Wisconsin Death Certificates

Ordering Wisconsin Death Certificates Online

Order Death Certificates Here

General Information on Ordering Wisconsin Death Certificates

The Wisconsin Vital Records Office is responsible for filing, preserving, protecting, changing, and issuing copies of birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates for events that occur in Wisconsin. Wisconsin law requires that applications for copies of death certificates include both a signature and the appropriate fees.

In 1852, Wisconsin directed the counties to record births, a mandate generally ignored. In 1878 a similar law received more attention and adherence. However, it was 1907 before the State Bureau of Vital Statistics was established.

For birth, marriage, and death records from 1907 to present, certificates are available from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Vital Records Office. For earlier records, refer to the Wisconsin State Archives.

Requests for certified copies of death certificates will be completed in approximately one month. Because of the high demand for copies of death certificates, requests for uncertified copies of death certificates are not completed on the same schedule as certified copies and may take three to six months to complete.

Information for Genealogists

For assistance with your family history research, please do not contact the State of Wisconsin. Instead please refer to the following websites for help:

• Wisconsin Birth, Marriage and Death Records - online databases of primary records.

• Wisconsin Adoption Registry - for help with locating adoptees and birth families from Wisconsin.

• Wisconsin Obituaries - find obituaries from Wisconsin newspapers.

• Social Security Death Index - National database of deaths dating back to the 1940's.