July 6, 2016 – On July 1, Ozaukee County became the second county to require electronic filing for civil, family, small claims, and paternity cases. Ozaukee is joining Dodge County, which successfully served as a pilot county during June.
Although e-filing becomes mandatory county by county, there are three important changes that took effect statewide July 1:
1) The old e-filing rule is repealed and the procedures of new Wis. Stat. section 801.18 now apply to all e-filed cases, whether voluntary or mandatory, in all counties.
2) The e-filing system is using new software. The new system supports the new rule and offers many new features for users.
3) The e-filing fee is now $20 per party per case.
Attorneys may now permit law office staff to access the e-filing system using the attorney’s login information rather than their own accounts, as provided by section 801.18(12)(d). All attorneys with pending e-filed cases have been notified about this change.
When e-filing becomes mandatory in each county, all of an attorney’s open cases are converted to electronic and added to the attorney’s “My Cases” portal. No e-filing fee is charged when a previously filed paper case is converted to e-filing.
When Mandatory E-filing Applies
Mandatory E-filing Rollout for Civil, Family, Small-claims, and Paternity Cases
(CV, FA, SC, and PA case types)
June 1, 2016 |
Dodge County – pilot county |
July 1, 2016 |
Ozaukee County |
Aug. 1, 2016 |
Jefferson County |
Aug. - Sept. 2016 |
Adams, Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Dunn, Florence, La Crosse, Pierce, Waupaca (tentative, subject to pre-site review) counties |
Oct. - Dec. 2016 |
Ashland, Clark, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green, Green Lake, Juneau, Marathon, Oneida, Racine, Rusk, Sawyer, Waukesha, Winnebago (tentative, subject to pre-site review) counties |
Jan. - Dec. 2017 |
All remaining counties to be implemented for CV, FA, SC, and PA case types |
More on Mandatory E-filing
Check out these resources for more information about mandatory e-filing in Wisconsin:
“Are You Ready? Mandatory E-filing in Effect July 1,” Wisconsin Lawyer, June 2016.
“Screen Reading: Will Mandatory E-filing Change How We Write Briefs?,” InsideTrack, June 1, 2016.
Video tutorials and written guides are posted on the Wisconsin Court System website.
What Else Took Effect July 1?
A number of rule changes took effect July 1, including new rules protecting protected information in circuit filings. To find out more, go to “Following the Rules: E-banking, E-filing Among 5 New Rules in Effect July 1,” InsideTrack, June 15, 2016.
Learn more about three new Wisconsin Supreme Court rules concerning confidential information that took effect July 1 in the CLE OnDemand program, “New Rules for Protecting Information in Court Records (2016),” from State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE®.