Wisconsin Vital Records

Wisconsin Vital Records are issued by Wisconsin County Registers of Deeds, Wisconsin County Clerks of Courts, or the Wisconsin State Office of Vital Records.

• We will not issue Authentications or Apostilles for Vital Records issued from other States or Countries, photocopies or copies that have been signed by Notary Publics of any Vital Records including Wisconsin Vital Records.

• Make sure to find out if the country requesting the Authentication or Apostille has a time requirement (Some countries want documents that are no older than 3-8 months.) or a long form requirement. (Some countries want the long form which has specific information about the parents and their personal information) If your country has such a requirement you should contact the Department of Vital Records or the Register of Deeds in the county of the event. If you have to order new documents from the Department of Vital Records, you should use the mail in application from their office, submit to the Department of Vital Record's office the mail in application form and fees, (in the return to section fill out the Office of the Secretary of State's address) along with our application form and fees, and 1 self addressed stamped envelope, the FedEx application form or UPS waybill, or list your phone number for pickup, on the application; and Vital Records will forward your document to our office via the state mail system.

A vital record is a Birth Certificate, a Death Certificate, a Marriage Certificate, a Divorce Certificate or Divorce Documents. The certificates must be issued by either the Register of Deeds in the county of the event or the State Office of Vital Records. Many countries are requiring the Long Form Birth Certificate, so be sure to check with your country's consulate about this requirement and also if they have a date issued requirement before submitting your documents. Be sure to notify Vital Records or the Register of Deeds that you are requesting this for foreign use. Divorce Documents such as the Findings and Facts Report from the divorce MUST BE CERTIFIED COPIES. These documents are issued by the Clerk of Court in the County of Divorce. It must have a signature, printed name, and title of the deputy or clerk thatis signing the document.