Chapter 69

69.05 History History: 1985 a. 315; 1989 a. 359; 1993 a. 27; 1997 a. 114; 1999 a. 185; 2017 a. 334.

69.05 Annotation A local registrar has no power to adopt procedures that are more stringent than those directed by the state registrar for issuing certified copies of vital records under s. 69.21 (1). 80 Atty. Gen. 35.

69.06 69.06 Duties of city registrars. A city registrar shall:

69.06(1) (1) Accept for filing, electronically sign and assign a date of acceptance to records of death which he or she has been approved to register under s. 69.04 and which are properly presented in his or her office.

69.06(4) (4) Designate in writing a deputy to perform the city registrar’s duties under this section during the city registrar’s absence, illness or disability.

69.06 History History: 1985 a. 315; 2001 a. 16; 2017 a. 334.

69.07 69.07 Duties of register of deeds. The county register of deeds shall:

69.07(1) (1) Accept for filing, electronically sign and assign a date of acceptance to vital records presented in his or her office under this chapter.

69.07(3) (3) Designate a deputy appointed under s. 59.43 (3) to perform the register of deeds’ duties under this section during the register of deeds’ absence, illness or disability.

69.07 History History: 1985 a. 315; 1995 a. 201; 2001 a. 16; 2017 a. 334.

69.08 69.08 Requirements for registration. The state registrar may not register a vital record unless the record:

69.08(1) (1) Is prepared in the method prescribed by the state registrar.

69.08(2) (2) Is prepared in the method prescribed or is printed legibly in permanent ink applied directly to the paper.

69.08(3) (3) Supplies all items of information required or gives a reason approved by the state registrar for the omission of any item.

69.08(4) (4) Contains proper and consistent data.

69.08(5) (5) Contains electronic signatures required or signatures written in permanent ink applied directly to the paper.

69.08(7) (7) Contains the dated electronic signature of the local registrar.

69.08(8) (8) Is prepared under rules promulgated by the department.

69.08 History History: 1985 a. 315; 2001 a. 16; 2017 a. 334.

69.09 69.09 Corrections prior to filing. If prior to filing a vital record a local registrar determines that the record has an omission or error in information, the local registrar shall return the record to the filing party for correction or replacement, except as provided under s. 69.10 (2). The filing party shall correct or replace any such record within 5 working days after it is received by the filing party.

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, 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; 2017 a. 334.

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) (3) 

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 record 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 record 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, prepared in the method prescribed 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)(c)2. 2. A certifier of the cause of death.

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) (e)

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 and provide the correct information to the state registrar in the manner prescribed.

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) (4) 

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 record 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 record, if the amendment is at the request of a person with a direct and tangible interest in the record and is in the manner prescribed 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 record 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 record. This paragraph may not be used to add to or delete from a birth record the name of a parent, to change the identity of a parent named on the birth record, or to effect a name change prohibited under s. 301.47.

69.11(5) (5) 

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 supporting documentation.

69.11 History History: 1985 a. 315; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 52; 2017 a. 334.

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 in the manner 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 a death record is changed or if information on a marriage record concerning the identity of a parent of a party to a marriage is changed, act under sub. (4), or shall change the record under s. 69.11 (5) and if the record is not enabled in the state system of vital records, send the amended record to the local registrar who shall replace 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 record 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 record as directed by an order under this section.

69.12(4) (4) 

69.12(4)(a) (a) If a court’s determination under sub. (1) changes information as to the cause of death on a death record or changes information on a marriage record concerning the identity of a parent of a party to the marriage and the court in accordance with the petition orders the creation of a new death or marriage record, the state registrar shall do all of the following:

69.12(4)(a)1. 1. Prepare a new death or marriage record, whichever is applicable. On a new death record, the state registrar shall 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 death record has been amended. On a new marriage record, the state registrar shall omit the changed information concerning the identity of a parent of a party to the marriage, enter the unchanged information from the original record, and enter any new information included in the court order concerning the identity of a parent of a party to the marriage, but shall not note that the record is amended.

69.12(4)(a)2. 2. Register a new death or marriage record created under this subsection and impound the original death or marriage record 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 death or marriage record registered under this subsection to the local registrar who filed the original, if the record is not enabled in the state system of vital records.

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 death or marriage record and file the new death or marriage record.

69.12(5) (5) A change in the marital status on the record of birth may be requested under this section only if the marital status is inconsistent with father or husband information appearing on the birth record. This section may not be used to add or delete the name of a parent on the record of birth or change the identity of either parent named on the birth record.

69.12 History History: 1985 a. 315; 1993 a. 346; 1995 a. 225; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 52; 2005 a. 69; 2017 a. 334.

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), 96-3376.

69.13 69.13 Correction of facts misrepresented by informant for record 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 record 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 record.

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 birth record.

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, divorce or annulment record, 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 record of birth informant or the petitioner acknowledging that the disputed information was misrepresented.

69.13(2)(c) (c) The supporting evidence specified in par. (b) 1. to 5.

69.13(2)(d) (d) The fee specified under s. 69.22 (5) (b) 1.

69.13 History History: 2001 a. 16; 2017 a. 334.

69.14 69.14 Registration of births.

69.14(1) (1) Filing requirements.

69.14(1)(a) (a) Filing deadline. A record 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.

69.14(1)(b) (b) Accuracy. Either parent of a child who is the subject of a birth record, 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 record in time to permit the filing of the record within 5 days after the birth.

69.14(1)(c) (c) Filing party. A birth record 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;