69.09 History
History: 1985 a. 315.
69.10
69.10
Correction of obvious errors. 69.10(1)
(1) Until 365 days after the occurrence of an event which is the subject of a vital record:
69.10(1)(a)
(a) The state registrar may return a vital record to a local registrar for correction under
s. 69.09 if the state registrar determines that the record should not have been filed prior to correction.
69.10(1)(b)
(b) The state registrar or a local registrar may correct an error in the record if he or she determines that the error is obviously inadvertent.
69.10(2)
(2) A person with a direct and tangible interest in a vital record may petition a court to order a correction in the record under this section if the state or local registrar with whom the record is filed fails to make the correction.
69.10 History
History: 1985 a. 315.
69.11
69.11
Amendments without court order. 69.11(1)
(1) In this section, "amend" means to change information in an item on a vital record that was incorrect when the vital record was filed or to insert information omitted from an item on a vital record when the vital record was filed.
69.11(2)
(2) If a vital record has been filed, any item on the record may be amended one time under this section.
69.11(3)(a)(a) Until 365 days after the occurrence of an event which is the subject of a vital record, the state registrar, with satisfactory evidence that information in an item on a vital record was incorrect or omitted when the record was filed, may amend the record except as provided under
par. (b).
69.11(3)(b)
(b) Until 365 days after the occurrence of an event which is the subject of a vital record, the state registrar may amend the following information on a vital record:
69.11(3)(b)1.
1. Name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, parents' surnames and marital status of parents, if the vital record is a birth certificate and if the amendment is accompanied by a statement which the filing party has submitted to support the amendment.
69.11(3)(b)2.
2. Cause of death, if the vital record is a death certificate and if the amendment is accompanied by a statement that the person who signed the medical certification has submitted to support the amendment.
69.11(3)(c)
(c) The following, on a form supplied by the state registrar, may request the state registrar to act under this subsection:
69.11(3)(c)1.
1. Any person with a direct and tangible interest in the record.
69.11(3)(d)
(d) The state registrar shall amend a vital record under this subsection if a local registrar:
69.11(3)(d)1.
1. Notifies the filing party, a certifier of the cause of death or the county clerk responsible for the vital record of the need for correct information;
69.11(3)(d)2.
2. Obtains the correct information from the person notified under
subd. 1.;
69.11(3)(d)3.
3. Changes the information on his or her copy of the vital record; and
69.11(3)(d)4.
4. Sends a notice of the amendment under
subd. 3. to the state registrar.
69.11(3)(e)1.1. If the state registrar determines that a vital record should be amended under this subsection, he or she shall send a notice of the need for an amendment to the filing party, the certifier of the cause of death or the county clerk responsible for the vital record or to the local registrar who filed the record. If the local registrar receives the notice, he or she shall obtain the correct information from the filing party, certifier of the cause of death or county clerk responsible for the vital record, change the information on his or her copy of the vital record and send a copy of the changed record to the state registrar.
69.11(3)(e)2.
2. A filing party who receives a notice under
subd. 1. shall respond to the person who sent the notice within 10 working days after receipt of the notice.
69.11(4)(a)(a) Except as provided under
par. (b), the state registrar may not amend any vital record if 365 days have elapsed since the occurrence of the event which is the subject of the vital record unless the state registrar has received a court order to make the amendment under
s. 69.12.
69.11(4)(b)
(b) The state registrar may amend an item on a birth certificate that affects information about the name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, parent's name, or marital status of the mother if 365 days have elapsed since the occurrence of the event that is the subject of the birth certificate, if the amendment is at the request of a person with a direct and tangible interest in the record and is on a request form supplied by the state registrar, and if the amendment is accompanied by 2 items of documentary evidence from early childhood that are sufficient to prove that the item to be changed is in error and by the affidavit of the person requesting the amendment. A change in the marital status on the birth certificate may be made under this paragraph only if the marital status is inconsistent with information concerning the father or husband that appears on the birth certificate. This paragraph may not be used to add to or delete from a birth certificate the name of a parent, to change the identity of a parent named on the birth certificate, or to effect a name change prohibited under
s. 301.47.
69.11(5)(a)(a) If the state or local registrar, under this section or under
s. 69.15, changes the face of a vital record registered or filed in his or her office, the registrar shall:
69.11(5)(a)1.
1. Insert any information that was omitted when the vital record was filed.
69.11(5)(a)2.
2. If the amendment changes the information on the vital record, do all of the following:
69.11(5)(a)2.a.
a. Record the correct information in the relevant area of the vital record.
69.11(5)(a)2.b.
b. Maintain legibility of the changed information by placing a single line through the changed entry, by recording the changed information elsewhere on the legal portion of the vital record, or both.
69.11(5)(a)2.c.
c. Make a notation on the vital record that clearly states that the vital record has been amended and that gives the number of the item corrected, the date of the correction, and the source of the amending information.
69.11(5)(b)
(b) If under
sub. (4) (b) the state or local registrar makes an amendment other than on the face of the original copy of a vital record, he or she shall file an amendment form which includes an affidavit by the person requesting the amendment, the information which is stricken, the information inserted and an abstract of the documents supporting the amendment.
69.12
69.12
Entry of true facts by court order. 69.12(1)
(1) If the state registrar cannot make an amendment to a vital record under
s. 69.11 and a person with a direct and tangible interest in the vital record alleges that information on the vital record does not represent the actual facts in effect at the time the record was filed, the person may petition the circuit court of the county in which the event which is the subject of the vital record is alleged to have occurred. The petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the original vital record. If the court finds that the petitioner has established the actual facts of the event in effect when the record was filed, the clerk of 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 (5) (a) 2. Upon receipt of the report, the state registrar shall, if information as to the cause of death on the original certificate of death is changed, act under
sub. (4), or shall change the record under
s. 69.11 (5) and send a notice of the change to the local registrar who shall make the change in the record filed in his or her office. This subsection does not apply to a name change prohibited under
s. 301.47.
69.12(2)
(2) A court may not order amendment of the names of the parents of a registrant on a birth certificate on the grounds of termination of parental rights or termination of custody.
69.12(3)
(3) The state registrar shall amend under
s. 69.11 (5) an item on a birth certificate as directed by an order under this section.
69.12(4)(a)(a) If information as to the cause of death on the original certificate of death is changed under the court's determination under
sub. (1) and the court in accordance with the petition orders the creation of a new certificate of death, the state registrar shall do all of the following:
69.12(4)(a)1.
1. Prepare a new certificate of death, omit the changed information, including the name of the physician, coroner or medical examiner who certified the cause of death and enter any other original and any new information, including the name of the judge and the date of the order, sign the new information, enter any notation of support in the margin of the record and insert a note that the certificate of death has been amended.
69.12(4)(a)2.
2. Register a new certificate of death created under this subsection and impound the original certificate 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.
69.12(4)(a)3.
3. Send a copy of any new certificate of death registered under this subsection to the local registrar who filed the original of the replaced certificate of death.
69.12(4)(b)
(b) Upon receipt of the copy under
par. (a) 3., the local registrar shall destroy his or her copy of the replaced certificate of death and file the new certificate of death.
69.12(5)
(5) A change in the marital status on the certificate of birth may be requested under this section only if the marital status is inconsistent with father or husband information appearing on the certificate of birth. This section may not be used to add or delete the name of a parent on the certificate of birth or change the identity of either parent named on the certificate of birth.
69.12 Annotation
A court acting under sub. (1) acts as a fact finder, independently reviewing the evidence presented by the petitioner. There is a presumption of validity in the findings in a death certificate; the petitioner has the burden of rebutting the presumption by the greater weight of the credible evidence. Sullivan v. Waukesha County,
218 Wis. 2d 458,
578 N.W.2d 596 (1998).
69.13
69.13
Correction of facts misrepresented by informant for certificate of birth. The state registrar may, under an order issued by the circuit court of the county in which a birth occurred, correct information about the parent or the marital status of the mother on a certificate of birth that is registered in this state if all of the following conditions apply:
69.13(1)
(1) The correction may not be accomplished under
s. 69.11,
69.12, or
69.15 because the disputed information was misrepresented by the informant during the preparation of the birth certificate.
69.13(2)
(2) The state registrar receives, on a form prescribed by the state registrar, a court order that is accompanied by all of the following:
69.13(2)(a)
(a) A petition for correction filed by a person with a direct and tangible interest in the certificate of birth.
69.13(2)(b)
(b) Certification that all of the following supporting evidence, as listed by the court in the order, was presented in addition to oral testimony:
69.13(2)(b)1.
1. A certified copy of the original certificate of birth.
69.13(2)(b)2.
2. If the birth occurred in a hospital, a copy of the birth worksheet and any other supporting documentation from the hospital.
69.13(2)(b)3.
3. If the birth did not occur in a hospital, a statement from the birth attendant.
69.13(2)(b)4.
4. If relevant to the correction sought, a certified copy of a marriage document, a certified copy of a certificate of divorce or annulment or a final divorce decree that indicates that the mother was not married to the person listed as her husband at any time during the pregnancy, a legal name change order, or any other legal document that clarifies the disputed information.
69.13(2)(b)5.
5. A statement signed by the certificate of birth informant or the petitioner acknowledging that the disputed information was misrepresented.
69.13 History
History: 2001 a. 16.
69.14
69.14
Registration of births. 69.14(1)(a)1.1. Except as provided under
subd. 2., a certificate of birth for every birth that occurs in this state shall be filed within 5 days after the birth with the state registrar, who shall register the birth under this subchapter and shall make a copy of the certificate of birth available to the registration district in which the birth occurred and the registration district in which the mother of the registrant resided at the time of the birth.
69.14(1)(a)2.
2. A filing party shall send a certificate of birth for a birth in a city which has a local health department that is not a registration district to the local health department if the local health department has a maternal-child visitation or information program, if the local health department has filed with the state registrar a request that the certificate be sent to it and if the state registrar has approved the request. The state registrar may revoke his or her approval at any time.
69.14(1)(a)3.
3. Any local health department that accepts original birth certificates under
subd. 2. shall:
69.14(1)(a)3.a.
a. Make a copy of the certificate and forward the original to the register of deeds within 2 days;
69.14(1)(b)
(b)
Accuracy. Either parent of a child who is the subject of a birth certificate, or, if neither parent is available, another person with knowledge of the facts of the birth, shall attest to the accuracy of the personal data entered on the certificate in time to permit the filing of the certificate within 5 days after the birth.
69.14(1)(c)
(c)
Filing party. A birth certificate shall be prepared and filed by the following:
69.14(1)(c)1.
1. If the birth occurs at or on route to a hospital, the hospital administrator or his or her designee;
69.14(1)(c)2.
2. In the absence of a person under
subd. 1., the physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth;
69.14(1)(c)3.
3. In the absence of a person under
subd. 1. or
2., any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth; or
69.14(1)(c)4.
4. In the absence of a person under
subds. 1. to
3., the father or mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of the mother, the person responsible for the premises where the birth occurs.
69.14(1)(cm)
(cm)
Information concerning paternity. For a birth which occurs en route to or at a hospital, the filing party shall give the mother a copy of the pamphlet under
s. 69.03 (14). If the child's parents are not married at the time of the child's birth, the filing party shall give the mother a copy of the form prescribed by the state registrar under
s. 69.15 (3) (b) 3. The filing party shall ensure that trained, designated hospital staff provide to the child's available parents oral information or an audio or video presentation and written information about the form and the significance and benefits of, and alternatives to, establishing paternity, before the parents sign the form. The filing party shall also provide an opportunity to complete the form and have the form notarized in the hospital. If the mother provides a completed form to the filing party while she is a patient in the hospital and within 5 days after the birth, the filing party shall send the form directly to the state registrar. The department of workforce development shall pay the filing party a financial incentive for correctly filing a form within 60 days after the child's birth.
69.14(1)(d)1.1. On a birth certificate the place of birth shall be the place where the placenta is removed except as provided under
subd. 2.
69.14(1)(d)2.
2. If a birth occurs in a conveyance within the United States and the birth child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, the birth shall be filed in this state and the place where the birth child is first removed from the conveyance shall be the place of birth on the birth certificate. If a birth occurs on a moving conveyance while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space and the birth child is first removed from the conveyance in this state, a birth certificate for the child shall be filed in this state and the place of birth on the birth certificate shall be the actual place of birth as determined by the filing party.
69.14(1)(e)1.1. If the mother of a registrant under this section was married at any time from the conception to the birth of the registrant, the name of the husband of the mother shall be entered on the birth certificate as the legal father of the registrant. The name of the father entered under this subdivision may not be changed except by a proceeding under
ch. 767.
69.14(1)(e)2.
2. If the mother was not married at any time from the conception to the birth of a registrant under this section, no name of any alleged father of the registrant may be entered as the father on the birth certificate except as provided under
s. 69.15 (3). If under this subdivision the name of the father of the registrant of a birth certificate is omitted from the certificate, no other information about the father may be entered on the certificate.
