Open Records

Wisconsin’s public records law is the Wisconsin Public Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31-19.39, first enacted in 1982. It establishes a strong presumption favoring the greatest possible access to government records – “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government.”

Who can request records

Any person may request records. Requests don’t have to be in writing (though written requests create a clear record), and the requester generally doesn’t have to identify themselves or state a purpose. All branches of Wisconsin government are open to requests.

What’s covered

Records created by or in the custody of a state or local agency, board, elected official, municipality, school district, or other government entity. Certain substantive statutes (student records, health records) may restrict access to specific persons regardless of the general Public Records Law presumption.

How to request

Direct the request to the specific public entity that has custody of the records.

Response timeline

This is one of Wisconsin’s most distinctive features: the law sets NO specific number of days for a response. Instead, an authority must fill or deny a request “as soon as practicable and without delay” (Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(a)). What counts as reasonable depends on the nature of the request, available staff, the extent of the records, and whether redaction is needed. In practice, this flexible standard has drawn real criticism – even the state Department of Justice, which recommends a 10-business-day response for simple requests, doesn’t always meet its own guidance, and some requests have reportedly taken months or even years to fulfill. A stated intention to delay production indefinitely can be treated as an effective denial.

Fees

– An authority may only charge for four specific tasks: reproduction/transcription, photographing/photographic processing, locating records (only when location costs total $50 or more), and mailing/shipping. – All fees must be limited to actual, necessary, and direct cost – no profit allowed. – No fee can be charged for the TIME spent redacting records – only reproduction, location (above the threshold), and shipping are chargeable. – Common rates vary by agency – for example, one state agency’s staff-time rate for eligible location-fee work runs around $30/hour (based on the lowest-paid capable employee), with typical black-and-white copy costs well under a cent per page. – Prepayment may be required if the total fee exceeds $5. – Fees can be waived if determined to be in the public interest. – A record cannot be destroyed for at least 60 days after a request is denied, or until any related litigation concludes.

Exemptions

Wisconsin’s Open Records Law has eight general statutory exemption categories (Wis. Stat. § 19.36), plus a common-law “balancing test” – the custodian weighs the public interest in nondisclosure against the public interest in disclosure when no specific exemption clearly applies.

If your request is denied

Any denial must state specific reasons, citing the relevant statute, and must inform the requester of the right to seek review from the district attorney, the state Attorney General, or the courts. A court may award damages of not less than $100, plus attorney’s fees and costs, to a requester who successfully challenges a wrongful denial.

A note on terminology

Wisconsin’s law is officially the “Wisconsin Public Records Law” – the same basic type of law that other states call an “Open Records Act,” “FOIA Laws” (South Carolina), or “Public Records Laws” (Tennessee).