Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Prepared by: Amber Otis, Senior Staff Attorney April 1, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 172
[2023 Senate Bill 174]
Requiring Use of an Electronic
System When Medically
Certifying Cause of Death
BACKGROUND
State law requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to establish an Office of Vital Records and
appoint a state registrar who, among other duties, directs the system of vital records. DHS currently
uses an electronic system of vital records.
State law requires that a death record be filed by certain parties identified in statute, a function most
commonly fulfilled by a funeral director. The filing party must obtain certain factual information for the
death record and then, within 24 hours of being notified of a death, present the record to the
appropriate individual for completion of the medical certification, which is a portion of the death record
providing cause of death and other information. Depending on the circumstances of the death, the
medical certification may be completed and signed by a medical examiner, coroner, physician, or one of
various types of specified medical professionals with access to a decedent’s medical history.
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 172
Prior law required that the person completing and signing the medical certification return the death
record to the filing party either by mailing the death record within five days after the pronouncement of
death or presenting the death record within six days after the pronouncement of death.
2023 Wisconsin Act 172 requires any person who completes and signs a medical certification to use
DHS’s electronic system of vital records to complete and sign the medical certification as required
under current law. Relatedly, the act eliminates the option for individuals completing and signing the
medical certification to mail the death record to the filing party.
The act also requires DHS, within a reasonable time, to implement nationally recognized health
information exchange standards to ensure the interoperability of its electronic system of vital records
and other electronic health record software in support of workflows related to medical certifications for
death records.
Effective date: The act generally takes effect on March 1, 2026, except that the requirement that DHS
implement certain interoperability standards within a reasonable time took effect on March 24, 2024.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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