Wisconsin Public Records
An Interesting Fact About Wisconsin Public Records
When public records became a national law, many states adopted very rigid public records policies in favor of the requester. Their hope is that anyone that asks for records on an individual, government office, or business is able to receive the information in a timely manner. It's designed so that anyone that needs the documents doesn't have to wait through all of the bureaucracy.
Wisconsin public records work differently. Wisconsin has not created a mandatory date in which the government is required to hand over any documents you have requested. There are still amble numbers of public records, but the state can delay supplying you with Wisconsin public records for as long as they feel like it, making it difficult to apply for records that aren't readily available.
Luckily, many Wisconsin public records are online in order to make the process easier. But for any document that has not yet been requested, there is no guarantee you'll be able to receive the paperwork quickly. Also Wisconsin public records does require that you receive a response quickly, so if you are lucky you will still be able to receive a response in a timely manner, even if there is no legal guarantee that the response will be met.
Wisconsin Birth Records
The Wisconsin Vital Records office is the service that is in charge of obtaining, filing, protecting and issuing copies of birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and divorce certificates and all other information pertaining to vital records and related events that occur in the state.In order to research and obtain copies of Wisconsin birth records, Wisconsin laws require a signature and payment of designated fees. Therefore they accept application in three ways; in person, by mail and by fax.You can apply in person from Monday through Friday, except on state holidays. The service is open from 8 AM to 4:15 PM, and you will need to bring with you a Wisconsin Driver’s license, ID with photo or out of state ID or driver’s license with photo. You can also apply for the copies or obtain certificates of birth records by mail. You will need to download the application form, fill it in and then signing the form, making sure to include the fee of $20 by money order or by Personal check.You can also choose to apply for copies or birth certificates by fax. If you send a fax request, you will be charged a $20 for expedited service plus an additional $20 for the certificate and search to locate the records. All payments for the fax service are made by credit cards and you should normally receive the certificates within 2 business days.
Wisconsin Death Records
Wisconsin makes it the duty of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to be in charge of the death records for the State. They are under the banner of the Wisconsin Vital Records Services. The Wisconsin Vital Records office requires that all applications are submitted in writing, and they must have both a signature as well as providing the proper fee. Because of this they do not accept application to request death certificates or vital records by email, website of phone. They do however offer in person, fax and standard mail.
Requirements for application, you must have two forms of Identification, this can be something like a drivers license or state ID and a major credit card. Other forms of acceptable identification include a checkbook, health insurance card, and a utility bill. The Wisconsin Vital Records Services contains records predating 1907 to the present.
Wisconsin’s laws restrict who may acquire a certified copy of the death certificate to protect against false claims. Those who are entitled to obtain a death certificate are the spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, child grandparent, or anyone who they so authorize. Also anyone who can present a legal cause to protect their right to property may obtain Wisconsin death records.
Wisconsin does however consider the death records themselves public information, and anyone may apply for an uncertified copy of the death certificate, just keep in mind that this will not work in any legal instance. Insurance companies will demand certified copies of Wisconsin death records. To obtain genealogy services around death records you may schedule an appointment to be allowed supervised access to the Wisconsin death and other vital statistics records. There are fees for staff assisted searches which are required for anything from 1968 to the present.
Search Wisconsin Public Records By County
Additional Wisconsin Resources
The links listed below lead to government agencies that provide free online access to public record information.
- Wisconsin - Statewide Circuit Court Records, Probate - All Counties
- WI - ALL COUNTIES - Circuit Court Records
- Wisconsin - Land Records - Pre-1908
- Wisconsin - Business Entities
- Wisconsin - UCC
- Wisconsin - Sex Offender Registry
- Wisconsin - State Archives
- Wisconsin - Unclaimed Property
- Wisconsin - Driver License Status
- Wisconsin - Trademarks, Trade Names
- Wisconsin - License Plate Status
- Wisconsin - Delinquent Taxpayers
- Wisconsin - Register of Deeds - Links to All Counties w/Online Access
- WI - ALL COUNTIES - Statewide Real Estate Property Search
- Wisconsin - Securities Registration and Exemption
- Wisconsin - Child Support - Lien Docket
- Wisconsin - Vehicle Lien Inquiry
- Wisconsin - Incident Search (if owner prevented from obtaining veh. product)
- Wisconsin - Campaign Finance Reports
- Wisconsin - Employer Search - Workers Comp Coverage
- Wisconsin Online Searches
- Wisconsin Court Records