Vital Records: Adoption-Related Services
In-person counter services closed
The Wisconsin Vital Records Office has closed our in-person services. Vital Records services, including requests for birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates, are available by U.S. mail, online through VitalChek, or by phone through VitalChek at 877-885-2981.
Appointments can still be made for in-person genealogy research.
After you’ve adopted a child domestically, you can get a new birth certificate from the Wisconsin Vital Records Office. After an international adoption, you can get a Certification of Birth Facts.
Domestic adoptions
A certified copy of the adoption court order is needed. This happens when a person born in Wisconsin is adopted in the same state, another U.S. state or territory, Canada, or any federally recognized Indian tribe, band, or nation.
“Certified” means the document has an original court seal. The fee to file the adoption court order is $20. This does not include a copy of the new record. For more information, see the chart below.
International adoptions
Wisconsin law allows us to create a “Certification of Birth Facts.” This document is for a child born in a foreign country who was adopted by Wisconsin residents. In order to complete this, we need a certified adoption order from a Wisconsin court along with proof of the birth facts.
“Certified” means the document contains an original court seal. We cannot accept court orders from other countries. For us to create a Wisconsin Certification of Birth Facts for a foreign-born child, the child must be re-adopted in a Wisconsin court.
The fee to file the adoption court order is $20. This does not include a copy of the new record. For more information, see the chart below.
Adoption record fees
Adoption filing fee: $20
Certified copy of new record: $20
Additional copy: $3
Adoptive records
When someone who was born in Wisconsin is adopted, our office seals their original birth certificate. A new one is then created showing their adoptive parents and new name, if the name changed as a result of the adoption. The sealed certificate can’t be released to anyone. This includes the person listed on it. The only way to access it is by court order. To learn more, visit the Wisconsin Adoption Records Search Program.