Tag: wisconsin public records law

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CCAP Wisconsin Court Records

Wisconsin Arrest Records

In the state of Wisconsin, every citizen has the authority to view, inspect, and copy public records. This would include court records, arrest records, and civil records. Employers and landlords use this information to determine if a person is reliable to hire or rent to.

How do you locate Wisconsin arrest records?

There are several ways to locate information about an individual arrested or who has had a case filed against them. The Wisconsin State Police or Crime Information Bureau provides statewide information regarding citizens in Wisconsin. Another place to locate arrest records can be found with the county jails or the county Sheriff’s office.

Most sheriff’s offices provide an information line or website where the general public can inquire about an individual’s arrest. However, it should be mentioned that arrest records differ from conviction records. Individuals can have arrest records without having a conviction for that arrest.

If an arrest was made by a municipality, city, or locality, you would need to locate the records through the appropriate law enforcement agency. If a court case developed from the arrest records, you can check with the county, municipal, or state courts for further information.

The Criminal History Unit which is part of the Wisconsin Department of Justice can provide information related to criminal history records for individuals in Wisconsin. Not all information on record with the Criminal History Unit is available to the public.

Wisconsin Arrest Records

Are arrest records public?

Arrest information that has not been expunged or sealed is deemed public records. Anyone with access to the internet can access these records by performing an online search for these records.

Do you need to pay for Wisconsin arrest records?

Wisconsin arrest records are free and available for the public to access and view. If you are looking for a complete background check you would need to contact the Wisconsin Crime Information Bureau and there are fees involved. These fees can be paid when requesting information from the Criminal History Unit that is located within the Department of Justice. This division of the Department of Justice handles requests received through the Wisconsin Online Record Check System. The fees for information accessed through this system can be found through the Crime Information Bureau website.

How do you perform a Wisconsin background check?

A Wisconsin background check is performed through the following link https://recordcheck.doj.wi.gov/. This system allows both authorized personnel and public users to submit and view requests online. A training document is located on the website that needs to be viewed before an individual can request Wisconsin criminal information. Results take time to process and you must have the order number given at the time of the request, to access the online results. All results that are received are given online.

If a request result is unable to be provided online, you would have to submit the appropriate forms to obtain the information. If you have any questions regarding the Wisconsin Online Record Check System, you would need to contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

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CCAP Wisconsin Court Records

Wisconsin Public Records

In most states, individuals can access public records of others through a number of different channels. Wisconsin public records are available to anyone wishing to obtain information on another individual through the courthouse and the Department of Justice. Information contained in these records is extracted from various government entities located in Wisconsin.

What are Wisconsin Public Records?

Public records consist of arrests, convictions, and cases filed in a court of law against an individual. Wisconsin adopted a law that allows these records to be available for the public to obtain copies and view them.

There are certain records that are not available to the public. This includes cases involving juveniles, expunged or sealed cases, and depending on the circumstances dismissed cases. The Wisconsin public library provides further details about what information is available through public records and background checks. You can also find links on the public library’s website to different agencies that provide information that is available to the public.

Are Wisconsin Public Records Accessible Online?

If you wish to view these records online, you must submit a request through the Department of Justice’s website. There is a link on the site that will direct you to request a background check.

You can also visit the Wisconsin court’s website and access court records online. You can view cases through the unified court system by visiting one of the courthouses in Wisconsin or by using a laptop or desktop and remotely accessing the court records through the website.

Wisconsin Public Records
Wisconsin Public Records

Are Wisconsin Public Records Free?

Wisconsin public records can be obtained at no cost by contacting the court or jails. This is not the same as a background check, however, it is information that the public is able to view. To perform a background check on an individual, you would need to pay a fee when completing the online request.

Information that is obtained from the courts may not include all arrests in Wisconsin. You can perform a search for all court cases in Wisconsin but it may not include all the arrests that have occurred. Law enforcement agencies are the only entities that can provide accurate arrest records to the public.

If individuals wish to obtain birth, marriage, or death records that occurred in Wisconsin, they would need to contact the Office of Vital Statistics. There are forms and links on the public library website that you can use to access these types of public records.

Wisconsin Public Records Disclaimer

Information that is obtained through public records or an online background check is subject to verification. There are circumstances where the individual that is being searched and the information that is provided may not be accurate. To verify the accuracy of the information that you have received, you would need to contact the courts or the law enforcement agency that provided the information to you.

It is important to remember that information in public records can be removed or challenged by contacting the appropriate agency. More information can be obtained from the Department of Justice.

Categories
CCAP Wisconsin Court Records

Wisconsin Criminal Records

There are several reasons that a person may need to access Wisconsin criminal records. The main reasons these records are requested include pre-employment screening and rental screening. However, these aren’t the only reasons to access criminal records.

When an employer uses information obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Justice to do a criminal background check, only convictions can be used to disqualify an individual. This is regulated by the Wisconsin Fair Employment Law.

Obtaining Wisconsin Criminal Records

The Wisconsin Crime Information Bureau is regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and maintains the centralized criminal history database for the state of Wisconsin. Individuals that would like to request criminal records would need to submit a request using the Wisconsin Online Record Check System(WORCS) website.

This website allows the general public to request Wisconsin criminal records for a fee. You have the option to submit a request by registering on the website or by using the public user option. If you need to obtain criminal records regularly, it is recommended to create an account as a registered user. As a registered user, you will be able to access information by logging into your dashboard.

The fee for an online criminal background check is $7.00. If you request a mail records result you would need to add $5.00 as a processing fee.

Wisconsin Criminal Records
Wisconsin Criminal Records

Information Found on Wisconsin Criminal Records

The information that is found on the criminal history report is gathered from arresting law enforcement agencies, prosecuting agencies, courts, state criminal history repository, and federal criminal history repository entities. Criminal records are triggered by these entities when an individual receives a citation, violates a law, or is arrested.

When requesting a criminal record, you must verify that it belongs to the person that you are investigating, especially if you are doing a name search. The information contained in the Wisconsin Criminal Records report is deemed accurate as of the date of the request.

Landlords and employers are only able to submit a name-based check which is less accurate than a fingerprint-based check. If the information does not belong to the subject of the search, the process for clarifying the information is to complete and submit the Wisconsin Criminal History Challenge Form along with fingerprints. More information can be found on the website.

Questions about Wisconsin Criminal Records

Answers to questions regarding the results of criminal records requests or submitting a request can be found on the WORCS website. There is a section on the website that provides training material on how to read a criminal record, how to remove information from a criminal record, how to challenge a criminal record, as well as a notice for employers to read.

If you still have questions after reading over the training material and the brochures found on the website, you can contact the Criminal History Unit.

Contact information for the Criminal History Unit:

Criminal History Unit: 608-266-7314

Background Check: CIBRecordCheck@doj.state.wi.us

Criminal History record: CIBCriminalHistory@doj.state.wi.us

The Crime Information Bureau’s hours of operation are Monday-Friday between the hours of 8 am-4 pm.

For technical support, you would need to contact the administrator.