The piezoelectric coefficient of high temperature piezoelectric ceramics, denoted as Bi(Me)O3‐PbTiO3, (Me = Fe, Sc, (Mg1/2Ti1/2)) was investigated as a function of temperature by using a custom‐designed test frame. Utilizing laser vibrometry, it was possible to assess the piezoelectric coefficient in situ in the range from room temperature to 500°C. The constraints on the sample geometry as they exist in the commonly used resonance/antiresonance technique such as those encountered during poling were circumvented by the use of the converse piezoelectric effect. Comparison with literature data revealed that the current method is a useful alternative for determining the depolarization temperature (T d), defined as the inflection point in a temperature‐dependent d 33 plot. Measured T d for each poled specimen was compared with that determined by dielectric permittivity as well as temperature‐dependent X‐ray diffraction data to understand a possible origin of T d. It was also shown that T d matches with the temperature where the dielectric anomaly initiates, and hence T d from the d 33 measurement is consistently lower than that from the dielectric permittivity measurement. It is proposed that this discrepancy in the position of T d is due to the fact that the depolarization occurs in two steps.