WHAT WE DO
James Behrend, the Register of Deeds, is elected to a four year term and employs a staff of 17. The Register of Deeds Office provides a depository for safekeeping and public inspection of many legal documents pertaining to real estate and vital records.
REAL ESTATE RECORDS
The Register of Deeds Office handles the recording and filing of deeds, mortgages, land contracts, articles of incorporation, real estate transactions, subdivision plats, certified survey maps, condominium declarations, etc.
How Do I Get a Copy of a Real Estate Document?
We have three options available to obtain real estate document copies for property located in Waukesha County. Before choosing the option that works best for you, please review the following guidelines carefully:
You must provide the specific recording data necessary to process your request (ie: Document Number, Volume/Page, Reel/Image). Requests for the most recent deed, or all liens on a property will not be fulfilled.
We DO NOT perform title searches to find the recording data, that is your responsibility
Refer to the fee schedule below to determine copy costs
| Option One – In Person | Option Two – By Mail | Option Three – Online |
| Request copies in person at the Register of Deeds Real Estate Service Desk between 8 am and 4:30 pm Monday – Friday. Please arrive no later than 4 pm. Purchases may be made by cash or check only. Register of Deeds staff will not perform title searches or real estate research. | Request copies by mail. You must provide the recording information (document number, volume/page, reel/image) along with the proper fee and a self-addressed stamped business size envelope. Please include a current phone number with your request in case we have questions.
| Search, view and purchase copies of documents on our Public Access Website. There is no fee to search or view documents. A guide to help you search for documents is located on our website by clicking here. Our online database contains all maps and plats and documents recorded on or after January 1, 1994. You will need to use Internet Explorer to view documents online. |
NOTE: The Register of Deeds will not fulfill document copy requests made via e-mail or telephone.
Fee Schedule for Real Estate Copies:
Real Estate Documents: $2.00 for the first page of each document, $1.00 for each additional page
Certified copies are an additional $1.00 per copy
The Register of Deeds Office is charged with the duty of being an unbiased, independent custodian of records relating to real estate. As such, the only area we can assist you in is general process questions. We cannot assist you in the drafting of documents. Although several legal documents have been developed into “fill-in-the-blank” style forms and appear to be very easily completed, it is the answers to those fill-in-the-blank questions that are critically important. Those answers can vary widely from person to person. Determining the correct answer for your situation constitutes “legal advice” and none of our staff is licensed to practice real estate law. Even if we were, our role as custodian of the records would still prevent us from assisting in the creation of the records.
The Register of Deeds office is not authorized to render opinions regarding the status of title. Professional title examiners use the records in our office as well as searching records in other county offices to determine if the title is free and clear of encumbrances.
Public Access Online Document Search [NOTE]: Pursuant to a local ordinance, our real estate records are not searchable by name.
* For General questions, please try the Wisconsin Register of Deeds association at http://wrdaonline.org/
* For questions or issues regarding Fee-based online document access, please email registerofdeeds@waukeshacounty.gov and include "Document Access" in the subject header.
Important: You must save the document you purchased to your computer in order to have it for future use. Do not attempt to print the document before saving it to your computer. Please read our Public Access Guide for help using the public search function.
VITAL RECORDS
Vital Records include birth, marriage, death, divorce, and domestic partnership records for events that took place in Waukesha County.
As of January 3, 2017, we are able to issue vital records from all Wisconsin counties for the following:
Birth Certificates - from 10/1/1907 to present
Death Certificates - from 9/1/2013 to present
Marriage Certificates - from 6/2/2015 to present
Divorce Certificates - from 1/1/2016 to present (Divorce applications for divorces occurring prior to 1/1/2016 must be requested from the Wisconsin State Vital Records Office in Madison)
Tribal Marriage or Divorce - 1/1/2016 to present
If your event happened in a different county, and does not fall under these dates, please contact that county, or the Wisconsin State Vital Records office at (608)-266-1371.
***FOR IN-PERSON APPLICANTS: Please note that it may take 20-30 minutes to process your application. Applications are not processed after 4:00pm Monday-Friday***
Recently Married? You will need to purchase a marriage certificate in order to change your name with the social security office and the DMV. The marriage certificate application link is below. The marriage certificate does not change your name - you must go to the social security office and DMV to complete your name change. Please allow at least 2 full weeks after your marriage ceremony for your marriage certificate to be available for purchase.
Fee Schedule for Vital Records:
$20.00 for the first copy (of each record)
$3.00 for each additional copy
There are 2 ways to obtain Vital Records:
- Visit our office located at: 515 W. Moreland Blvd., Waukesha. To expedite your order, you can print out and complete an application form (below) and bring it with you to our office. You will be required to provide current, valid identification before obtaining a vital record. We accept only cash or checks - no credit cards. In order to obtain a certified copy of a vital record, the applicant must be one of the following:
- The person named on the record.
- The parent of the person named on the record
- The legal custodian or guardian of the person named in the record
- A member of the immediate family (spouse, child, brother, sister or grandparent)
- An agent representing the person named in the record.
- Complete the application form (below) and mail it to our office with a copy of your current, valid ID and the appropriate fee.
Acceptable forms of payment are Cash or Check made payable to "Register of Deeds." Any questions pertaining to a specific Birth, Death, Marriage or Declaration of Domestic Partnership record that is on file with our office, please call (262) 548-7583.
To apply for a marriage license, please visit the website of the County Clerk's office
Uniform Commercial Code
Only UCC financing statements that affect real estate are filed in the Register of Deeds Office.
Federal Tax Lien
A federal tax lien notifies the public that a federal tax lien exists against the debtor named on the notice and establishes the federal government's priority with respect to a majority of competing creditors.
Military Discharges
The Waukesha County Register of Deeds office also records Military discharges. In order to get a copy of your discharge, first contact the Veterans Services Department at (262) 548-7732 to have your recording information sent to us. Copies of Military Discharges are provided to veterans free of charge.