Wisconsin FOIA procedures

Wisconsin FOIA procedures
FOIA laws in Wisconsin
Freedom of Information Act
Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
FOIA procedures by state
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Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.

This article describes FOIA procedures in Wisconsin as of May 2025. On this page you will find:

• How to request public records
• Who may request public records
• Fees associated with public records requests
• Required response times for requests
• Exemptions to public records requests

How to request public records in Wisconsin

Requests should be directed to the public entity in possession of the records in question. According to Wisconsin Statutes 19.34:

“

Each authority shall adopt, prominently display and make available for inspection and copying at its offices, for the guidance of the public, a notice containing a description of its organization and the established times and places at which, the legal custodian under s. 19.33 from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information and access to records in its custody, make requests for records, or obtain copies of records, and the costs thereof. The notice shall also separately identify each position of the authority that constitutes a local public office or a state public office. This subsection does not apply to members of the legislature or to members of any local governmental body.

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Purpose and use

Wisconsin Statutes 19.35 says, "Except as authorized under this paragraph, no request under pars. (a) and (b) to (f) may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request." However, in Hempel v. City of Baraboo, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said that although "requesters under the Open Records Law need not identify themselves, or state a purpose for their request," it remained the case that "[w]hen performing a balancing test ... a records custodian almost inevitably must evaluate context to some degree."

Regarding the use of requested records, the same statute says, "Notwithstanding pars. (a) to (f), a requester shall comply with any regulations or restrictions upon access to or use of information which are specifically prescribed by law."

Who may request public records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state

Anyone may request records in Wisconsin, "except a committed or incarcerated person." Wisconsin Statutes 19.35 states that, "Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of a record."

Wisconsin is among 42 states that do not require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.

Fees

See also: How much do public records cost?

Wisconsin law allows public entities to charge fees to cover the cost of responding to a public records request. According to the Wisconsin Public Records Law Compliance Guide:

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An authority may charge a requester only for the specific tasks identified by the legislature in the fee provisions of Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3), unless otherwise provided by law. Copy and transcription fees may be charged. Copy fees are limited to the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of reproduction unless a fee is otherwise specifically established or authorized to be established by law. “Reproduction” means the act, condition, or process of producing a counterpart, image, or copy. Reproduction is a rote, ministerial task that does not alter a record or change the content of the record. It instead involves only copying the record—for example, by making a photocopy of a paper record. Costs of a computer run may be imposed on a requester if the computer run is necessary to assemble and reduce a record to written form on paper. An authority may charge a requester for any computer programming expenses required to respond to a request. Transcription fees may be charged, but are limited to the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of transcription, unless a fee is otherwise specifically established or authorized to be established by law. Photography and photographic reproduction fees may be charged if the authority provides a photograph of a record, the form of which does not permit copying, but are limited to the “actual, necessary and direct” costs. Location costs. Costs associated with locating records may be charged if they total $50.00 or more. “Locating” a record means to find it by searching, examining, or experimenting. Subsequent review and redaction of the record are separate processes, not included in location of the record, for which a requester may not be charged. Only actual, necessary, and direct location costs are permitted. Mailing and shipping fees may be charged, but are limited to the “actual, necessary and direct cost” of mailing or shipping. An authority may not charge a requester for the costs of deleting, or “redacting,” nondisclosable information included in responsive records. If a record is produced or collected by a person who is not an authority pursuant to a contract with the authority, i.e., a contractor, the fees for obtaining a copy of the record may not exceed the actual, necessary, and direct cost of reproduction or transcription of the record by the person who makes the reproduction or transcription, unless another fee is established or authorized by law. An authority may require prepayment of any fees if the total amount exceeds $5.00. The authority may refuse to make copies until payment is received. Except for prisoners, the statute does not authorize a requirement for prepayment based on the requester’s failure to pay fees for a prior request. An authority has discretion to provide requested records for free or at a reduced charge. An authority may not make a profit on its response to a public records request. Aggregation of fees. Although the law is silent about aggregating fees, the law does not expressly authorize the aggregation of location costs for multiple requests from the same requester that occur close in time. Generally, the rate for an actual, necessary, and direct charge for staff time should be based on the pay rate of the lowest paid employee capable of performing the task. Specific statutes may establish express exceptions to the general fee provisions of Wis. Stat. § 19.35(3). Examples include Wis. Stat. § 814.61(10)(a) (court records), Wis. Stat. § 59.43(2)(b) (land records recorded by registers of deeds), and Wis. Stat. § 6.36(6) (authorizing fees for copies of the official statewide voter registration list).

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Response time

See also: Request response times by state

Wisconsin law does not specify particular deadline for public entities to respond to records requests. According to the Wisconsin Public Records Law Compliance Guide:

“

Wisconsin public records law does not require an authority to respond to a public record request within a certain timeframe, such as one week, 10 days, or one month. The law says that an authority shall fill or deny a request “as soon as practicable and without delay.” As you can imagine, this leaves room for interpretation. Responses must be provided “as soon as practicable and without delay.” The public records law does not require a response within any specific date and time, such as “two weeks” or “48 hours.” Wisconsin DOJ has stated that, generally, 10 working days is a reasonable time for an authority to respond to a simple request for a limited number of easily identifiable records. For requests that are not simple and those that are broader in scope, or that require location, review, or redaction of multiple records, a reasonable time for responding may be longer. An authority is not obligated to respond within a timeframe unilaterally identified by a requester, such as: “I will consider my request denied if no response is received by Friday and will seek all available legal relief.” To avoid later misunderstandings, it may be prudent for an authority receiving such a request to send a brief acknowledgment indicating when a response reasonably might be anticipated. What constitutes a reasonable time for a response to any specific request depends on the nature of the request, the staff and other resources available to the authority to process the request, the extent of the request, and related considerations. Whether an authority is acting with reasonable diligence in responding to a particular request will depend on the totality of circumstances surrounding that request.

”

As of May 2025, 11 states had no mandated response time. Of the 39 states with response time limits, 12 allow agencies to extend response times in certain cases, while 27 allow no exceptions. Eight states required responses in three days or fewer, 11 in five days or fewer, 13 in 10 days or fewer, and seven in 20 days or fewer.

Exemptions

Exemptions to the Wisconsin Open Records Law are outlined in Wisconsin Statutes 19.36.

See also

• Freedom of Information Act

External links

• Wisconsin Statutes
• Wisconsin Historical Society (state archives)