69.15(3)(b)4.
4. If a registrant has not reached the age of 18 years and if any of the following indicate, in a statement acknowledging paternity under
subd. 1. or
3., that the given name or surname, or both, of the registrant should be changed on the birth certificate, the state registrar shall enter the name indicated on the birth certificate without a court order:
69.15(3)(b)4.b.
b. The father of the registrant if the father has legal custody of the registrant.
69.15(3)(b)4.c.
c. The parents of the registrant if they have married each other after the birth of the registrant.
69.15(3)(c)
(c) If the state registrar is required to enter a new surname or a new given name on a birth certificate under
par. (b) 4. and the registrant has not reached the age of 7 years, the state registrar shall make a new certificate under
sub. (6).
69.15(3)(d)
(d) The form prescribed by the state registrar for acknowledging paternity shall require that the social security number of each of the registrant's parents signing the form be provided.
69.15(3m)
(3m) Rescission of statement acknowledging paternity. 69.15(3m)(a)(a) A statement acknowledging paternity that is filed with the state registrar under
sub. (3) (b) 3. may be rescinded by either person who signed the statement as a parent of the registrant if all of the following apply:
69.15(3m)(a)1.
1. The statement was signed and filed on or after April 1, 1998.
69.15(3m)(a)2.
2. The person rescinding the statement files with the state registrar a document prescribed by the state registrar for rescinding a statement acknowledging paternity under
sub. (3) (b) 3.
69.15(3m)(a)3.
3. Except as provided in subd. 4, the person rescinding the statement files the document under
subd. 2. before the day on which a court or circuit court commissioner makes an order in an action affecting the family involving the man who signed the statement and the child who is the subject of the statement or before 60 days elapse after the statement was filed, whichever occurs first.
69.15(3m)(a)4.
4. If the person rescinding the statement was under age 18 when the statement was filed, the person files the document under
subd. 2. before the day on which a court or circuit court commissioner makes an order in an action affecting the family involving the man who signed the statement as the father of the registrant and the child who is the subject of the statement or before 60 days elapse after the person attains age 18, whichever occurs first.
69.15(3m)(b)
(b) If the state registrar, within the time required under
par. (a) 3. or
4., whichever is appropriate, receives a document prescribed by the state registrar for rescinding a statement acknowledging paternity under
sub. (3) (b) 3., along with the proper fee under
s. 69.22, the state registrar shall prepare under
sub. (6) a new certificate omitting the father's name if it was inserted under
sub. (3) (b).
69.15(4)(a)(a) If the state registrar receives an order under
sub. (1) which provides for a name change, the state registrar shall change the name on the original birth certificate.
69.15(4)(b)
(b) Any person with a direct and tangible interest in a birth certificate registered in this state may petition a court to change the name and sex of the registrant on the certificate due to a surgical sex-change procedure. If the state registrar receives an order which provides for such a change the state registrar shall change the name and sex on the original certificate, except that if the court orders the state registrar to prepare a new certificate the state registrar shall prepare a new certificate under
sub. (6). This subsection does not apply to a name change prohibited under
s. 301.47.
69.15(4)(c)
(c) A court may not order the state registrar to change any vital record due to a surgical sex-change procedure except as provided under this subsection.
69.15(4m)
(4m) Name change without court order. 69.15(4m)(a)(a) Unless either parent of a registrant is a party to an action under
ch. 767 involving the registrant and notwithstanding
sub. (3) (b) 4. and
s. 786.36, the name of a registrant born in this state may be changed once under this subsection without a court order if all of the following apply:
69.15(4m)(a)1.
1. The request for the change is received to the state registrar in writing, on a form approved by the state registrar.
69.15(4m)(a)2.
2. If a parent has sole legal custody of the registrant, the request for the change is signed by the parent who has legal custody.
69.15(4m)(a)3.
3. If both parents have legal custody of the registrant, the request for the change is signed by both parents.
69.15(4m)(a)4.
4. The request for the change is received within 365 calendar days after the day of birth of the registrant.
69.15(4m)(b)
(b) If the conditions under
par. (a) 1. to
4. are met, the state registrar shall change the registrant's name on the registrant's birth certificate. The state registrar is not required to issue a new birth certificate under this paragraph.
69.15(5)
(5) New certificate for a person without any certificate. If no birth certificate has been registered for any person who is more than 365 days old and who is entitled to a new certificate under this section, and if the date and place of birth of the person have not been determined by a court, the state registrar shall register a birth certificate for the individual under
s. 69.14 (2) (b) before preparing a new certificate under
sub. (6).
69.15(6)
(6) Preparation of new certificates. 69.15(6)(a)(a) The state registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate under this section on the form in use at the time the original certificate was filed. The state registrar shall include on a new certificate the date of creation of the new certificate and shall sign it. The state registrar shall type on the new certificate any other legible signature on the original certificate.
69.15(6)(b)
(b) The state registrar shall register a new certificate created under this section and shall impound the original certificate or the certificate registered under
sub. (5) and all correspondence, affidavits, court orders and other related materials and prohibit access except by court order or except by the state registrar for processing purposes or except when authorized under
ss. 48.432 and
48.433. The state registrar shall send a copy of any new certificate registered under this section to the local registrar who filed the original of the replaced certificate. Upon receipt of the copy, the local registrar shall destroy his or her copy of the replaced certificate and file the new certificate.
69.15(6)(c)
(c) If the state registrar changes a birth certificate on file or registered under this section instead of preparing a new certificate, the state registrar shall make the change under
s. 69.11 (5) and shall send a notice of the change to the local registrar who filed the original of the changed certificate. Upon receipt of the notice, the local registrar shall change his or her copy of the changed certificate.
69.15 Annotation
Although sub. (1) (a) provides for changing a name according to an order in a paternity action, it does not provide authority to order a name change in a paternity action without complying with the procedural requirements for a name change under s. 786.36. Paternity of Noah J.M.
223 Wis. 2d 768,
590 N.W.2d 21 (Ct. App. 1998).
69.16
69.16
Marriage documents. 69.16(1)(1) The form, content, application for and registration of marriage documents shall be under
ch. 765.
69.16(2)
(2) If a person has married in this state, at least 365 days have elapsed since the marriage and no marriage document is on file, a person with a direct and tangible interest in having a marriage document registered may petition the circuit court of the county in which the marriage is alleged to have occurred. If the court finds that the petitioner has established the fact of the marriage required on the marriage document, except for the information under
s. 69.20 (2), the clerk of the court shall report the court's determination to the state registrar on a form prescribed by the state registrar, along with the fee required under
s. 69.22. Upon receipt of the report, the state registrar shall register the marriage document and send a copy of the document to the local registrar under
s. 69.03 (11). The local registrar shall file the document.
69.16 History
History: 1985 a. 315.
69.17
69.17
Divorce report. At the end of every biweekly period, the clerk of any court which conducts divorce proceedings under
ch. 767 shall forward to the state registrar, on a form supplied by the state registrar, a report of every divorce or annulment of marriage granted during the biweekly period. The form supplied by the state registrar shall require that the social security numbers of the parties to the divorce or annulment and the social security number of any child of the parties be provided.
69.17 History
History: 1985 a. 315;
1997 a. 191.
69.18
69.18
Death records. 69.18(1)(a)(a) Any one of the following may move a corpse for the purpose of final disposition:
69.18(1)(a)1.
1. A funeral director licensed under
ch. 445 acting in person or through the agency of another funeral director licensed under
ch. 445.
69.18(1)(a)2.
2. A member of the decedent's immediate family who personally prepares for and conducts the final disposition of the decedent.
69.18(1)(b)
(b) Any person who moves a corpse under
par. (a) shall file a certificate of death for the corpse under this subsection on a form prescribed by the state registrar under any one of the following circumstances:
69.18(1)(b)3.
3. The corpse was removed in this state from a conveyance which was moving at the time of death.
69.18(1)(b)4.
4. The corpse was found in interstate waters and removed in this state.
69.18(1)(bm)
(bm) A person required to file a certificate of death under
par. (b) shall obtain the information required for the certificate of death from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available. The person filing the certificate of death shall enter his or her signature on the certificate and include his or her address and the date of signing and shall present or mail the certificate, within 24 hours after being notified of the death, to the physician, coroner or medical examiner responsible for completing and signing the medical certification. Within 2 days after receipt of the medical certification, the person filing the certificate of death shall mail or present the certificate of death in:
69.18(1)(bm)1.
1. The registration district of the place of death if the death occurred in this state.
69.18(1)(bm)2.
2. The registration district where the corpse was found or removed if the place of death is not in this state or is unknown, is removed in this state from a conveyance which was moving at the time of death or is found in interstate waters and removed in this state.
69.18(1)(c)
(c) A hospital, a nursing home, as defined in
s. 50.01 (3), or a hospice that is the place of death of a person may prepare a certificate of death for the person and give the certificate to the person who moves the corpse under
par. (a).
69.18(1)(cm)1.1. For purposes of preparation of the certificate of death and in accordance with accepted medical standards, a hospice nurse in a hospice that is directly involved with the care of a hospice patient who dies may pronounce the date, time, and place of the patient's death if all of the following apply:
69.18(1)(cm)1.a.
a. The patient was generally under the care of a physician at the time of death.
69.18(1)(cm)2.
2. Subd.
1. may not be construed to authorize a hospice nurse to certify under
sub. (2) (b) the cause of the patient's death.
69.18(1)(d)
(d) A hospital, nursing home, or hospice may not release a corpse to any person under
par. (a) unless the person presents a notice of removal on a form prescribed by the state registrar, in duplicate, to the administrator of the hospital, nursing home, or hospice. The administrator shall retain one copy and forward the other copy to the local registrar of the registration district in which the hospital, nursing home, or hospice is located.
69.18(1)(e)1.1. If a death is a miscarriage and 20 weeks or more have elapsed between the mother's last normal menstrual period and delivery or the stillbirth weighs 350 grams or more, one of the following shall submit, within 5 days after delivery, a fetal death report to the state registrar:
69.18(1)(e)1.a.
a. If the miscarriage occurs at or on route to a hospital, the individual who manages the hospital or the hospital's medical records.
69.18(1)(e)1.b.
b. If the miscarriage does not occur at or on route to a hospital, the funeral director or other person authorized by at least one parent of the stillbirth.
69.18(1)(e)2.
2. Except as provided under
subd. 1., no fetal death report is required.
69.18(1m)
(1m) Format. Beginning on January 1, 2003, a certificate of death shall consist of the following parts:
69.18(1m)(a)
(a) Fact-of-death information, which shall include all of the following:
69.18(1m)(a)1.
1. The name and other identifiers of the decedent, including the decedent's social security number, if any.
69.18(1m)(a)2.
2. The date, time, and place that the decedent was pronounced dead.
69.18(1m)(a)5.
5. The dates of certification and filing of the certificate of death.
69.18(1m)(b)
(b) Extended fact-of-death information, which includes all of the following:
69.18(1m)(b)2.
2. Information on final disposition and cause of death.
69.18(1m)(c)
(c) Statistical-use-only information, which includes all of the following:
69.18(1m)(c)1.
1. All information other than that under
par. (b) that is collected on the standard death record form recommended by the federal agency responsible for national vital statistics.
69.18(1m)(c)2.
2. Other data, as directed by the state registrar, including race, educational background, and health risk behavior.
69.18(2)(a)(a) On the form for a certificate of death prescribed by the state registrar under
sub. (1) (b), the state registrar shall provide for a medical certification to be completed under this subsection.
69.18(2)(b)
(b) If a person under the care of a physician dies from the illness or condition for which the care is given and a coroner or medical examiner does not certify the cause of death under
par. (d) 1., the physician shall complete and sign a medical certification for the death under
par. (f) and mail the medical certification within 5 days after the pronouncement of death or present the medical certification to the person responsible for filing the death certificate under
sub. (1) within 6 days after the pronouncement of death.
69.18(2)(c)
(c) If the physician under
par. (b) is absent or gives his or her written approval, the medical certification under
par. (b) may be completed and signed by any one of the following who has access to the medical history of the decedent:
69.18(2)(c)1.
1. If any other physician assisted in attending the decedent, the other physician.
69.18(2)(c)2.
2. The chief medical officer of the hospital or nursing home in which the death occurred.
69.18(2)(c)3.
3. The physician who performed an autopsy on the decedent.
69.18(2)(d)1.1. Except as provided under
par. (e), if a death is the subject of a coroner's or medical examiner's determination under
s. 979.01 or
979.03, the coroner or medical examiner or a physician supervised by a coroner or medical examiner in the county where the event which caused the death occurred shall complete and sign the medical certification for the death and mail the death certificate within 5 days after the pronouncement of death or present the certificate to the person responsible for filing the death certificate under
sub. (1) within 6 days after the pronouncement of death.
69.18(2)(d)2.
2. Except as provided under
par. (e), if the decedent was not under the care of a physician for the illness or condition from which the person died, the coroner or medical examiner, or a physician supervised by a coroner or medical examiner, in the county of the place of death shall complete and sign the medical certification for the death and mail the death certificate within 5 days after the pronouncement of death or present the certificate to the person responsible for filing the death certificate under
sub. (1) within 6 days after the pronouncement of death.
69.18(2)(d)3.
3. For a medical certification under this paragraph, except a medical certification of the cause of death of an indigent, a coroner or medical examiner may charge a fee established by the county board, not to exceed an amount reasonably related to the actual and necessary cost of providing the medical certification. The coroner or medical examiner, or the physician employed by the coroner or medical examiner, shall mail or present a medical certification as required under
subd. 1., whether or not the fee has been paid.
69.18(2)(e)
(e) Unless the person is a physician supervised by a coroner or medical examiner, no person may act under
par. (d) if the subject of the death certificate was his or her patient or a patient in a hospital, or nursing home, as defined in
s. 50.01 (3), in which he or she has direct care of any patient.