State guide · WI

Wisconsin genealogy records

Wisconsin state vital records run from October 1907; earlier births, marriages, and deaths were registered county by county, some before statehood, and are indexed free online.

Wisconsin at a glance

Became a state: May 29, 1848
State vital records from: October 1907 (Wisconsin Vital Records Office)
Earliest county registrations: Brown County births 1814; most counties begin between the 1850s and 1880s
Extended death certificate, death under 50 years ago: Direct descendants or someone with a direct and tangible interest
State censuses: 1836 to 1905; only 1905 names every household member
Federal census: 1890 mostly destroyed in a 1921 fire

In Wisconsin, one date splits almost every search: October 1907. Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from October 1907 to now are ordered from the Wisconsin Vital Records Office. Anything filed before then was registered county by county, and the start dates vary widely: Brown County births begin in 1814, Milwaukee County births in 1835, and some northern counties not until the 1880s or later.

The good news is that pre-1907 records are well indexed. The Wisconsin Historical Society has an online index to births, deaths, and marriages filed before October 1907, and the state office lets researchers look at older records in person. Wisconsin also took its own censuses for about seventy years, and its last one, in 1905, names every person in the household.

Births, deaths, and marriages since October 1907

The Wisconsin Vital Records Office, part of the Department of Health Services, issues birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from October 1907 to now. You can order by mail, online through VitalChek, or by phone through VitalChek. The same records are also available from the Register of Deeds office in the county where the event happened, and birth and death records from the Milwaukee and West Allis city health offices.

State law limits who can get a certified copy, and the eligibility rules are on the second page of the application form. For family history, an uncertified copy may be all you need: it carries the same information as a certified copy on plain paper, with a stamp saying it cannot be used for legal or identification purposes. Death records come in two versions: a Fact of Death certificate, without the cause of death or the final burial place, and an Extended Fact of Death certificate, which adds the place, manner, and cause of death and the burial place. For an extended certificate of a death less than fifty years ago, you must be a direct descendant or someone with a direct and tangible interest.

Before October 1907: county records

Before October 1907, births, marriages, and deaths were registered by county, and the state office publishes the earliest registration date for each one. Some start before statehood: Brown County has births from 1814, deaths from 1834, and marriages from 1823, while Milwaukee County births begin in 1835 and its marriages in 1851. Others start much later, such as Forest County births in 1891 and Rusk County births in 1900. A start date only tells you when the earliest surviving entry was filed, not that every event after it was recorded.

The state office does not publish any records or indexes online. For an online index of Wisconsin birth, death, and marriage records filed before October 1907, it points researchers to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, for example, holds microfilm copies of the pre-1907 vital records for the nine counties in its area, so ask the center that covers your county whether it has the same.

Researching in person at the state office

The Wisconsin Vital Records Office lets genealogists search records in person by advance appointment, Monday through Friday from 2 to 4 p.m., with accepted identification (a photo ID, or two documents such as a bank statement and a utility bill). Its published table lists what you can see: birth records from the earliest filed through September 30, 1907, with indexes through 1984; death records through 1971, with indexes through 2016; marriage records through 1967, with indexes through May 2015; and divorce records from October 1907 through 1967.

Staff can answer questions but cannot search for you, and cameras, scanners, and phones stay at the counter. A copy of a record you find costs 20 dollars on the office's current page, with additional copies of the same record at 3 dollars. The office cannot confirm whether a record exists or what it says, so if you cannot visit, send an application with accepted identification and the fee to request a search.

State and federal censuses

Wisconsin's territorial and state censuses were taken in 1836, 1838, 1842, 1846, 1847, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905. Most of the 1865 census did not survive; only Dunn, Green, Jackson, Kewaunee, Ozaukee, and Sheboygan counties remain. The censuses from 1836 to 1895 name only the head of the household and count everyone else. The 1905 census was the only one to list every member of the household by name, and it was the last state census Wisconsin took.

In the federal census, only heads of household are named from 1790 to 1840. Most of the 1890 census was destroyed in a fire in 1921, and the surviving fragments are mostly a special schedule of veterans and veterans' widows. That makes the 1895 and 1905 state censuses especially useful for families who arrived or moved between 1880 and 1900. The Wisconsin Historical Society also offers digital copies of special federal schedules for Wisconsin from 1850 to 1880, such as mortality and agricultural schedules.

Land, naturalization, and local records

Wisconsin is a public land state, so the first sale of most land went from the federal government to a private owner. The National Archives holds the land entry case files, and patents can be searched on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office records website, which includes only patented land.

Wisconsin's Area Research Centers hold county records for their region. The Stevens Point Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, for example, covers nine central Wisconsin counties and keeps naturalization indexes for each county in its area, pre-1907 vital records on microfilm, property tax rolls that often name the landowner, city directories, and an index to obituaries in Stevens Point newspapers from the 1890s to the present.

Search in this order

Decide whether the event was before or after October 1, 1907; that decides where you look.
For a pre-1907 event, check the state office's list of earliest registration dates for that county.
Search the Wisconsin Historical Society's pre-1907 index for births, marriages, and deaths.
For a later event, order an uncertified copy from the state office or the county Register of Deeds.
Find the family in the 1905 state census, which names everyone, and in 1895 for the head of household.
Look for land patents by name, then follow the land in county deed records.
Contact the Area Research Center for your county about naturalization indexes and tax rolls.
Search local obituary indexes, such as the Stevens Point index, for deaths after the 1890s.

Where to see them for free

Wisconsin Vital Records Office (Department of Health Services), Madison, for birth, death, marriage, and divorce records from October 1907, and for in-person research in older records by appointment.
The county Register of Deeds where the event happened, which also issues vital records, though availability depends on the event and date.
Wisconsin Historical Society, for the online index to births, deaths, and marriages filed before October 1907, and digital copies of special federal census schedules.
The Area Research Center that covers your county; the Stevens Point center, for example, keeps naturalization indexes, tax rolls, and pre-1907 vital records on microfilm for its nine counties.
The Bureau of Land Management General Land Office records website for federal land patents.
FamilySearch and Ancestry, as places to search the state and federal censuses.

Sources

How to cite this page

Daily Ancestor. "Wisconsin genealogy records." State guides. https://dailyancestor.com/states/wisconsin. Last checked 2026-10-10.