Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 891.09 (2026)

Record of births, stillbirths, fetal deaths, deaths and marriages

✓ current as of July 2026

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891.09891.09 Record of births, stillbirths, fetal deaths, deaths and marriages.

891.09(1)(1) Records as evidence. The record of any marriage, birth, stillbirth, fetal death or death kept in the office of any register of deeds or local health officer of a local health department, as defined in s. 250.01 (4) (a) 2. or 3. or (b), or in the state bureau of vital records shall be received as presumptive evidence of the marriage, birth, stillbirth, fetal death or death so recorded.

891.09(2)(2) Church and doctor’s records. Any church, parish or baptismal record, and any record of a physician or a person authorized to solemnize marriages, in which record are preserved the facts relating to any birth, stillbirth, fetal death, marriage or death, including the names of the persons, dates, places and other material facts, may be admitted as prima facie evidence of any fact aforesaid. But such record must be produced by its proper custodian and be supported by the custodian’s oath that it is such a record as it purports to be and is genuine to the best of the custodian’s knowledge and belief.

891.09(3)(3) Certificates of foreign births, etc. Official certificates of births, marriages or deaths, issued in foreign countries in which such births, marriages or deaths have occurred, purporting to be founded on books of record, properly authenticated, shall be received as presumptive evidence of the facts in such certificates stated.