Wisconsin Birth Records
Were you or one of your friends or family members born in Wisconsin? At some point, you may have to look up Wisconsin birth records. If you’re wondering how to obtain a birth certificate in Wisconsin, the most common suggestion is to visit the Wisconsin Vital Records office. You will have to visit the office in person, or mail in or fax a request with a signature and enclosed fee. You cannot order Wisconsin birth records by telephone, email, or website.
If you’re picking up the birth records in person, you’ll have to bring along photo ID, such as a driver’s license or a passport. In some cases, you may have to bring other identification documents, such as a utility bill, credit card statement, or health insurance card. If you receive your birth records in the mail, you won’t have to provide these documents.
The fee for Wisconsin birth records is $20 for one copy, and $3 for each additional copy. If you wish for expedited service, you’ll have to pay an additional $20 and $3 for each copy beyond the first. You will not get a refund if their search doesn’t turn up any results.
If you need a copy of your Wisconsin birth records to apply for a driver’s license or passport, you’ll have to deal with Vital Records, because it is the only place you can obtain a certified copy. A certified copy has a raised seal and can only be released to you if you are searching for:
- Your own birth records
- Your spouse’s records
- Your children’s records
- Your sibling’s records
OR if you have written, signed permission from the person who the birth records belong to.
Uncertified copies are freely available for anyone. Although you cannot use these documents to apply for government IDs, you can still use the information for genealogy projects, finding people, searching facts about your friends & classmates, etc. There are a wide variety of uses for uncertified Wisconsin birth records.
In that case, it is often a better idea to use the internet for your birth records search rather than Vital Records. On the internet, you can look up birth records for free (or almost free– much less than $20) and results are often instantaneous, emailed to you in a matter of minutes, where you can then print them out or simply keep the documents stored on your computer. It’s also much easier to find the birth records you need. Vital records sometimes takes a long time to get back to you, with no guarantee that they will even find the documents you need.
If you’re looking for uncertified copies of Wisconsin birth records, by far the best idea is to use an online birth record database like BirthDetails.com.
