Search Wisconsin Public Records

The policy of the state government of Wisconsin is to keep the general public informed about the records of business carried on by the government entities, and the decisions taken by them. There is a limit to the released information as well to comply with which, government preserves the confidential information. The Wisconsin public records are retained Public Records Board and is managed by agencies of Records Disposition Authorizations and General Records Schedule.

Records Considered to be Public

WI public records include the vital records, that is, the documents of main events of life- birth, marriage, divorce and death, unclaimed property, professional licenses, criminal background of an individual etc. In Wisconsin, any legal requestor can access these records. A marginal fee is charged for the service.

Birth Records

For birth certificates, you can make your request in person, by fax or by mail. Provision of making request through phone, or email is not present. To apply in person, drive to 1 West Wilson Street, Room 158, Madison, Wisconsin during office hours.The office remains opens from 8.00 am to 4.15 pm CST on all week days except for the legal holidays.

To collect the certificate, you need to bring any photo identification card like State ID card or driving license. Along with it, you may be required to present government issued identity badge with your photo, your passport or any utility bill. Regular service for requests in person takes two hours to process. Expedited service for an additional fee takes maximum of 30 minutes to process the request.

When you make your request through mail, download the form from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05291.pdf and send it to Wisconsin Vital Records Office, P.O. Box 309, Madison, WI  53701-0309. You can also send a request in writing along with a self-addressed envelope to Birth Record Application, P.O. Box 309, Madison, WI  53701-0309. To request through fax, you need a different form which can be downloaded from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05292.pdf. Fax the form at 608-255-2035.

The fee for birth certificates is $20 and for additional copy is $3. Fax is an expedited service, thus it costs an additional $20. If you use credit card for payment, an additional $6 is charged for credit card processing.

Death Records

Requests for death, marriage and divorce records are made through the same procedure. For death certificates, you can download the form to request through mail from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05280.pdf and the form of fax from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05297.pdf. If the death has occurred before 1907, visit http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/vitalrecords/genereq.htm#G4 to know if the record exists with the division.

Marriage Records

For marriage certificate, obtain the form from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05281.pdf to request via post and from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05294.pdf to request through fax. The fax number is same for all the forms. For divorce certificates, get the form from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05282.pdf. To order through fax, get it from http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/F0/F05296.pdf. You can also call 608 266 1373 to get the form faxed for you. Search fee for the certificates is non-refundable even if the records are not found. Make the checks payable to Wis Vital Records.

Professional Licenses

To access Wisconsin public records of professional licenses, click on http://ww2.wisconsin.gov/state/license/app?COMMAND=gov.wi.state.cpp.license.command.LoadLicenseHome. You will get all your answers regarding this department. Criminal records of an individual can be checked and obtained from http://wi-recordcheck.org/.