Enclosed is some information that applies to all of us effective January 1, 2003. This is a 2 part letter. The
2nd part enlists your immediate help (looming deadline of December 31, 2002). The following parts are credited
to Jack Brissee, President of the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society. This information appeared in the WSGS Newsletter,
Volume 49, No 2 (September 2002) and is reprinted here with permission.
Part 1: "The Straight Scoop on Death Certificates"
On New Year's Day 2003, certain changes go into effect with regard to the format, content and access
to Death Certificates in Wisconsin. Many genealogists have expressed concern and confusion about these changes.
I want to give you the accurate and current information, and I ask you to help dispel the confusion by passing
the "straight scoop" along to your sister and brother genealogists.
The first thing you should know is that death certificates will NOT be closed to you. You will still be able to
access MOST of the records you want, but you will need to know and follow the rules. Some background:
1.The changes were incorporated into the State Statutes (Section 69.18 and 69.20) with the passage of the 2002/2003
Biennial budget bill (Wisconsin Act 16), signed by the Governor on 30 August 2001. It is common practice in Wisconsin
for budget bills to include many items of policy that little or nothing to do with the budget itself. You can read
the law online at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/99stats.html , scroll down to Chapter 69 and click on the PDF
(the Folio version is hard to read). Or you can request a copy from your State Senator or Assembly person.
2.The content and format of Vital Records is largely driven by the reports and recommendations of the National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Recommendations
with respect to access to vital records are promulgated in the "Model State Vital Statistics Act and Regulations"
also issued by the NCHS. The recommendations are derived from the work of panels of experts across the country.
Since they are not federal laws, each state implements them as it chooses, although most states, including Wisconsin,
follow them fairly closely.
3.In recent years both content and access have been increasingly influenced by consideration of privacy and identity
theft. Many genealogists may claim the dead have no privacy rights, but an awful lot of people don't agree. Death
certificates include information which might affect the privacy of living persons as well. As for identity theft,
there are no good data as to the incidence of identity theft traceable to use of vital records. Frankly, that makes
little difference; many people are worried about identity theft, and identity theft and privacy are popular issues
with politicians. My point is that like it or not, justified or not, the pressure to limit access to vital records
is going to increase, not decrease; we've got to learn to live with it, genealogists are not going to be exempted
from the rules.
4.Changes to the law that affect format and content of certificates are for deaths occurring on or after 1 January
2003, but some certificates issued after 1 January 2003 will follow the old rules because death occurred in 2002.
5.Another change to the law imposes a 50-year limitation on access to some parts of death certificates, but
that will only apply to certificates for deaths occurring after January 1, 2003 because existing certificates don't
include those parts.
How does all this affect genealogists? I have studied the revised Chapter 69, the report of the NHCS panel that
reviewed death certificates, and the Model State Vital Statistics Act, and I have consulted with the staff of the
Wisconsin Bureau of Health Statistics, which is responsible for implementation of the changes to the law. I think
I have a pretty good understanding of what you should be able to expect. Two caveats: 1) the final review by the
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services legal staff is not quite complete so there could be some more
changes - not likely to be many, if any, and probably quibbling, but you know lawyers. 2) You may still run into
a clerk who has her, or his, own idea of how its supposed to work; after all we are dealing with human-type people
here! If this happens, don't get into a fight; if you can't work it out locally send me the facts so I can ask
Bureau of Health Statistics staff to help get it straightened out. Now to the specifics:
First: Not everyone needs (and some don't want) all of the information recorded on the death certificate, so the
certificate has three parts: Fact of Death, Extended Fact of Death, and Statistical Use Only.
Fact of Death is available to anyone. Besides the who, when and where, it includes names of Father, Mother and
Surviving spouse, specifying birth surname (NOT "maiden name" for women), plus the informant (and his/her
mailing address), funeral home (or alternative), and the name and address of the physician, coroner, or medical
examiner who certified the death. Finally, you will get the manner of death as natural, homicide, accident, suicide,
undetermined or still pending.
Extended Fact of Death includes occupation, where and how the remains were disposed of, some information about
injuries, and not only the immediate cause of death, but also the underlying causes and significant contributing
conditions. This information is available only to those with a direct and tangible interest in the record. (Don't
get excited, direct and tangible is coming up).
Statistical Use only includes race and education, whether tobacco use contributed to the death and whether or not
pregnant at death or in the preceding year. Information in part 3 will not be available. Just think what insurance
companies might do with it!
Now it is important that you get this next specific right. Part 1 Fact of Death is available for inspection by
anyone at anytime. Part 2, including the cause of death, may not be inspected or disclosed until 50 years after
the date of death unless you have a direct and tangible interest, or if you are a direct descendant of the decedent.
After 50 years, the whole certificate is open to anyone.
Okay now; "Direct and Tangible Interest". The law (sec 69.20(1)) says that a person with direct and tangible
interest in a vital record is the registrant (who doesn't count in this case since he or she is dead), a member
of the registrant's immediate family, the parent of the registrant (unless parental rights have been terminated),
legal custodians or guardians, a representative authorized by any of these folks, and any other person who "demonstrates
a direct and tangible interest when information is necessary for the determination or protection of a personal
or property right." Immediate family is defined by BHS as spouse, child, brother, sister or grandparent. Demonstration
of personal and property rights will have to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
If you have followed all this you should see that there will be very little problem in getting access to the information
on any death certificate for a member of your family. For a death occurring before 1 January 2003 there is no limitation
on access. After that, within the 50 year limited access period, Parts 1 and 2 for all those in your direct line
are still open to you. For collaterals, and others, all you need is authorization from a parent, member of the
immediate family or legal custodian or guardian. For example: you do not have a direct and tangible interest in
death records of your father-in-law or mother-in-law, but want to include cause of death and perhaps other information,
in genealogies you are preparing for your children and grandchildren. Your spouse, of course, can get the records,
or authorize you to do so. If your spouse were not living (or even if there was a nasty divorce) an authorization
from any of his or her siblings would suffice. So far as I can tell, genealogists working on their own family line
should have problems only if they are feuding with the relatives. Professional researchers, or those researching
as a favor, will have to ask the person for whom they are researching to provide authorizations.
I began with some caveats, and it dawns on me I should add another. Wisconsin has 74 Local Registrars (each County
Register of Deeds office, plus Milwaukee and West Allis Health offices). To get a copy of a vital record the law
requires that you make a written request, but there is no specified form for that request. The Bureau of Health
Statistics does have such a form that they encourage local Registrars to adapt (such as to whom checks should be
make out), but it is not mandatory. The BHS form is pretty clear as to who qualifies as having a direct and tangible
interest, but that doesn't mean all the rest of the forms are. The law is still the same, though, and you now know
where to find it.
Finally, although some of the information I have given you is applicable to all vital records, I have limited discussion
to Death Certificates. I am sure some of you can come up with situations that "prove: that I don't know what
I'm talking about, but I've really researched this, and I'm convinced that no one is out to create problems for
genealogists, the impact on genealogists is minimal. BHS is also working hard to ensure local Registrars get the
"straight scoop" too. If you do encounter problems you can not resolve locally, give me the facts and
I will try to get answers for you. Let me know if this has been useful to you; perhaps I can address other vital
records in the future.
Part 2: Your Guidance needed on "Direct and Tangible Interest" definition
The Wisconsin Dept of Health and Family Services has convened as task group to assist with developing
guidance on what constitutes "direct and tangible interest" with respect to access to Wisconsin death
certificates. I have been appointed to the task group to represent genealogists. The purpose of this letter is
to solicit your input as leaders of genealogical societies, professional genealogists, and others.
The specific task at hand has to do with changes to the law pertaining to access to death certificates (see part
1 of this letter). One question remains for which no one, including DHFS, has a clear answer. That is what the
task group is dealing with. Let me state some facts, and then tell you where I need your help:
1. For deaths occurring BEFORE 1 January 2003 there is no change to current law which provides that anyone may
inspect the records, and that anyone can be provided with an uncertified copy of a death certificate. Moreover,
the entire certificate is available.
2. For deaths occurring ON and AFTER 1 January 2003, death certificates will have three parts: Part 1 - Facts of
Death, Part 2 - Extended Facts of Death, and Part 3 - Statistical Use only. Part 1 will be available to everyone,
just as all information on the current certificate is available. Part 3 will NOT be available to anyone. It is
ONLY Part 2 information that is in question.
3. Part 2 includes the cause of death and place of disposition (cemetery or crematory), as well as occupation and
information about injury, if an injury was involved in the cause of death.
4. Information in Part 2 WILL BE available to members of the decedent's immediate family, parents of the decedent
(unless parental rights have been terminated), legal custodians or guardians, and to representatives authorized
by any of these persons. Immediate family is considered, by DHFS to include spouse, child, brother, sister or grandparent.
5. In addition to those mentioned above, the law provides that access may be granted to any other person who "demonstrates
a direct and tangible interest when information is necessary for the determination or protection of a personal
or property right". The basic question to the task group is "what does this mean?"
The help I need is input as to under what circumstances, or what situations, not already provided for, might genealogists
need to have access to and/or get copies of death certificates that include Part 2. Please state as clearly as
you can the genealogical reason for needing the information, keeping in mind that 50 years after death, part 2,
along with part 1, is open to anyone.
If you have any answers or guidance that can help answer this question, please send your response directly to Jack Brissee, President of the Wisconsin State Genealogical
Society. His email address is: jbrissee@charter.net or via snail mail to:
529 Echo Valley Rd, Brooklyn, WI 53521.
DEADLINE: DECEMBER 31, 2002
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