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Instruction Manuals

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) produces a variety of instruction manuals to aid mortality medical coders, nosologists, and other individuals responsible for processing vital records. These manuals are used by both state vital statistics programs and NCHS.

The instruction manuals are split into parts to address distinct topics, such as classification and coding (i.e., underlying or multiple causes of death, geographic variables, and industry and occupation), specifications for the U.S. standard certificates and reports, and comprehensive descriptions of computer edits used by NCHS in processing natality and mortality data. Specific manuals (e.g., Part 2 – Instructions for Classification of Underlying and Multiple Causes of Death) may be updated on an annual basis.

Selected instruction manuals are also available from the CDC/FTP server in WordPerfect and ASCII format. If an instruction manual below is unavailable for downloading, you may contact NCHS to request a copy at nchsed@cdc.gov.

Current Manuals

Part 2 - Instructions for Classifying Underlying and Multiple Causes of Death

Part 2a
Part 2b
Part 2c
Part 2e, Volume 1
Part 2e, Volume 3
Part 2j
Part 2k
Part 2s

Part 3 - Specifications for U.S Standard Certificate of Birth and Report of Fetal Death

Part 4 - Specifications for U.S Standard Certificate of Death

Part 8 - Geographic Classification (FIPS, as of 2014)

Part 9 - Underlying Cause-of-Death Lists for Tabulating Mortality Statistics

Part 11 - ICD Computer Edits for Mortality Data

Part 12 - Computer Edits for Natality Data

Part 18 - Guidelines for Implementing Field and Query Programs for Registration of Births and Deaths

Part 19 - Industry and Occupation Coding

Part 20 - Cause-of-Death Querying

Historic Manuals – ICD-10

Part 2 - Instructions for Classification of Underlying and Multiple Causes of Death

Part 2a
Part 2b
Part 2c
Part 2e, Volume 1
Part 2e, Volume 3
Part 2j
Part 2k
Part 2s

Part 8 - Geographic Classification (FIPS, 2003-2013)

Part 9 - Underlying Cause-of-Death Lists for Tabulating Mortality Statistics

Part 11 - ICD Computer Edits for Mortality Data

Part 20 - Cause-of-Death Querying

Historic Manuals – Prior to ICD-10

Part 1 - Source Records and Control Specifications

Part 1

Part 2 - Instructions for Classifying Underlying and Multiple Causes of Death

Part 2a
Part 2b
Part 2c
Part 2d
Part 2e
Part 2f
Part 2g
Part 2h
Part 2i

Part 3 - Specifications for U.S Standard Certificate of Birth and Report of Fetal Death

Part 4 - Specifications for U.S Standard Certificate of Death

Part 8 - Geographic Classification (NCHS Codes)

Part 9 - Underlying Cause-of-Death Lists for Tabulating Mortality Statistics

Part 9

Part 11 - ICD Computer Edits for Mortality Data

Part 20 - Cause-of-Death Querying

Part 20

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