Make check or money order payable to Center for Health
Statistics. Include a letter noting relationship of
person on certificate to person requesting certificate;
reason for requesting the certificate; full name of person
on certificate; date of birth or death; city/county of
event; parents name including mother's maiden name for a
birth record; for death records including age at time of
death or social security number is helpful but not
necessary; be sure to sign the letter of request; include a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
Note: Genealogy requests can take up to 3 months,
other requests will be in the mail within 15 working
days.
If you're looking for records older than 1907, you should
write to the county in which the event occured to get the record(s).
They have more "complete" information than the state does.
Overview of Wisconsin Adoption Information
In Wisconsin, the Department of Health and Social Services
maintains a centralized file for the maintenance of genetic
and medical information provided by the birth parent(s).
Such information is available on request in a non-
identifying form to an adult adoptee (age 18), adoptive
parents, the offspring of a child placed for adoption if the
offspring are at least 18 years old, and an agency or social
worker providing services to a child placed for adoption.
If the desired information is not in the centralized birth
record file, the Department will conduct a confidential
search for the birth parent(s) if the request is accompanied
by a doctor's certification that the person's condition
requires access to this information. Upon contacting the
birth parent(s), the Department, with consent of the birth
parents, will provide the requesting party with the desired
genetic or medical information in a non-identifying fashion.
If the birth parent(s) consent to the release of this
information the requesting party may petition the court for
release.
Identifying information will be provided to an adult adoptee
(age 21) if both birth parents have filed with the
Department or adoption agency a consent to the release of
such information. Information will be released if only one
parent files such consent ONLY if the other parent was not
known at the time of the original adoption. If the
Department or agency does not have consents on file, the
Department will [upon request] attempt to locate the birth
parent(s). If they are located and consent given
identifying information will be released. If they are
located and consent not given, identifying information will
not be released. If one known birth parent is located but
not the other, information will be released. If neither is
located, information will not be released.
For information, contact:
Adoption Search Program
Adoption Search Coordinator
P. O. Box 7851
Madison, Wisconsin 53707
Telephone: (608) 266-7163
