A Wisconsin birth certificate is issued by the Wisconsin Vital Records Office under the Department of Health Services. A certified copy costs $20, with each additional copy ordered at the same time costing $3. You can order in person in Madison, by mail, or online through the state’s authorized vendor, VitalChek. Changes to the record (correcting a misspelling, adding a parent, changing a name or gender marker, or updating after an adoption) go through either a vital records amendment application or a circuit court order, depending on what you need done.
How to Order a Certified Copy
Three channels work for ordering:
- In person at the Vital Records Office in Madison, where same-day service is sometimes possible.
- By U.S. mail, with a completed vital records application and a copy of your photo ID.
- Online or by phone through VitalChek, which accepts major credit cards and charges its own service fee on top of the state fee.1Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Requesting a Vital Record
The state fee is $20 for the first certified copy and $3 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Online and phone orders are typically completed in about five business days. Mail orders take roughly ten business days after the office receives your application, not counting transit time in each direction. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee.1Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Requesting a Vital Record
If you mail your application, send only copies of your ID, never originals. Acceptable ID includes a Wisconsin driver’s license or state ID card, a U.S. government-issued photo ID, a U.S. or foreign passport, or a tribal or military ID card.1Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Requesting a Vital Record
Who Can Request the Record
Wisconsin does not allow open access to birth records. Under Wisconsin Statutes 69.20, a certified copy is available only to the person named on the certificate, a spouse, child, sibling, or other immediate family member, either parent (unless parental rights have been terminated), a legal custodian or guardian, an attorney or agent acting for someone in those categories, or a person who can show a direct and tangible interest — meaning the record is needed to determine or protect a personal or property right, such as settling an estate or applying for benefits.2Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69.20 – Persons With a Direct and Tangible Interest Requests from people who don’t fit one of these categories are denied.
Adding a Father’s Name
When a child is born to a married couple, Wisconsin presumes both spouses are the parents, and the spouse’s name goes on the original birth certificate automatically. For unmarried parents, the father has no legal relationship to the child, and no place on the birth certificate, until paternity is established.3Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment
The simplest route is a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment. Both parents sign and notarize the form, which can be completed at the hospital, a midwife’s office, a tribal enrollment office, or a local vital records office. Once filed with the Vital Records Office, it fully establishes legal paternity, and the father’s name is added to the birth certificate. There is no filing fee for the acknowledgment itself.3Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgment Establishing paternity also carries legal consequences beyond the document: it determines inheritance rights and benefit eligibility, and it triggers child support and custody obligations.
If paternity is disputed, it has to be resolved in court before the certificate can be updated.
Correcting Errors and Changing a Name
Minor Corrections
Mistakes like misspelled names can be fixed by submitting an amendment request to the Vital Records Office with supporting documents such as hospital or school records. A child’s name can be changed within the first year after birth with no fee. After that first year, corrections and name changes typically require a court order.4Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Amendments
Legal Name Changes Through Court
Wisconsin Statutes 786.36 requires a petition in the circuit court of the county where you live.5Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 786.36 – Changing or Establishing a Name Before the hearing, you must publish a class 3 notice in a local newspaper, meaning the notice runs once a week for three consecutive weeks. The newspaper charges its own publication fee.6Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 786.37 – Notice of Hearing on Name Change
If publication could put you in danger, you can file a confidential name change petition and ask the judge to waive publication. The court will grant the waiver if you show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that publication could endanger you and that the name change is not an attempt to dodge a debt or hide a criminal record.6Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 786.37 – Notice of Hearing on Name Change Once the court grants the change, the certified order goes to the Vital Records Office with a $10 fee to update the birth certificate.4Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Amendments
Name Changes for Children Under 14
Both living parents must file the petition together. If one parent has died or had their rights terminated, the surviving parent or legal guardian can file alone. For a nonmarital child whose paternity has not been established, the mother can file on her own.5Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 786.36 – Changing or Establishing a Name When one parent objects, a judge weighs factors like the child’s relationship with each parent, the potential for confusion, and any history of domestic violence.
Gender Marker Changes
Wisconsin allows changes to the sex designation on a birth certificate through a court petition under Wisconsin Statutes 69.15(4). The Wisconsin Court System provides specific forms, one for the petition and one for the court order. After the court grants the change, the order is filed with the Vital Records Office with a $20 fee.4Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Amendments
Birth Certificates After Adoption
When an adoption is finalized in Wisconsin, the court sends a copy of the order to the state registrar, who prepares a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents. The new certificate keeps the original date and place of birth, but lists the hospital and time of birth as unknown.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69.15 – New Birth Records There is one exception: if the adoptive parents (or the adoptive parent together with a birth parent who is their spouse) ask that the record not be changed, the court can order that no new certificate be prepared.8Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 48.94 – New Birth Record
Once a new certificate is issued, the original record is impounded along with related correspondence, affidavits, and court orders. Access to the impounded record is prohibited except by court order or by the state registrar for processing. The local registrar who held the original is instructed to destroy their copy once the new record is registered.7Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69.15 – New Birth Records
Replacing a Lost or Stolen Certificate
Replacing a certificate follows the same ordering process and fees as any certified copy. Submit a vital records application with valid photo ID through any of the three channels and pay the $20 fee. The same eligibility rules apply.1Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Vital Records: Requesting a Vital Record If the certificate was stolen, consider reporting it to law enforcement, especially if other identity documents were taken at the same time.
One boundary worth knowing: a certified birth certificate proves date of birth and parentage, but it does not count as proof of identity for every purpose. The Social Security Administration will not accept a birth certificate as evidence of identity when you apply for or update a Social Security card. You need a separate photo ID for that.9Social Security Administration. Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5)
Penalties for Fraud or Misuse
Wisconsin treats birth certificate fraud as a felony. Under Wisconsin Statutes 69.24, creating a document that looks like a birth certificate, counterfeiting or altering a birth record, or knowingly possessing a fraudulent vital record are all Class I felonies.10Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 69.24 – Penalties A Class I felony carries up to three years and six months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.11Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.50 – Classification of Felonies
Using another person’s birth certificate to obtain money, credit, employment, or other benefits falls under Wisconsin’s identity theft statute, a Class H felony carrying up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.12Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 943.201 – Unauthorized Use of Personal Identifying Information Providing false information on a birth certificate application can also result in perjury charges, and penalties escalate further when fraudulent documents cross state lines and bring federal charges on top of state prosecution.