| Statewide case search | Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) |
|---|---|
| Criminal history check | Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS) |
| Appellate opinions | Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access (WSCCA) |
| Federal cases | PACER (2 districts) |
| Plain copy fee | $1.25 per page (Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a)) |
| Certified copy fee | $1.25 per page plus a $5.00 certification fee per document (Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a) and § 814.61(5)(am)) |
| Who keeps trial records | Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals; Clerk of Circuit Court of the county (probate and related matters held by the Register in Probate) |
Wisconsin's trial-court records stay with the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where the case was filed. Every one of the state's 72 counties has one circuit court and one elected clerk, and that clerk's office keeps the felony, civil, family, small-claims, and traffic files for that county. A separate office in the same courthouse, the Register in Probate, keeps probate, guardianship, mental commitment, and juvenile files, though the clerk of circuit court's staff often runs both offices day to day.
Unlike most large states, Wisconsin has one statewide case-lookup tool that actually covers nearly every county: Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA), built on the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) database. It is free, requires no login, and shows case summaries, party names, and docket entries for circuit and municipal court cases statewide. It does not show every document, and some case types (juvenile delinquency, most family case details, and anything sealed or expunged) are excluded by statute. For a certified copy or a document that is not online, you still contact the clerk of the county where the case was filed.
The most common mistake is treating WCCA as a criminal-background check. WCCA shows court case activity, including cases that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal, which is not the same as a certified criminal history. For that, the Wisconsin Department of Justice runs the separate Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS), a name-based, fee-based search of the state's Crime Information Bureau database.
How Wisconsin courts are organized
Which court heard a case decides who keeps the file. Use this table to pick the right clerk before you search, and see the guides to criminal, civil, family, and probate records for what each court's file contains.
| Court | Handles | Who holds the records |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Seven justices elected statewide to 10-year terms; the court accepts only a fraction of the petitions it receives each year. |
| Court of Appeals |
| Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Sixteen judges sitting in four geographic districts; which district hears an appeal depends on the county where the case was tried. |
| Circuit Courts |
| Clerk of Circuit Court of the county (probate and related matters held by the Register in Probate) One trial court per county, organized into 69 circuits; larger counties have multiple branches and specialized divisions but a single clerk's office. |
| Municipal Courts |
| Municipal court clerk for that city or village Roughly 230 municipal courts statewide; each keeps its own records and most, but not all, report case data to WCCA. |
Search Wisconsin court records online
Statewide case search
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA)
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Case summaries, party names, and docket entries for circuit court cases in all 72 counties and for participating municipal courts
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic
Shows case activity, not certified records. Juvenile delinquency cases, most sealed or expunged records, and some case details are excluded by statute. Not a substitute for a DOJ criminal history check.
Criminal history (convictions)
Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS)
- Cost
- Fee charged per name search, paid online by card; exact current amount is set by the Department of Justice and shown before you confirm the order
- Coverage
- Adult criminal history (arrests, prosecutions, court dispositions, and sentences) reported to the DOJ Crime Information Bureau by Wisconsin law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts
- Records
- Criminal
Run by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Information Bureau. You can submit a search without registering an account, but you must save the order reference number to retrieve results later. Some products, such as a Police Certificate, require a mailed form instead.
Appellate courts
Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access (WSCCA)
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Case information for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases open since late 1993, plus electronically filed briefs from July 2009 forward
- Records
- Appeals
Search by case number, party name, or attorney. Data mirrors the appellate clerk's own case-management system in real time outside of scheduled maintenance.
Federal court records in Wisconsin
Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. Wisconsin has 2 federal judicial districts.
| District | Main courthouse | Court website |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern District of Wisconsin | Milwaukee | www.wied.uscourts.gov |
| Western District of Wisconsin | Madison | www.wiwd.uscourts.gov |
Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.
Wisconsin county court records
Trial-court records are kept by the clerk in the county where the case was filed. These are the largest counties in Wisconsin; each guide covers the clerk of circuit court and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.
- Milwaukee County court records County seat: Milwaukee Online search Free
- Dane County court records County seat: Madison Online search Free
- Waukesha County court records County seat: Waukesha Online search Free
- Brown County court records County seat: Green Bay Online search Free
- Racine County court records County seat: Racine Online search Free Verifying
- Outagamie County court records County seat: Appleton Online search Free
- Winnebago County court records County seat: Oshkosh Online search Free
- Kenosha County court records County seat: Kenosha Online search Free
- Rock County court records County seat: Janesville Online search Free Verifying
- Marathon County court records County seat: Wausau Online search Free Verifying
Request records in person or by mail
Online. Start with WCCA to confirm the case number, the court branch, and whether the case is still open. WCCA does not provide certified copies or every filed document, so treat it as a finding aid, not the record itself.
In person. Go to the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where the case was filed (or the Register in Probate for a probate, guardianship, or mental-commitment file). Bring the case number if you have it; if not, bring the party names and an approximate filing year. Most clerks have a public terminal for searching the index at no charge, and copies are paid at the counter.
By mail. Write to the clerk (or register in probate) with the case number or party names and filing year, exactly which document you need, whether you need a plain or certified copy, and a check or money order for the fee. Calling ahead to confirm the current per-page fee avoids a returned request.
Records older than the online index. WCCA's coverage goes back to when each county joined the CCAP system between 1992 and 2008; older paper files are archived at the courthouse or with the Wisconsin Historical Society's Area Research Centers, and the clerk may charge a search fee to locate them.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $1.25 per page (Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a)) |
| Certified copy | $1.25 per page plus a $5.00 certification fee per document (Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a) and § 814.61(5)(am)) |
Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a) sets $1.25 per page for "copies, certified or otherwise" of any court document without its own specific fee. The $5.00 certificate fee comes from § 814.61(5)(am), and county clerks (Dane, Winnebago, Kenosha, and Marathon among them) publish it as a $5.00-per-document charge on top of the per-page copy fee. A records or file search when you cannot supply a case number is $5.00 under § 814.61(11), rising to $14.00 on November 1, 2026 under 2025 Wis. Act 179. Exemplified (triple-seal) copies are commonly $15.00 plus the per-page fee. Register in Probate offices follow a separate fee section, so confirm probate copy fees with that office.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed, expunged, and restricted records
Wisconsin court records are public under the state's open-records law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31–19.39, but several categories are removed from public view:
- Expunged records. Under Wis. Stat. § 973.015, a court can order certain records of defendants who were under 25 at the time of the offense expunged after successful completion of the sentence, for crimes carrying a maximum of six years or less. Expunction removes the case from WCCA and restricts the clerk's own file, though the DOJ Crime Information Bureau, law enforcement, and the Department of Corrections may still retain internal records.
- Juvenile records. Delinquency proceedings under Wis. Stat. ch. 938 are confidential and are not published on WCCA; access is limited to the parties, their attorneys, and specified agencies.
- Adoption records. Adoption case files are sealed under Wis. Stat. ch. 48 and are not open to the public.
- Mental commitment and guardianship records. Chapter 51 mental-commitment proceedings and many guardianship records handled by the Register in Probate carry statutory confidentiality protections.
- Domestic-abuse and harassment injunction addresses. Courts can restrict a petitioner's address from public display for safety reasons.
Sealing or expunction does not happen automatically; it requires a court order in the underlying case, and the clerk's office cannot expunge a record on request without one.
To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.
Frequently asked questions
Are Wisconsin court records public?
Yes. Wisconsin court records are open to the public under the state's open-records law unless a statute or court order restricts them. The main exceptions are expunged records, juvenile delinquency cases, adoptions, and certain mental-commitment and guardianship files.
What is WCCA and is it free?
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) is the state's free, no-login case lookup for circuit and most municipal courts. It shows case summaries and docket entries, not every filed document, and it is run on the CCAP case-management data entered by court staff in each county.
How do I run a criminal background check in Wisconsin?
Use the Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS), run by the Department of Justice Crime Information Bureau. It is a name-based search of statewide criminal history for a fee shown before you confirm the order, separate from the free WCCA case lookup.
Which office has my Wisconsin divorce or custody case?
The Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where the case was filed. Family cases are heard in circuit court, and that clerk's office keeps the file and can provide plain or certified copies.
Who keeps Wisconsin probate and guardianship records?
The Register in Probate, a division of the circuit court in each county. In many counties the same staff who work for the Clerk of Circuit Court also handle the Register in Probate's records.
Does an expunged Wisconsin case still show up online?
No. Once a court grants expungement under Wis. Stat. § 973.015, the case is removed from WCCA. It may still exist in internal law-enforcement or DOJ systems, which is why an expunged case can still surface in some private background-check products.
Sources
- Wisconsin Court System — Court system overview — https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/overview/overview.htm
- Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) — https://wcca.wicourts.gov/
- Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access (WSCCA) — https://wscca.wicourts.gov/
- Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS) — https://recordcheck.doj.wi.gov/
- Wisconsin Department of Justice — Criminal Background Checks — https://www.wisdoj.gov/Pages/CriminalJusticeServices/criminal-background-check.aspx
- Wisconsin Statutes § 814.61 — Fees of the clerk of circuit court — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/814/ii/61/1
- Wisconsin Statutes § 814.61(10) — Copies — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/814/ii/61/10
- Wisconsin Statutes § 814.61(5) — Certificates, judgments, and other filings — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/814/ii/61/5
- Wisconsin Court System — Circuit court clerk contact information — https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/circuit/clerkcontact.htm
- Wisconsin Statutes § 973.015 — Special disposition (expungement) — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/973/015
- Wisconsin Statutes ch. 19, subch. II — Public Records — https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/19/ii
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin — https://www.wied.uscourts.gov/
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin — https://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov/