Wisconsin Circuit Court Access

The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) website provides access to certain public records of the Wisconsin Circuit Courts. It was designed and made available to the public in accord with Wisconsin’s Open Records Law and public policy toward providing greater public access to government activities.

The public policy of Wisconsin state government is that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and its official acts. Wis. Statute 19.31. Circuit court records are open for public inspection, Wis. Stats. 59.20(3), unless closed by a statute, a common law limitation, or a specific court order.

The Director of State Courts, acting on recommendations by the WCCA Oversight Committee, determined that the following cases will be removed from WCCA 2 years after the final order:

• Dismissed Small Claims (SC) cases
• Dismissed Criminal cases, both Felony (CF) and Misdemeanor (CM)
• Acquitted Criminal cases, both Felony (CF) and Misdemeanor (CM)
• Injunctions under Wis. Stat. Chapter 813 for domestic abuse, child abuse, individual at risk, or harassment which result in a dismissal or denial.

Please note that a case removed from WCCA is still retained in the clerk’s office for the full case retention period (see FAQ 3a) and may be viewed there, upon request, by the public.

Please also note that any Criminal case (CF) or (CM) that has one or more charges “dismissed but read in” will NOT be removed from WCCA until the full case retention period (see FAQ 3a) has expired unless a court orders that each charge that had been dismissed but read in be dismissed outright. Questions regarding a specific case with one or more dismissed but read in charges may be directed to the clerk of circuit court for the county that retains the record.

Additionally, as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, criminal charge modifiers, which change the severity of an underlying criminal charge, are more clearly displayed in the case summary. A criminal charge modifier may potentially increase the penalty for the underlying crime (if, for example, the person used certain dangerous weapons or is determined to be a repeat offender) or may potentially decrease the penalty for the underlying crime (if, for example, the person is found to have attempted, but not completed, the underlying crime).

You can find the entire WCCA Oversight Committee Report and the Director of State Courts’ Action Plan at https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/committees/docs/wccaactionplan2017.pdf

Monday April 5th, 1999.

A converted case is a case that existed in the county's case management system prior to using the circuit court case management system. Some cases were converted onto the circuit court case management system. Some converted and historical cases do not contain complete information. To view complete information on these cases, visit the Clerks of Court’s offices in the county where the case took place.

The information that displays on WCCA varies based on when the case was added. We display 'Finding Notes', 'Sentence Notes', the 'Miscellaneous Condition Notes', and court record 'Additional Text' for all cases filed after July 1, 2001. In addition, if the individual finding, sentence, or Court Record Event was added after July 1, 2001, the text will display on WCCA. Finally, we display 'Probation Notes' and probation 'Time Conditions Notes' on WCCA for cases with guilty findings beginning on April 1, 2003

Effective July 1, 2021, Supreme Court Rule – Chapter 72 was amended to change the minimum retention periods of certain case types, including:

• Divorce, legal separation, and paternity cases are now retained for 40 years after entry of final judgment or order, instead of 30 years. Dismissed divorce, legal separation, and paternity cases are retained for 2 years instead of 5 years.
• Forfeiture, misdemeanor, and felony cases are now retained based on how cases are disposed of instead of how the cases are commenced/filed.

Unless a case type is confidential under state law, it will generally appear on WCCA. Therefore, criminal cases, civil cases including evictions, traffic cases, family law cases, and most other case types (see FAQ 2k for a description of case types) will appear on WCCA.

There are several reasons why a case may not be available on WCCA:

• Some older cases were not included when the circuit court in a county automated its records. How far back WCCA records go differs by county. See when counties began using the circuit court case management system here.
• Case types such as adoptions, mental commitments, and juvenile cases are confidential by law and so are not shown on WCCA.
• A judge may order certain criminal cases to be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if the convicted offender is under 25. An expunged case will not be displayed on WCCA; see FAQ 2i for more information on expunged cases.
• A judge may order a particular case sealed, or shielded from public view, if circumstances warrant sealing.
• A case may have been dismissed, and is displayed on WCCA for a shorter period of time than the record is kept; see FAQ 3a for information on periods of display.

Federal law prohibits internet access to petitioner name and address information in these cases. 18 USC sec. 2265(d)(3). Wisconsin Statute 813.12(5m) also prohibits the court from disclosing the petitioner's address.

For non-criminal cases, we display only the birth month and year–we do not display the full date of birth. For criminal felony, criminal traffic, and criminal misdemeanor cases, we display the full date of birth.

Bankruptcy cases are handled by the federal courts, not the circuit courts, and are therefore not available on WCCA.

While juvenile criminal cases are generally confidential, licensed drivers ages 16 or older are treated as adults for non-criminal traffic violations.

Yes. Once a case is filed with the court, it will display on WCCA, even if the case was settled or dismissed. However, certain dismissed cases will display for a shorter period of time; see FAQ 3a for more information on periods of display.

There might be. The WCCA website does not necessarily display all the information in a case file that may be public record. Most cases have documents that may or may not be referenced in the court record events. These documents are available for view in the offices of the official recordkeepers.

No. Even under the limited circumstances described above, expungement only affects the court's record. The Wisconsin Crime Information Bureau also keeps criminal records. The case may still exist in the records of the District Attorney, other law enforcement records, the Department of Transportation, and other places. The court has no authority to require removal of those records.

See the Wisconsin Criminal Information Bureau for more information.

In general, WCCA displays to the public the historical record of each case that is publicly viewable in the clerk of court's office. As a historical record, it shows what has happened in every case filed. If a case is dismissed, or a person is found "not guilty" in a criminal case, that is part of the historical record and is disclosed in the records. However, generally a case that is dismissed or that results in an acquittal is not generally displayed on WCCA for as long as those cases that are not dismissed or that result in a criminal conviction, even though the case file still exists in the clerks of court's offices. See FAQ 1c for information on dismissed/acquittal cases and FAQ 3a for case retention and display information.

You may see the following case types abbreviated in WCCA. Please note that some of these are no longer in use:

• CF - Felony - a crime punishable by imprisonment in the Wisconsin state prisons and / or a fine
• CI - Commitment of an inmate - a case with a petition alleging that a person is a sexually violent person
• CL - Construction lien - a claim on property for non-payment of work that improved the property
• CM - Misdemeanor - a crime punishable by a fine and / or confinement in a local jail, but not by imprisonment in the Wisconsin state prisons
• CO - Condominium lien - a claim on a condominium unit for the owner's non-payment of assessments for common expenses
• CT - Criminal traffic - a misdemeanor offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle
• CV - Civil - typically, lawsuits seeking claims in excess of $10,000, but also such actions as restraining orders, appeals from municipal court and administrative agency decisions, name changes, etc.
• CX - Complex forfeiture - A forfeiture action that requires access to the rules of civil procedure and which is punishable by a forfeiture of money.
• FA - Family - divorce, legal separation, annulment, custody, child support, maintenance, property division, or the enforcement or modification of an order affecting the family
• FJ - Foreign judgment - a judgment or order of a court from a different state, a federal court outside Wisconsin, a municipal court of another county, or a tribal court; treated as if ordered by a Wisconsin circuit court.
• FO - Non traffic ordinance violation - a violation, unrelated to the operation of a motor vehicle, punishable by the forfeiture of money
• HL - Hospital lien - a claim by a hospital for non-payment of services provided to an injured person. The claim is on a judgment, award, settlement, etc. that the injured person may have against the person responsible for the injury.
• HT - Habitual traffic - No longer available for use. A petition claiming a person is not the person identified by DOT as a habitual traffic offender is now filed as a CV case.
• IN - Informal probate - a typical probate matter in which no issues are contested and a deceased person's estate is administratively handled by the probate registrar instead of by the court
• IP - Incarcerated person - a case with a petition submitted by a prisoner who wants to begin an action without prepaying court costs and fees
• JD - John Doe - a proceeding under WI Stats. 968.26 to determine whether a crime has been committed. For clerical convenience, this case type also includes the filing of complaints under WI Stats. 968.02(3) and coroners' inquests under WI Stats. 979.04.
• JJ - Juvenile judgment - a judgment against a juvenile for unpaid debt, typically restitution
• JT - Joint tenancy - No longer available for use. A statement filed with the Register in Probate that results in the termination of a decedent's interest in joint property is filed as a PR case.
• ML - Mechanics lien - No longer available for use. A mechanics lien is not required to be filed with the clerk of circuit court.
• OL - Other lien - claims not specifically identified by the other lien case types and include such claims as environmental liens, mining liens, quarry labor liens, etc.
• PA - Paternity - Post judgment actions in paternity cases, such as support and custody. Pre judgment information concerning the determination of paternity is confidential and is not available to the public.
• PR - Probate - formal probate (in which issues are contested and a deceased person's estate is supervised by the court) and such other probate-related actions as the summary settlement of small estates, the termination of joint tenancy, etc.
• SC - Small claims - lawsuits seeking claims of $10,000 or less, evictions, evictions due to foreclosure, replevins (return of property), return of earnest money, forfeitures, arbitration awards, and third-party complaints, personal injury claims, or tort claims of $5,000 or less.
• TC - Tribal court order - a judgment, decision, or order of an Indian tribal court in Wisconsin that is treated as if it had been issued by a Wisconsin state court
• TJ - Transcript of judgment - a judgment or order from another Wisconsin circuit court, a Wisconsin appellate court, a federal court in Wisconsin, or a municipal court in that county; treated as if ordered by the circuit court in the county where it's filed.
• TR - Traffic forfeiture - a violation, related to the operation of a motor vehicle, punishable by the forfeiture of money
• TW - Tax warrant - a warrant issued by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for failure to pay income or franchise tax when due. This warrant has the same effect as a judgment granted by the court.
• UC - Unemployment compensation - a warrant issued by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development for an employer's failure to pay contributions, interest, or fees. This warrant has the same effect as a judgment granted by a court.
• WC - Workers compensation - an award issued by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. This award has the same effect as a judgment granted by a court
• WL - Will filed - a will filed with the court for safekeeping during a person's lifetime

Generally, case information is displayed on WCCA for the minimum retention period for the case type as set by Supreme Court Rule - Chapter 72. However, beginning at the end of the first quarter of 2018, there is a shorter display period for criminal cases where all charges are dismissed or the person charged was acquitted, for injunction petitions that are denied or dismissed, and for small claims cases that are dismissed.

Additionally, cases remain displayed so long as there are active warrants, active appeals, or money still owed on the cases. Contact the clerk of circuit court’s office in the county where the case was filed for complete case information for those cases that no longer display on WCCA. Case types that are confidential do not appear on this list.

Cases remain displayed as follows:

Civil cases (CV) not small claims

20 years, with the following exception:

• Injunctions under Chapter 813, Wis. Stats., for domestic abuse, child abuse, individual at risk, and harassment that are denied or dismissed, are displayed for 2 years.

Commitment of an inmate cases (CI)

75 years

Complex forfeiture cases (CX)

20 years

Condominium lien (CO)

7 years after the date of filing with the clerk of circuit court.

Construction lien (CL)

6 years after the date of filing the lien claim with the clerk of circuit court.

Criminal traffic cases (CT)

20 years, with the following exception:

• Criminal traffic cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Criminal felony and misdemeanor cases (CF and CM)

Criminal cases are retained based on how they are disposed of (and not how they are filed/commenced), for the following periods:

• Class A felonies – 75 years
• Class B – I felonies – 50 years
• Misdemeanors – 20 years
• Criminal cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Docketed judgments

20 years

Family cases (FA)

40 years, with the following exception:

• Dismissed divorce and annulment/legal separation cases are retained for 2 years.

Foreign judgment cases (FJ)

20 years

Forfeiture cases (FO and TR)

Forfeiture cases are retained based on how they are disposed of (and not how they are filed/commenced), for the following periods:

• Traffic violations (TR) – 5 years
• Ordinance violations (FO) – 5 years
• Forfeiture cases with a disposition of acquittal or a disposition of dismissed, including dismissals resulting from deferred agreements, are displayed for 2 years.

Incarcerated person cases (IP)

5 years

John Doe cases

75 years (JD, with class code 34001) for proceedings under §968.26, Wis. Stats.

Other lien (OL) and Hospital lien (HL)

30 years after the date of filing the lien claim with the clerk of court.

Paternity post judgment actions (PA)

40 years, with the following exception:

• Dismissed paternity cases are retained for 2 years.

Probate and informal probate cases (PR and IN)

75 years

Proceedings commenced under §968.02(3)

75 years (JD, with class code 34003)

Small Claims Cases (SC)

20 years, with the following exceptions:

• Dismissed small claims cases, including stipulated dismissals, are displayed for 2 years after the final order.

Tax warrants (TW)

20 years, with the following exceptions:

• Filed before 7/31/1981 - 10 years.
• Filed from 7/31/1981 - 4/30/2004 – Permanent retention.
• Filed after 4/30/2004: 20 years, but can be renewed for an additional 20 years.

Transcript of judgment cases (TJ)

20 years

Tribal court order cases (TC)

20 years

Unemployment compensation cases (UC)

20 years

Workers compensation cases (WC)

20 years

Will filed cases (WL)

100 years

If a criminal complaint, traffic citation, or ordinance violation was issued in error due to mistaken identity or identity theft, you can petition the court to remove your name from the online record of that action by completing a Petition and Affidavit Concerning Sealing Defendant's Name from Court Records Because of Identity Theft or Mistaken Identity (GF-182A).

If you wish to file this form, you should also consider filing a Certification by Prosecuting Agency Verifying Identity Theft or Mistaken Identity (GF-185). The Certification by Prosecuting Agency is a statement from the prosecuting agency agreeing that you were not the person who committed the offense. You are not required to submit the Certification, but it is strongly recommended that you ask the prosecuting agency to complete a Certification before filing your Petition with the court. If the prosecuting agency does not agree with you that you were not the person who committed the offense, you may have difficulty convincing the court that your Petition should be granted.

Once you have completed the Petition form, take it to the clerk of circuit courts office in the county where the case was filed. If the prosecuting agency has completed the Certification, file that with the Petition. The judge will review your Petition.

If your Petition is granted, your name will be concealed on the online (circuit court case management/WCCA) record of the case, but the case number and case information will still be viewable. No change will be made to the paper case file, which will continue to be kept in the clerk of circuit courts office. If you want information sealed in the paper file, you must make a general motion to the court to seal information in the paper court record.

To correct an error or update a record, you must contact the court official in the county responsible for the case, usually the clerk of circuit court or circuit court judge.

Click here for the ERROR CORRECTION REQUEST FORM.

If you are a party in the case you may request that the record be corrected. If you are represented by an attorney, your lawyer should request the correction. If you are not a party in the case, you may ask to have the record corrected if you can show that you have a relationship to the case. Make all error correction requests in the county responsible for the case.

The clerk may be able to correct some information, such as:

• Typographical errors/misspellings
• Inconsistent information
• Action taken, but not shown on the court record
• Papers filed, but not recorded
• Errors or omissions in your personal information

Changing certain information requires formal court action, such as:

• Sentencing information
• Court activity information
• Satisfying judgments

PLEASE NOTE: Disagreements over the validity of an action or its outcome are not errors and will not result in changes being made.

Requested corrections should be made in writing and copied to the other parties in the case.

Contact the clerk of circuit court office in the county where the case was filed for additional information about any cases, judgments, or calendar activities on WCCA. See clerk of circuit court contact information.

Click here for a glossary of terms commonly used in Wisconsin courts, provided by the Wisconsin News Reporters Handbook. If you have questions about a definition not listed, you may contact the clerks of court’s offices for clarification.

You can find a list of some of the most common abbreviations and acronyms used in court files here. If you have questions about an abbreviation not listed, you may contact the clerks of court’s offices for clarification.

At the Revisor of State Statutes website.

The Docketed civil judgment search is a public record of amounts owed by one individual or entity to another because of a judgment entered in a court action. If an individual or entity is ordered by the court to pay an amount to another, the individual or entity who is owed the money may have that judgment docketed (or listed) on a judgment and lien docket. That judgment and lien docket is searched by using the Docketed civil judgment search.

Each judgment that has been docketed acts as a lien, or a “hold,” against the real estate owned by the debtor in that county until the judgment is paid in full, or after 10 years, whichever occurs first. After the first 10 years, the individual or entity who is owed the money may request that the judgment be re-docketed, and the judgment lien will then extend for another 10 years or until the judgment is paid in full or expires, whichever occurs first.

The Docketed civil judgment search displays judgments that have been docketed. Some of these judgments have a lien that is currently active, while the liens for other judgments have expired.

The Lien search displays only active, unexpired liens. It contains judgment liens and also liens from other sources that are filed with the court, such as construction liens, hospital liens, public assistance liens, delinquent tax warrants, etc. If a lien has been satisfied or if it has expired, it will not display in the Lien search results. The Lien search is intended to be used by abstractors.

A judgment expires 20 years after it is entered.

Liens expire at different times depending on the type of lien. For example, liens created from judgments expire 10 years after they are initially docketed, or a total of 20 years if they are re-docketed. However, shorter lien expiration dates apply to liens such as construction liens and condominium liens. And longer lien expiration dates apply to public assistance liens, delinquent tax warrants, and hospital liens.

If a lien has been satisfied, a lien expiration date will not appear on either the Docketed civil judgment search or the Lien search.

A “judgment party” is a party in a case that resulted in a judgment being entered by the court. The status of a judgment party always displays as active, unless there is an assigned creditor on the case. If there is an assigned creditor, the assigned creditor is active and the original creditor is inactivated. The active status has nothing to do with the satisfaction of a judgment.

When you see 'Click Here' instead of a case number, the docketed civil judgment is on a confidential case. No case information will be displayed. See FAQ 2b for information about why a case may be confidential.

You probably can't get rid of this information. Wisconsin has a strong open records law [Wis. Stats. 19.31-19.39] that requires most court records to be open. See FAQ 1b for information about Wisconsin’s Open Records Law. Personal information appearing in court records is protected by statutes only in limited circumstances. According to Wisconsin court cases, even if the information may be harmful to an individual's reputation or privacy, that is not necessarily enough to allow a judge to seal a court record. However, if you feel your safety is at risk, you can petition the court to remove your address from the online record of a non-criminal case. See FAQ 7c for more information on this.

Criminal cases are generally public information (see FAQ sections 1 and 2). Wisconsin law allows a judge to "expunge," that is, hide from general view, a case in a limited number of situations:

• Certain crimes committed by a person under 25. At sentencing, the judge may order that the record of the case be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence, for misdemeanors and certain H & I felonies. Upon successful completion, the clerk will expunge the record. See §973.015, Wis. Stats.
• Victims of human trafficking. If a person commits a criminal sex act as a victim of human trafficking, the criminal case may be expunged. See §973.015(2), Wis. Stats.
• Adjudication of a juvenile delinquent. A juvenile who has been adjudged delinquent can, upon reaching age 17, petition the judge to expunge the juvenile adjudication. See §938.355, Wis. Stats. WCCA does not display juvenile adjudications because juvenile cases are not open to the public.

A judge has no other authority or power to expunge cases, and there are no similar provisions for other types of cases. An expunged case is sealed by the clerk of court and may be viewed only with a court order. Any reference to it will be removed from WCCA.

In a non-criminal case, if having your address displayed on WCCA poses a threat to your safety, you may petition the court to remove address information from the online record. In order for the address to be removed, you must show the court that there is a demonstrated potential of physical or bodily harm or a threat of harm to you, a family member or a member of your household at that address.

If you would like to petition the court to remove your address from WCCA, complete a Petition, Affidavit and Order Concerning Removal of Address Information from Online Records (GF-183). You must submit a separate Petition for each case number in which you wish to have the address removed.

Once you have completed the Petition, take it to the clerk of circuit courts office in the county where the case was filed. A judge will review your Petition. If your Petition is granted, the address information will be removed from the online (circuit court case management/WCCA) case record. This Petition will not remove the address from the paper file. If you would like your address sealed in the paper file, you must make a general motion to the court to seal your address in the paper court record.

Yes. You can pay for circuit court fees by visiting our payment page.

WCCA does not maintain a list of court records databases for other states or jurisdictions. The State Law Library provides links to other court records and public records databases.

WCCA is not responsible for court case information that is published on other websites. Any business or website offering to remove court case information for payment is not connected to WCCA or to any circuit court. Wisconsin circuit courts do not accept payment to remove court case information from the website. Payment to another organization will not cause court case information to be removed from the WCCA website.