Wisconsin Public Criminal Records

Choose the repository or the court case

Wisconsin DOJ’s Crime Information Bureau maintains the statewide criminal-history repository. Anyone can pay to request public adult history through the Wisconsin Online Record Check System, WORCS. Its information includes submitted arrest and charge data and court outcomes. Public access to adult history does not make juvenile information generally available; the request instructions limit juvenile release to legally authorized circumstances.

The repository starts from arrest fingerprint submissions. An arrest or related disposition without supporting fingerprints is absent from that database, even if a court case exists. Use WORCS for a repository history and Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, WCCA, to identify a particular circuit-court proceeding. Neither the existence nor the absence of a name-search response replaces the court’s actual judgment.

Submit an online name request and keep the receipt

On WORCS, an unregistered requester uses Public Access and “Submit Request”; a registered requester signs in and chooses “Submit New Request.” Complete the requested identifying fields and payment. DOJ’s paper name-request instructions require full name, sex, race and birth date; Social Security number is optional. Check all supplied identifiers rather than filling an uncertain field with a guess.

A standard non-fingerprint search has a $7 statutory charge. A requested paper result adds a $5 surcharge, making the general-public paper request $12. Caregiver and fingerprint products have different charges and requirements, so do not select them as substitutes for a general adult name check. Save the payment receipt and order reference number, especially when submitting without an account.

Retrieve the response and handle a queue

Public users can enter the receipt’s order number under “Review Prior Search Results.” Registered users use “View My Requests.” Completed results remain available for six months after submission; viewing them again during that period does not require another payment, but a later new request does. Download the result with the identifiers and search date so it can be reviewed independently of the account.

At the October 2, 2026 check, WORCS displayed a queued-request notice and specifically asked users not to resubmit queued searches. Check the order status rather than paying twice. No fixed online completion time was verified. A pending request is not a no-record response, and the agency’s eventual result describes the repository at the time of that search.

Use mail for the right paper or certified product

Use DJ-LE-250 for one person or DJ-LE-250A for multiple names. Send the completed request, appropriate check or money order payable to Wisconsin Department of Justice and a self-addressed postage-paid envelope to Crime Information Bureau, Attn: Record Check Unit, P.O. Box 2688, Madison, WI 53701-2688. The instructions allow ten business days for CIB processing plus mailing time.

WORCS says a Police Certificate or Statement of Good Conduct cannot be completed online. Mail the appropriate request form with a letter requesting certified results; the form lists a Police Certificate at $20 and requires a fingerprint card. Confirm the exact product with the receiving organization. A certified criminal-history response and a certified copy of a county judgment are different records.

Check the full response, not just the first name

Read the cover sheet and the entire record. DOJ warns that the “master name” is the name used with the first fingerprint submission and may be false; aliases can also produce a name-based hit. Even the same name and birth date can belong to different people. Compare all available identifiers and dates, and resolve inconsistencies before attributing an arrest or conviction to someone.

Read each arrest, prosecutor and court section separately. The prosecutor may file a different charge from the arrest charge, and the final disposition may differ again. That progression is not by itself a record error. A no-record response means no matching public repository information was returned under the submitted details, not a guarantee that every local court or police source has no information.

Obtain the underlying court document

Enter WCCA through the Wisconsin courts case-search page and preserve the county, case number, charge and disposition. The court system explains that the public website shows case information, filings and orders as entries, but does not display or sell the case documents themselves. For the actual judgment, dismissal order or transcript, contact the clerk in the county where the case was filed. Ask about access, copy charges, certification and delivery for that document; sealed material is not made public by finding its case number.

Challenge a false match or an incorrect outcome

For a record belonging to someone else, submit DOJ’s DJ-LE-247 challenge form with a completed FD-258 fingerprint card, following the form’s mailing address. DOJ charges no challenge fee, although the fingerprinting agency may charge. A successful fingerprint comparison can produce a Wisconsin Unique Personal Identification Number, WiUPIN, which can be supplied in future searches to exclude the successfully challenged record.

For incorrect conviction information, obtain a certified judgment from the sentencing court and send it with the challenge form explaining the discrepancy. For a missing disposition, DOJ accepts the relevant court judgment or dismissal order, or a prosecutor’s letter stating the case was not prosecuted. Court expungement does not automatically qualify an arrest for deletion from CIB; use DOJ’s separate removal guidance instead of assuming the two systems change together.