How to Get Wisconsin Court Records
Gather the information you know about the case., Search on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website., Contact the clerk's office at the court where the case was heard., Make your records request., Wait to receive your records.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Gather the information you know about the case.
Before you begin your search, whether online or in person, write down all the information you have about the case you need to find.
At the very least, you need to know the name of one of the parties who participated in the case. -
Step 2: Search on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.
WCCA became available online in 1999, and has court dockets for all the county circuit courts in the state.The site's simple search allows you to retrieve summary information about a case even if you don't know a lot of information.
For example, if you are unsure whether the plaintiff's last name was "Huntley" or "Hunter," you can search for "Hunt*" and the wildcard will bring up all cases in which the plaintiff's name begins with "Hunt."WCCA does not have actual court records available online.
Rather, it provides the court's docket, which is a summary of events in the case and documents that were filed.Once you've found your case, print or write down the docket information, including the docket number and the names of the parties.
You'll need these to get the actual court records. , Searching the docket on WCCA tells you what documents were filed in a particular case and gives you the case number and other information.
Each county has a records center in the county courthouse where records are kept on site for approximately five years in most cases.
Older records are kept in a remote location and may take additional time to retrieve.In most cases you can contact the clerk's office by mail, fax, or email.
They may not take records requests by phone, but if you call the courthouse you can find out which method is preferred., You'll have to pay a fee of $1.25 per page for a copy of each document you've requested.
If you need certified copies, you'll have to pay an additional $5 fee per document.
If your fee total exceeds $5, you must pay in advance before the clerk's office will retrieve your records.
If you want the clerk's office to mail your copies, you also must pay postage., The time to process your request depends on the county and the volume of requests they have to fulfill, but you should have your copies within a couple of weeks.
For example, the Dane County clerk's office typically processes record requests within one to ten business days. -
Step 3: Contact the clerk's office at the court where the case was heard.
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Step 4: Make your records request.
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Step 5: Wait to receive your records.
Detailed Guide
Before you begin your search, whether online or in person, write down all the information you have about the case you need to find.
At the very least, you need to know the name of one of the parties who participated in the case.
WCCA became available online in 1999, and has court dockets for all the county circuit courts in the state.The site's simple search allows you to retrieve summary information about a case even if you don't know a lot of information.
For example, if you are unsure whether the plaintiff's last name was "Huntley" or "Hunter," you can search for "Hunt*" and the wildcard will bring up all cases in which the plaintiff's name begins with "Hunt."WCCA does not have actual court records available online.
Rather, it provides the court's docket, which is a summary of events in the case and documents that were filed.Once you've found your case, print or write down the docket information, including the docket number and the names of the parties.
You'll need these to get the actual court records. , Searching the docket on WCCA tells you what documents were filed in a particular case and gives you the case number and other information.
Each county has a records center in the county courthouse where records are kept on site for approximately five years in most cases.
Older records are kept in a remote location and may take additional time to retrieve.In most cases you can contact the clerk's office by mail, fax, or email.
They may not take records requests by phone, but if you call the courthouse you can find out which method is preferred., You'll have to pay a fee of $1.25 per page for a copy of each document you've requested.
If you need certified copies, you'll have to pay an additional $5 fee per document.
If your fee total exceeds $5, you must pay in advance before the clerk's office will retrieve your records.
If you want the clerk's office to mail your copies, you also must pay postage., The time to process your request depends on the county and the volume of requests they have to fulfill, but you should have your copies within a couple of weeks.
For example, the Dane County clerk's office typically processes record requests within one to ten business days.
About the Author
Richard Howard
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