An Act to repeal 59.43 (1c) (j), 59.43 (1c) (L) to (s), 59.43 (1c) (v), 59.43 (2) (a), 59.43 (2) (ag) 2., 59.43 (2) (ar), 59.43 (2) (d) and (e), 59.43 (2) (k), 59.43 (2m) (a) 2., 59.43 (2m) (a) 4. a. to c., 59.43 (2m) (b) (intro.), 59.43 (2m) (d), 59.43 (4) (b), 59.43 (5) (title), 59.43 (5) (b) 4., 59.43 (9) (b) and (c), 59.43 (11), 59.43 (12) (d), 84.095 (1) (f) and 236.25 (5); to renumber 59.43 (2m) (b) 1., 59.43 (2m) (b) 2., 59.43 (2m) (b) 5., 59.43 (2m) (b) 6., 59.43 (2m) (b) 7., 59.43 (5) (b) 1. and 84.095 (1) (a); to renumber and amend 59.43 (2) (ag) 1., 59.43 (2) (c), 59.43 (2) (j), 59.43 (2m) (a) 4. (intro.), 59.43 (2m) (b) 3., 59.43 (2m) (b) 4., 59.43 (2m) (e), 59.43 (4) (a), 59.43 (4) (c), 59.43 (4) (d), 59.43 (5) (b) 3., 59.43 (6), 59.43 (9) (a) and 59.43 (9) (d); to consolidate, renumber and amend 59.43 (5) (a) and (b) (intro.); to amend 54.19 (8), 59.43 (1c) (intro.), 59.43 (1c) (a), 59.43 (1c) (c), 59.43 (1c) (d), 59.43 (1c) (e), 59.43 (1c) (f), 59.43 (1c) (h), 59.43 (1c) (i), 59.43 (1c) (k), 59.43 (1c) (t), 59.43 (1c) (u), 59.43 (1g), 59.43 (1m) (title), 59.43 (1m) (a), 59.43 (1m) (b), 59.43 (1m) (c), 59.43 (1m) (cm), 59.43 (2) (b), 59.43 (2) (h), 59.43 (2m) (title), 59.43 (2m) (a) (intro.), 59.43 (2m) (a) 1., 59.43 (2m) (a) 3., 59.43 (2m) (c), 59.43 (8), 59.43 (12) (title), 59.43 (12m) (a) (intro.), 59.43 (12m) (a) 1., 59.43 (12m) (a) 2., 59.43 (12m) (a) 3., 59.72 (5) (a), 59.72 (5) (b) (intro.), 59.72 (6), 66.1025 (2) (b), 69.07 (3), 77.02 (3) (b), 77.91 (5), 84.095 (1) (c), 84.095 (2) (title), 84.095 (2) (a), 84.095 (2) (b) 1., 84.095 (2) (b) 2., 84.095 (3) (a), 84.095 (3) (b), 84.095 (4) (a) (intro.), 84.095 (5), 84.095 (6) (a), 84.095 (7) (a), 84.095 (8) (a), 84.095 (8) (b), 84.095 (9), 132.04 (3), 185.82 (1) (c), 187.09, 226.14 (1) (b), 236.25 (2) (a), 236.25 (4), 236.34 (2) (a), 236.45 (2) (am) (intro.), 703.065 (2), 703.163 (11), 706.05 (1), 706.05 (2) (intro.), 706.05 (2) (c), 706.05 (2m) (a), 706.05 (5), 706.05 (6), 706.05 (7), 706.057 (4), 706.08 (2), 706.08 (4) (b), 706.08 (5), 706.08 (7), 710.25 (3), 710.25 (4), 710.25 (5) (a) (intro.), 710.25 (5) (a) 3., 710.25 (5) (a) 4., 710.25 (5) (b), 766.56 (2) (a), 766.58 (11), 766.59 (2) (c), 766.59 (4), 779.97 (1) (b), 779.97 (2) (title), 779.97 (2) (a), 779.97 (2) (b), 779.97 (2) (c) (intro.), 779.97 (2) (c) 4., 779.97 (3), 779.97 (4) (title), 779.97 (4) (a) (intro.), 779.97 (4) (a) 2., 779.97 (4) (c) 1., 779.97 (4) (c) 2., 779.97 (4) (e), 779.97 (8), 786.36 (2), 840.10 (1) (a), 841.10 (1), 842.14 (5), 867.045 (1) (j), 867.046 (2) (i), 893.305 (3) (a) and 946.82 (4); to repeal and recreate 59.43 (1b), 59.43 (1c) (g), 59.43 (2) (title), 59.43 (2m) (a) 5., 59.43 (3) (title) and 59.43 (9) (title); to create 59.43 (1c) (jm), 59.43 (2g) (title), 59.43 (2m) (a) 4m., 59.43 (2m) (a) 10., 59.43 (2m) (a) 11., 59.43 (2m) (a) 12., 59.43 (2m) (bm), 59.43 (2s), 59.43 (10) (title), 59.43 (13), 59.43 (14), 84.095 (1) (ae), 939.32 (1) (em), 946.77 and 971.368 of the statutes; Relating to: registers of deeds, transportation project plats, and providing a penalty. (FE)
Sponsored By: Elijah Behnke (Republican), Joan Fitzgerald (Democratic), Dean Kaufert (Republican), Karen Kirsch (Democratic), Daniel Knodl (Republican), Scott Krug (Republican), Vincent Miresse (Democratic), David Murphy (Republican), Jeffrey Mursau (Republican), Todd Novak (Republican), Jerry O'Connor (Republican), Jim Piwowarczyk (Republican), Lee Snodgrass (Democratic), Lisa Subeck (Democratic), Paul Tittl (Republican), Nancy VanderMeer (Republican), Chuck Wichgers (Republican)
Signed by Governor
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
21 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 7 costs, 6 mixed.
County offices must accept vital records
Registers of deeds must accept births, marriages, and deaths occurring in their county into the state vital record system. They must also accept domestic partnership terminations presented for filing.
Veterans can record military discharge certificates
Wisconsin registers of deeds must record discharge certificates for people who served in the U.S. armed forces.
Forest cropland recording fee authority removed
The law removes express authority to collect owner-paid recording fees for forest-cropland entries, transfers, or withdrawals. It does not specify a savings amount or require refunds of past fees.
Free alerts for new property recordings
Counties retaining money under Wisconsin Statutes section 77.24 must offer a property-recording alert system run by the register of deeds. Applicants can request monitoring for a specified person's properties or a specific property. The system must notify them when a new document is recorded against a monitored property. Counties cannot charge for monitoring.
Recording defects need not invalidate documents
An accepted document counts as recorded despite specified recording defects when it is properly indexed in the register's public index. Missing printed or typed names of grantors, grantees, witnesses, or notaries do not alone impair a recorded document's validity. Failure to identify the drafter also does not alone impair its validity or effect.
Trust filing certificates move to state
Covered trust declarations, or verified copies, must be recorded in the Wisconsin county containing the trust's principal office or business location. After receiving proof of recording, the Department of Financial Institutions must issue trustees a filing certificate. The register no longer sends a recording certificate to the department or receives a separate fee for it.
Stronger privacy protections for recorded personal information
Wisconsin registers of deeds generally cannot record documents containing a person's Social Security number. They may hide the number before recording or after finding it in a recorded document. Exceptions cover federal income tax liens, vital records under Wisconsin's vital records law, and military discharge or release certificates. A register that discovers the number only after recording is not liable for the document drafter's inclusion of it.
Property records get standardized tracking
Recording a document also counts as filing it with the register; registers must record eligible submissions unless law bars recording. Registers must record documents in received order and mark each with its recording date, hour, minute, and unique consecutive number. That mark serves as evidence of the recording time unless shown otherwise. Every recorded document must be indexed with its number, recording time and date, land description, and document name. County boards may also require a searchable tract index.
Court property filings need legal descriptions
Covered notices of property lawsuits and certain probate applications must include legal descriptions meeting the law's recording standards. The same requirement applies to adverse-possession and adverse-use claims. The description requirement does not itself change property ownership.
Guardians must record known property holdings
Guardians must record a sworn, notarized statement in each Wisconsin county where they actually know their ward owns real property. The statement must identify the property and the date the ward was determined incompetent. It must also include contact information for the guardian and any bond surety.
Prices for property record copies
Registers must provide recorded-document copies when the required fee is paid. Each document costs $2 for its first page and $1 for each additional page; certification adds $1. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is exempt from the copy fee. With county board approval, registers may offer noncertified property copies through contracts at flat or per-image rates. Those rates must cover labor, materials, and a reasonable allowance for equipment depreciation.
Recording fees and payment rules
Recording a covered document costs $30, with exceptions under Wisconsin Statutes section 59.43 (2) (f) and (h). Customers must pay in advance, but state agencies and customers with recording-service contracts may be invoiced. Registers must note the property transfer fee paid, or the exemption reason and legal reference. Transportation project plats are excluded from the $15 recording-fee share sent to the Department of Administration; this is not a stated customer discount.
Survey filings require signatures and seals
Registers cannot record covered survey documents without the responsible professional land surveyor's personal signature and seal. Exceptions cover specified attorney-prepared documents and specified chapter 77 orders and related materials. Covered certified survey maps must be recorded and stored electronically. Registers no longer need to number those maps consecutively.
Felony penalties for forged property filings
Knowingly submitting a forged property-transfer document to a register of deeds for recording is a Class I felony. An attempt carries the same penalty as the completed offense. These felonies also count as racketeering activity under Wisconsin law.
Limits on changing transportation property maps
Only the submitting entity may amend or cancel a transportation project order, resolution, or plat. Only the entity that prepared or submitted a plat may correct it through a recorded affidavit. Corrections cannot change required rights or interests or reshape parcels or property interests. Registers no longer must add amendment, cancellation, or correction notes to the original plats.
Federal lien records follow shared procedures
Wisconsin's federal-lien procedures cover recorded documents as well as filed documents. Recording officers must process and index covered lien notices, certificates, refilings, and related notices under those procedures. People can request certified copies, subject to the applicable fee.
Owners can release discriminatory property restrictions
Owners can release a discriminatory property restriction by recording a certification. It must include the full legal description and the title and document number of the instrument containing the restriction. Registers must link the certification to that earlier document and its number. Any applicable recording fee remains due.
Property document checks protect against fraud
Covered parcel documents, mortgage or land-contract changes, and subordination agreements need full legal descriptions, subject to the statutory description exception. References to earlier recorded documents must give document numbers; volume and page numbers are not required. Registers may refuse missing descriptions, references, correction markings, or required court certification; certain attached court papers are exempt from certification. Registers cannot reject substantial compliance when accurate recording, copying, and indexing remain possible. They also cannot record documents they reasonably believe are intended for fraud or another unlawful purpose.
Property filing rules and free covers
Documents need a clear title, readable images, party and notary names, and a blank 3-by-3-inch first-page recording space. Return information is required except for electronic recordings; parcel numbers are required only where the county requires them. Documents generally must name their drafter, except those executed before May 9, 1957, or executed or acknowledged outside Wisconsin. Registers may reject documents that fail substantial compliance, or return an entire identified transaction group when one document is rejectable. Registers must provide a free cover sheet on request for use as a document's first page.
Record access with possible device limits
Registers must permanently keep covered documents, books, images, and indexes. At the register's request, a county board may approve electronic copies and storage of originals at a safe, accessible county location. Registers must keep electronic copies accessible, allow examination of originals, and provide readable copies; certified copies may come from either source. Registers must deliver recorded documents to the submitter's authorized recipient when adequate postage is provided, unless their agreement says otherwise. Registers may also ban or limit electronic devices in areas under their control.
Transportation maps face certification and deadlines
Transportation project orders or resolutions may be submitted as plats with 1 to 4 sheets; only the first is a detail sheet. These plats must be recorded within 20 days after signing and do not themselves transfer title or encumber property. A licensed land surveyor must certify project accuracy and parcel identification, including for Department of Transportation plats. Registers must index the plats regardless of whether the county has an indexing ordinance. Within 3 working days after submission, registers must assign a document number and notify the submitting agency; written notice is not required.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsors
Elijah Behnke
Republican • House
Joan Fitzgerald
Democratic • House
Dean Kaufert
Republican • House
Karen Kirsch
Democratic • House
Daniel Knodl
Republican • House
Scott Krug
Republican • House
Vincent Miresse
Democratic • House
David Murphy
Republican • House
Jeffrey Mursau
Republican • House
Todd Novak
Republican • House
Jerry O'Connor
Republican • House
Jim Piwowarczyk
Republican • House
Lee Snodgrass
Democratic • House
Lisa Subeck
Democratic • House
Paul Tittl
Republican • House
Nancy VanderMeer
Republican • House
Chuck Wichgers
Republican • House
Cosponsors
Jesse James
Republican • Senate
Steve Nass
Republican • Senate
Sylvia Ortiz-Velez
Democratic • House
Lori Palmeri
Democratic • House
Jeff Smith
Democratic • Senate
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
Actions Timeline
Published 4-9-2026
4/9/2026HouseReport approved by the Governor on 4-8-2026. 2025 Wisconsin Act 234
4/9/2026HousePresented to the Governor on 4-2-2026
4/2/2026HouseReport correctly enrolled on 3-27-2026
3/27/2026HouseLRB correction (Assembly Substitute Amendment 1)
3/27/2026HouseReceived from Senate concurred in
3/18/2026HouseOrdered immediately messaged
3/17/2026SenateSenator Smith added as a cosponsor
3/17/2026SenateRead a third time and concurred in
3/17/2026SenateRules suspended to give bill its third reading
3/17/2026SenateOrdered to a third reading
3/17/2026SenateRead a second time
3/17/2026SenatePlaced on calendar 3-17-2026 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)
3/16/2026SenatePublic hearing requirement waived by committee on Senate Organization, pursuant to Senate Rule 18 (1m), Ayes 3, Noes 2
3/16/2026SenateAvailable for scheduling
3/2/2026SenateReport concurrence recommended by Committee on Transportation and Local Government, Ayes 5, Noes 0
3/2/2026SenateExecutive action taken
3/2/2026SenateRead first time and referred to committee on Transportation and Local Government
2/20/2026SenateReceived from Assembly
2/19/2026SenateOrdered immediately messaged
2/18/2026HouseRead a third time and passed
2/18/2026HouseRules suspended
2/18/2026HouseOrdered to a third reading
2/18/2026HouseAssembly Substitute Amendment 1 adopted
2/18/2026HouseRead a second time
2/18/2026House
Bill Text
Assembly Substitute Amendment 1
2/18/2026
Bill Text
Related Bills
AB913, An Act to create 71.05 (6) (b) 57. of the statutes; Relating to: subtraction for certain income of members of the National Guard and Reserves. (FE)
AB80, An Act to renumber 457.25 (1); to amend 46.90 (4) (ab) 4., 48.56 (2), 48.561 (2), 49.45 (30j) (a) 1., 51.03 (6) (a), 55.043 (1m) (a) 4., 146.81 (1) (hg), 146.89 (1) (r) 6., 146.89 (1) (r) 7., 146.997 (1) (d) 11., 252.14 (1) (ar) 7., 252.15 (1) (er), 253.10 (2) (f), 303.08 (1) (f), 440.03 (13) (b) (intro.), 440.15, 446.01 (1v) (m), 450.10 (3) (a) 10., 457.01 (1c), 457.01 (1r), 457.01 (10), 457.02 (5) and (5m), 457.03 (2), 457.033, 457.035 (2), 457.04 (1), 457.04 (2), 457.04 (4), 457.04 (7), 457.09 (4) (b) 1., 457.09 (4) (b) 2., 457.24 (1), 457.26 (2) (intro.) and 905.04 (1) (g); to repeal and recreate 632.89 (1) (dm); to create 14.898, 440.03 (11m) (c) 2v., 440.03 (13) (c) 1. id., 457.01 (5g), 457.01 (5j), 457.01 (12), 457.08 (4m), 457.25 (1g) and subchapter III of chapter 457 [precedes 457.70] of the statutes; Relating to: ratification of the Social Work Licensure Compact. (FE)
SB45, An Act; Relating to: state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 2025 legislature. (FE)
AB1034, An Act to amend 20.285 (1) (gj); to create 20.285 (1) (cj), 20.285 (1) (ck), 20.285 (1) (cL) and 36.11 (12) of the statutes; Relating to: name, image, and likeness rights for University of Wisconsin System student athletes; maintenance costs for University of Wisconsin–Madison intercollegiate athletic facilities; and making an appropriation. (FE)
AB650, An Act to amend 20.445 (1) (aL) of the statutes; Relating to: funding for identity verification under the unemployment insurance law and making an appropriation. (FE)
AB969, An Act to repeal 255.056 (7); to renumber and amend 255.056 (3) (c) and 255.056 (3) (d); to amend 255.056 (1) (bg), 255.056 (1) (br), 255.056 (1) (e), 255.056 (2), 255.056 (2m) (intro.), 255.056 (2m) (b), 255.056 (3) (intro.), (a) and (b), 255.056 (4), 255.056 (5), 255.056 (6) (b) and 255.056 (6) (c); to repeal and recreate 255.056 (1) (d) and 255.056 (1) (f); to create 255.056 (1) (bd), 255.056 (1) (bm), 255.056 (1) (br), 255.056 (1) (gc) and (gm), 255.056 (1) (m), 255.056 (2g) (b), 255.056 (2h) (b) and (c), 255.056 (3) (bm), 255.056 (3m) and 255.056 (8) to (20) of the statutes; Relating to: the drug repository program.