Texas Department of State Health Services to file the certificate electronically.
If you fail to do so, the Texas Medical Board may take disciplinary action against you. The extended “grace period” that you were given in order to allow you more time to register ended on June 1, 2011, and TMB IS enforcing the law.
You cannot wait until a death has occurred in order to register; that’s too late, because it takes DSHS seven-10 business days to process new enrollments. If you end up having to complete a paper death certificate because you didn’t timely register for electronic filing, the Texas Medical Board may take action based on the violation.
Register for electronic filing here
If you have problems registering, send an email to [email protected] or call the TER Help Desk line at 888-963-7111 ext. 3490.