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Q) What is the CIS form?
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A) The CIS is a form that must be completed and turned into a child's school or child care to document the immunizations required to be in school or child care in Washington State.
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Q) Where can I get a blank copy of the CIS? How can I get copies of the CIS in other languages?
A) You can find the hard copy CIS in English and 7 languages at: www.doh.wa.gov/SCCI
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Q) What is the Validated CIS?
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A) The CIS that is printed from the Washington Immunization Information System (IIS) helps parents, schools, child cares, and healthcare providers determine if a child has all the required immunizations for school or child care by determining if the child has the required immunizations.
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Q) What do the PASS, FAIL, and TEMPORARY terms that appear on the validated CIS printed from the IIS mean?
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A) These terms indicate whether a child is complete or not complete with vaccine requirements for school or child care entry. The terms are defined as:
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Pass - A child has all the required immunizations for school or child care
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Fail - A child has not completed all the required immunizations and is past the temporary conditional period
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Temporary - A child is in the process of completing a series of vaccinations and is within the temporary conditional period
If a child has a "FAIL" status on their CIS, do I need to print a new CIS from the IIS once the child receives the required immunizations?
It is not required that you print out a new CIS from the IIS. You may write in the immunization dates by hand on the existing CIS and change the status, or you can print a new CIS from the IIS, whichever you prefer.
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Q) Now that there is a validated CIS, do students need to submit an updated CIS?
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A) No. The former versions of the CIS are still valid and students do NOT need to be resubmit their CIS.
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Q) Can I get the validated CIS through the IIS?
A) Yes. You can only print the new CIS through the IIS. Printing instructions (pdf)
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Q) The CIS printed from MyIR is the older version. Can it still be used?
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A) Yes. We are working with our software vendor to update the CIS in MyIR. In the meantime you can accept this older version.
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Q) What if a child does not have any immunization dates in the IIS?
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A) If a child does not have their immunization dates in the IIS the dates can be handwritten on the validated CIS or the hard copy of the CIS can be used.
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Q) How can parents get help to fill out the CIS?
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A) Rather than filling out the CIS by hand, schools and child cares can help parents get a CIS from the IIS in the following ways:
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Encourage parents to sign up for MyIR. Parents can sign up for MyIR to view, download, and print their child's CIS. Steps on how to access MyIR
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Send an email to the Department of Health to request a CIS. The email is waiisrecords@doh.wa.gov
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School and child care staff with access to the IIS can print a validated CIS directly from the IIS for parents to sign. It may be helpful to print the CIS during registration or other family events.
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Parents can request a CIS printed from the IIS from their healthcare provider. Parents can also ask their healthcare provider to help them fill out the form.
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Q) What happened to the boxes for "Documentation of Disease Immunity" and "Verification of Varicella Disease History" on the right side of the CIS? How do we verify varicella history and immunity?
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A) The boxes that were required for "Documentation of Disease Immunity" and "Verification of varicella disease history" were removed from the validated CIS and made into columns on the vaccine table. Varicella history and positive titers will auto-populate on the CIS from the IIS. Auto-populated varicella history and titers printed from the IIS are considered provider verified and will not need a healthcare provider signature. However, a signed lab report documenting positive titers is still required. A recent upgrade of the IIS removed the ability for providers to add titer information into the IIS. We are working with our software vendor to add this option back to the IIS.
If the hard copy CIS is being used, a "Documentation of Disease Immunity" box can be found on the right side of the form. If applicable, varicella history and positive titers may be filled out and signed by a healthcare provider on the hard copy CIS.
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Q) If I print the CIS from the IIS and it shows that a student had a history of varicella (chickenpox), does a healthcare provider need to sign the CIS?
A) No. If the CIS printed from the IIS has a date in the disease column for varicella or "HISTORY" or a date printed in the history column for varicella, then verification has already occurred in the IIS. No signature, or further action is needed.
Q) How can a health care provider verify history of varicella or chickenpox disease?
A) If varicella history is in the IIS, the "History" or "Disease" column will populate a date or the word "HISTORY" in the varicella row and will print on the CIS. If school staff finds verification of varicella disease in the IIS, staff can add this information to an existing CIS. Additionally, a healthcare provider can check the verification box and sign the hardcopy CIS or parents can provide a signed letter from the HCP to be kept with the CIS.
Q) I know that healthcare providers enter lab evidence of immunity in the IIS. Can I use this information to update the CIS rather than getting a healthcare provider signature and copy of a lab report?
A) If lab evidence of immunity is documented in the IIS, it will print on the CIS under the "Positive Titer" column. This is a valid verification of immunity and a healthcare provider signature is not needed. However, a lab report is still required.
Q) Does a healthcare provider need to sign the CIS?
A) Washington State law allows for parents/guardians to self-report immunizations required for school or child care entry. Parents must sign the CIS at the top. A provider signature for positive titers or chickenpox history is not required if the validated CIS is printed from the IIS includes this information. This CIS is considered to be medically validated by the IIS. A healthcare provider may sign a hard copy CIS to verify that the student has had varicella (chickenpox) disease or document immunity by blood test.
Q) Do I need to get a CIS from parents/guardians every year, even if they already have one on file?
A) No. The CIS on file is sufficient, there is no need to get a new CIS every year. If more immunizations need to be added, update the form already on file.
Q) There are two places for a parent signature.Why does a parent have to sign in two places on the CIS?
A) There are two separate places for parents to sign which serve two different purposes. One of the signature lines is required to verify that the information on the CIS form is correct. The other signature line is to give permission to enter immunization information into the IIS. This is allows school staff with access to the IIS School Module to add information to the IIS.
Q) Do I need parent verbal or written consent every time that I add immunizations to the CIS obtained from the IIS? How about immunizations from a clinic?
A) No, you don't need to get parent consent to update the CIS if you find additional immunizations in the IIS or if you receive immunization information from a clinic.
Q) All vaccines are listed on the CIS, not just those required for school attendance. Must schools have all vaccine records on the CIS, even if the vaccine is not required for school attendance?
A) No, only vaccines required for school and child care attendance are required to be on the CIS. Additional recommended vaccines may be written on the CIS to create a more comprehensive immunization record.
Q) Why don't doses of HPV vaccine print on the CIS printed from the IIS?
A) HPV is considered to be a confidential vaccine and therefore will not print the dates of doses on the CIS printed from the IIS or from MyIR.
Q) Can you explain the space (on the upper right) for staff signature on the CIS?
A) This is used by the school or child care staff person to document that they reviewed the CIS and indicate if a COE is also on file for this child.
Q) In the past, schools ordered hard copies of the CIS from the Department of Health. Are there copies of the CIS available to order?
A) In order to save money and reduce paper waste, DOH no longer prints CIS copies. We haven't sent the CIS to school districts, Head Start/ECEAP programs, or child care licensors for several years.
Q) If I get an immunization record from a healthcare provider, can I staple this record to the CIS or does the CIS still need to be filled out?
A) All children must have a completed CIS on file to attend school or child care in Washington State. It is not acceptable to just attach an immunization record to a blank CIS with a parent signature. The CIS must be filled out with the dates of vaccinations
Q) Does a student with an exemption need to submit both a CIS and a COE?
A) Yes, the Washington Administrative Code requires a CIS to be on file for all students. If a student requests an exemption to required immunizations, both a CIS and COE need to be on file.
Q) Do international students also need to have a CIS on file at the school.
A) Yes, International students, even those only attending school for a short time must comply with the immunization requirements. The host parent may sign the CIS if needed.
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