How to Get a Wisconsin Birth Certificate: Steps, Fees, and Corrections

To get a Wisconsin birth certificate, submit a completed Birth Certificate Application (Form F-05291) with acceptable identification and a $20 fee to a county Register of Deeds office, the state Vital Records Office in Madison, or online through VitalChek. In person is fastest and usually same-day. Mail runs about ten business days after the office receives your packet. Online orders process in about five business days but carry service and shipping surcharges on top of the state fee.

Who Can Request the Record

Wisconsin does not release certified birth certificates to the general public. You must have a “direct and tangible interest” in the record, which under state law means one of the following:

The person named on the certificate (the registrant).
A current spouse, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent of the registrant.
A parent listed on the certificate whose parental rights have not been terminated.
A court-appointed legal custodian or guardian.
An attorney or other representative authorized in writing by one of the eligible people above.

If you are ordering on someone else’s behalf, the written authorization has to travel with your application.¹

Two boundaries worth knowing before you start. If the person was adopted, the original birth certificate is sealed and cannot be released without a court order; the amended (post-adoption) certificate can be ordered normally, and the Wisconsin Adoption Records Search Program handles access questions about the sealed original.² If the birth was never registered, or was registered more than a year after the event, no certificate exists to order and you need a court order to create one; contact the Vital Records Office at 608-266-1373 to start that process.

What Goes on the Application

The form is the Wisconsin Birth Certificate Application, Form F-05291, available from the Department of Health Services website or any Register of Deeds office.³ You will be asked for:

The full name of the person at birth.
Date of birth.
City and county where the birth occurred.
Both parents’ full names, including the mother’s maiden name.

The application does not need to be notarized.

Identification You Have to Send

This is where most applications get held up. You need either one primary photo ID or two secondary IDs. Everything must be current and unexpired, and at least one document has to show your current street address. A P.O. Box alone will not do.

Primary photo IDs include a Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID card, an out-of-state driver’s license or photo ID, a current student photo ID, a U.S. or foreign passport, a government or military employee photo ID, or a current Wisconsin hunting or fishing license.

If none of those work, two secondary documents together will do: a health insurance card, checkbook, recent signed lease, utility bill, traffic ticket, or major credit card.

Mailing your request? Send clear photocopies, never originals. Going in person? Bring the originals so the clerk can verify them.⁴

The Three Ways to Submit

In Person

Fastest and cheapest. Take your completed application, original ID, and payment to any county Register of Deeds office or to the Wisconsin Vital Records Office in Madison. Most Register of Deeds offices can hand you the certificate the same day. Some city health departments, including Milwaukee’s, also process birth certificate requests.⁴

By Mail

Send the application, photocopies of your ID, payment, and a self-addressed stamped business-size envelope to:

Wisconsin Vital Records Office
PO Box 309
Madison, WI 53701-0309

Pay by check or money order in U.S. funds, made out to “State of Wis. Vital Records,” or to “Register of Deeds” if you are mailing a county office directly. Processing runs about ten business days once your packet arrives, plus mail time in each direction.⁴

Online

The state’s online orders go through VitalChek Network Inc. You fill out the application, upload your ID, and pay by credit card. Orders typically process in about five business days.⁴ VitalChek adds its own service fee, and shipping defaults to an expedited option with a surcharge, so the total commonly lands between about $45 and $60 depending on what you select. If cost matters more than speed, an in-person visit at $20 is the better move.

Fees

The state fee is $20 for the first certified copy. Each additional certified copy of the same record ordered at the same time is $3.⁵ If you know you will need copies for a passport, a Real ID, and school enrollment, order them all at once and the extras drop to $3 apiece.

Payment methods vary by channel. In-person offices generally take cash, checks, money orders, and cards, though this can differ by county. Mail requests need a check or money order. Online orders require a credit card. There is no general fee waiver for individuals.⁶

If You Need It for Use Abroad

A certified copy alone is not enough for most foreign uses. You will likely need an apostille, which authenticates the document for another country. For Hague Apostille Convention countries, either the Wisconsin Secretary of State or the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) can issue it. For non-Hague countries, only the Secretary of State can.⁴

The apostille fee is $10 per document standard or $35 per document expedited, at either office.⁷⁸

If you already hold a certified copy, submit it to the Secretary of State or DFI with the apostille application and fee. If you need both the certificate and the apostille, send the Vital Records application (with ID and fee) together with the apostille application (with its fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope) to the Vital Records Office. They will create the copy, forward the package to the apostille office, and it will come back to you in the return envelope. Address that envelope to yourself with the Secretary of State or DFI as the return address, depending on which office is handling the apostille.⁴

Fixing an Error or Changing a Name

Within the First Year

About two weeks after a birth, the mother receives a Notification of Birth Registration by mail, which can be used to flag corrections and order copies. If a certificate already arrived with a mistake on it, mail it back to the Vital Records Office with a signed note explaining the correction. To change any part of the child’s name within 365 days of birth, use the Name Change Within the First Year of Life form. That one-time first-year name change is free.⁹

After the First Year

If more than 365 days have passed, mail your certified copy back with a note describing the error and the correct information, and the office will send amendment instructions. If you do not have a certified copy yet, apply for one and include the correction note in the same envelope.⁹

After a Legal Name Change

Once a court grants a legal name change, submit a certified copy of the court order (with the original court seal) to the Vital Records Office. The filing fee to amend the birth record is $10, plus $20 for a new certified copy and $3 for each additional copy. The amended certificate will carry an annotation showing the date of the change, what was changed, and the previous information.⁹

1
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69 – Section 69.20 Disclosure of Information From Vital Records
2
Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Adoption-Related Services
3
Department of Health Services. Wisconsin Birth Certificate Application Form F-05291
4
Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Requesting a Vital Record
5
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69 – Section 69.22 Fees
6
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 69.22
7
Office of the Secretary of State. Apostilles – Office of the Secretary of State
8
Department of Financial Institutions. DFI Apostille Fees
9
Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Amending a Vital Record