Wisconsin public records law: how to make a request
Public Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 to 19.39. Rules below are quoted or closely paraphrased from the linked official pages, and each shows the date it was last checked (2026-10-18). Jurisdiction code: WI.
Build a request letter Official source
Statute and who may ask
It is the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government. Sections 19.32 to 19.37 are construed with a presumption of complete public access, and "only in an exceptional case may access be denied." (Wis. Stat. § 19.31)
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 and 19.32 (declaration of policy; definitions, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18"Authority" includes state and local offices, elective officials, agencies, boards, commissions, committees, councils and departments, governmental and quasi-governmental corporations, special purpose districts, courts, the legislature, and certain nonprofits that receive more than 50 percent of their funds from a county or municipality and provide public health or safety services. A "record" is any material on which information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form, that is created or kept by an authority; it does not include drafts, notes and preliminary computations prepared for the originator's personal use, among other exclusions. (Wis. Stat. § 19.32(1)-(2))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 and 19.32 (declaration of policy; definitions, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18A request is sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or information, but a request without a reasonable limit as to subject matter or time period is not sufficient. A request may be made orally, but it must be in writing before a court action to enforce it begins. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(h))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18A request may not be refused because the requester is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose, or because it arrived by mail (unless prepayment of a fee over $5 is required). Identification may be required if the record is kept at a private residence or for security reasons or under federal law. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(i))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18Each authority must designate a legal custodian to carry out its duties under the law (an elected official is the custodian of his or her own records), and each authority must display a notice of the times and places, the custodian, the methods and the costs for obtaining records. An authority with regular office hours must permit access during those hours. (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34)
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18The law does not generally require an authority to create a new record by extracting and compiling information from existing records. The Department of Justice guide says the right of access applies to records that exist when the request is made and that "continuing" requests for future records are not contemplated. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(L); Compliance Guide)
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18
Response deadline
Each authority, on request for any record, must "as soon as practicable and without delay" either fill the request or notify the requester of its decision to deny the request in whole or in part and the reasons. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(a))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18The Department of Justice guide says the law sets no specific date, such as two weeks; the Department has said that, generally, 10 working days is a reasonable time to respond to a simple request for a limited number of easily identifiable records, and that broader requests may reasonably take longer. A reasonable time depends on the nature and extent of the request and the authority's resources.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Justice: Public Records Law Compliance Guide, June 2025 (PDF) · last verified 2026-10-18The guide also says compliance at some unspecified future time is not authorized: the custodian must either comply or deny, and requests should be given high priority. An authority is not bound by a response deadline the requester unilaterally announces.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Justice: Public Records Law Compliance Guide, June 2025 (PDF) · last verified 2026-10-18After receiving a request, an authority may not destroy the record until the request is granted or at least 60 days after it is denied (90 days if the requester is a committed or incarcerated person); if a court action is started, the record may not be destroyed until the court's order and the time to appeal have passed. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(5))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18
Fee rules
An authority may charge for a copy no more than the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction and transcription, unless another law sets or allows a different fee. It may charge the actual, necessary and direct cost of photographing, and of mailing or shipping a copy. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3)(a), (b), (d))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18A fee for locating a record is allowed only if the actual, necessary and direct cost of locating it is $50 or more. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3)(c))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18An authority may provide copies free or at a reduced charge if it decides that waiving or reducing the fee is in the public interest, and may require prepayment of fees if the total exceeds $5 (with a different rule for certain prisoners who owe earlier fees). (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3)(e)-(f))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18An authority with copying equipment must give requesters facilities comparable to those its employees use to inspect, copy and abstract records during office hours; it need not buy equipment or provide a separate room. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(2))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18
Appeal path and remedies
A denial of a written request, in whole or in part, must come with a written statement of the reasons, and every written denial must tell the requester that the decision is subject to review by mandamus under § 19.37(1) or on application to the attorney general or a district attorney. An oral request may be denied orally unless the requester demands a written statement within 5 business days. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(b))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18If an authority withholds a record or delays access after a written request, the requester may bring a mandamus action in court, or ask in writing the district attorney of the county where the record is found, or the attorney general, to bring a mandamus action (or do both). (Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1))
Source: Wis. Stat. § 19.37 (enforcement and penalties, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18If the requester prevails in whole or in substantial part, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees, damages of not less than $100 and other actual costs (paid by the authority or its unit of government, not by an official personally); a different damages rule applies to committed or incarcerated persons. (Wis. Stat. § 19.37(2)(a))
Source: Wis. Stat. § 19.37 (enforcement and penalties, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18If a court finds an authority arbitrarily and capriciously denied or delayed a response or charged excessive fees, it may award punitive damages, and the authority or custodian may be required to forfeit not more than $1,000 in an action by the attorney general or a district attorney. (Wis. Stat. § 19.37(3)-(4))
Source: Wis. Stat. § 19.37 (enforcement and penalties, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18The Department of Justice's Office of Open Government lists a Public Records/Open Meetings help line, (608) 267-2220, and the mailing address P.O. Box 7857, Madison, WI 53707-7857, in the 2025 compliance guide. It says the office answers inquiries about the open records law.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Justice: Public Records Law Compliance Guide, June 2025 (PDF) · last verified 2026-10-18
Request-letter wording notes
Address the request to the authority's legal custodian (or the officer who keeps the records); the authority's posted notice names the custodian and the method for requests. (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34)
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18Describe the records with a subject and a time period. Put the request in writing even if you also ask orally, because a written request is required before a court action. You do not have to give your reason. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(h)-(i))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18Ask for a response "as soon as practicable and without delay"; the Department of Justice says about 10 working days is generally reasonable for a simple request, so you may ask for an acknowledgment and an estimate for larger ones. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(a); Compliance Guide)
Source: Wisconsin Department of Justice: Public Records Law Compliance Guide, June 2025 (PDF) · last verified 2026-10-18Ask for electronic copies where possible, a fee estimate, and a fee waiver or reduction if you believe it is in the public interest. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3)(e))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18If a written request is denied in whole or part, ask for the specific reasons in writing and the notice of review rights the statute requires, and ask that the records not be destroyed while the request is pending. (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(b), (5))
Source: Wis. Stat. §§ 19.33, 19.34 and 19.35 (legal custodians; procedural information; access to records, fees, Wisconsin Legislature) · last verified 2026-10-18
Not yet researched or not verified
- The exemptions and the balancing test, including § 19.36 (limitations on access and withholding), § 19.356 (notice to record subjects) and the common-law exceptions
- Fees under § 19.35(3)(g) and later paragraphs, and special rules for law enforcement records, personnel records and records of authorities' employees
- Case law beyond what the Department of Justice guide summarizes, and the guide's sections on specific record types
- Individual authorities' request procedures, forms and fee schedules (each authority must post its own notice)
This is legal information from public sources, not legal advice. Laws and agency practices change; read the linked official source and consult a lawyer about your situation. Local agencies may have their own forms and contacts.