69.11 Amendments without court order.

(1) In this section, “amend" means to change information in an item on a vital record that was incorrect when the vital record was filed or to insert information omitted from an item on a vital record when the vital record was filed.

(2) If a vital record has been filed, any item on the record may be amended one time under this section.

(3)

(a) Until 365 days after the occurrence of an event which is the subject of a vital record, the state registrar, with satisfactory evidence that information in an item on a vital record was incorrect or omitted when the record was filed, may amend the record except as provided under par. (b).

(b) Until 365 days after the occurrence of an event which is the subject of a vital record, the state registrar may amend the following information on a vital record:

1. Name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, parents' surnames and marital status of parents, if the vital record is a birth record and if the amendment is accompanied by a statement which the filing party has submitted to support the amendment.

2. Cause of death, if the vital record is a death record and if the amendment is accompanied by a statement that the person who signed the medical certification has submitted to support the amendment.

(c) The following, prepared in the method prescribed by the state registrar, may request the state registrar to act under this subsection:

1. Any person with a direct and tangible interest in the record.

2. A certifier of the cause of death.

(d) The state registrar shall amend a vital record under this subsection if a local registrar:

1. Notifies the filing party, a certifier of the cause of death or the county clerk responsible for the vital record of the need for correct information;

2. Obtains the correct information from the person notified under subd. 1.;

3. Changes the information on his or her copy of the vital record; and

4. Sends a notice of the amendment under subd. 3. to the state registrar.

(e)

1. If the state registrar determines that a vital record should be amended under this subsection, he or she shall send a notice of the need for an amendment to the filing party, the certifier of the cause of death or the county clerk responsible for the vital record or to the local registrar who filed the record. If the local registrar receives the notice, he or she shall obtain the correct information from the filing party, certifier of the cause of death or county clerk responsible for the vital record and provide the correct information to the state registrar in the manner prescribed.

2. A filing party who receives a notice under subd. 1. shall respond to the person who sent the notice within 10 working days after receipt of the notice.

(4)

(a) Except as provided under par. (b), the state registrar may not amend any vital record if 365 days have elapsed since the occurrence of the event which is the subject of the vital record unless the state registrar has received a court order to make the amendment under s. 69.12.

(b) The state registrar may amend an item on a birth record that affects information about the name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, parent's name, or marital status of the mother if 365 days have elapsed since the occurrence of the event that is the subject of the birth record, if the amendment is at the request of a person with a direct and tangible interest in the record and is in the manner prescribed by the state registrar, and if the amendment is accompanied by 2 items of documentary evidence from early childhood that are sufficient to prove that the item to be changed is in error and by the affidavit of the person requesting the amendment. A change in the marital status on the birth record may be made under this paragraph only if the marital status is inconsistent with information concerning the father or husband that appears on the birth record. This paragraph may not be used to add to or delete from a birth record the name of a parent, to change the identity of a parent named on the birth record, or to effect a name change prohibited under s. 301.47.

(5)

(a) If the state or local registrar, under this section or under s. 69.15, changes the face of a vital record registered or filed in his or her office, the registrar shall:

1. Insert any information that was omitted when the vital record was filed.

2. If the amendment changes the information on the vital record, do all of the following:

a. Record the correct information in the relevant area of the vital record.

b. Maintain legibility of the changed information by placing a single line through the changed entry, by recording the changed information elsewhere on the legal portion of the vital record, or both.

c. Make a notation on the vital record that clearly states that the vital record has been amended and that gives the number of the item corrected, the date of the correction, and the source of the amending information.

(b) If under sub. (4) (b) the state or local registrar makes an amendment other than on the face of the original copy of a vital record, he or she shall file an amendment form which includes an affidavit by the person requesting the amendment, the information which is stricken, the information inserted and an abstract of the supporting documentation.

History: 1985 a. 315; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 52; 2017 a. 334.