Wisconsin CCAP Criminal Records: Search Circuit Court Cases & Public Records
Wisconsin’s online court-record system is commonly called “CCAP,” but that name can be confusing. CCAP is the Wisconsin Court System’s Consolidated Court Automation Programs office, while the public website used to search statewide circuit court cases is Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA). If you need a Wisconsin criminal court case, WCCA is usually the first official place to look. A Wisconsin DOJ criminal-history check, appellate case, inmate record and federal case each use a different government system.
CCAP vs. WCCA: what Wisconsin’s criminal-record system is actually called
People often say “search CCAP” when they mean Wisconsin’s public court website. Technically, the terms are different.
Consolidated Court Automation Programs
CCAP is the Wisconsin Court System office that develops and supports court technology, including case-management, eFiling and public-access services.
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access
WCCA is the public online system used to view public case information from Wisconsin’s circuit courts.
Supreme Court & Court of Appeals
WSCCA is the separate public-access system for Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases.
How to search Wisconsin criminal cases on WCCA
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access provides public case information for statewide circuit-court cases that are open to public inspection.
Open the official Wisconsin case-search page
Start from the Wisconsin Court System rather than an unofficial “CCAP lookup” or people-search website.
Choose Circuit Court
This opens the public WCCA search used for criminal, traffic, civil, family and other circuit-court cases.
Search using the strongest information available
A case number is generally the strongest identifier. When searching by person, compare name, date of birth where shown, county and other available information before assuming a match.
Open the case details
Review parties, filed charges, court events, orders, disposition information, financial activity and other public docket data.
Check the final disposition
Do not stop after seeing a criminal charge. Look for conviction, dismissal, acquittal, amendment of charges or another final result.
What information can appear in a Wisconsin CCAP/WCCA criminal case?
WCCA is primarily a public case-information system. Depending on the case and public-access rules, it can show information such as:
Parties
Defendant and other publicly available party information.
Case number
The official circuit-court case identifier.
Charges
Criminal allegations filed with the court.
Court dates
Past and upcoming events entered into the court case-management system.
Filings and orders
Docket entries indicating documents or orders entered in the case.
Disposition
Information showing how charges or the case were resolved.
Sentencing information
Public sentencing-related case entries where applicable.
Financial obligations
Court-ordered fines, fees or other financial activity where publicly displayed.
County and court
The Wisconsin county and circuit court handling the case.
Can you view Wisconsin criminal case documents on CCAP/WCCA?
This is one of the most important limitations of Wisconsin’s public circuit-court website.
Wisconsin Court System guidance states that WCCA provides information about parties, court dates, filings and orders, but public case documents are not generally displayed or sold through the WCCA website.
Wisconsin says each county courthouse provides access to public circuit-court information, including qualifying documents within that county, without requiring staff assistance for ordinary access.
Find the correct county clerkHow to read a Wisconsin criminal court result correctly
| Item | What it means | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Charge | A criminal allegation filed in court. | Do not equate the charge with conviction. |
| Case status | Whether the matter is open, closed or in another recorded status. | Review the docket and disposition for context. |
| Court record event | A hearing, filing, order or other action entered in the case. | One event rarely explains the entire case. |
| Disposition | How the court resolved a charge. | Look for conviction, dismissal, acquittal, amendment or another disposition. |
| Sentence | Court-ordered consequence after a qualifying disposition. | Review incarceration, probation, fine or other conditions when listed. |
| County | The circuit court handling the matter. | Use that county clerk when you need the underlying document. |
Wisconsin criminal case types and related records
Wisconsin’s circuit-court system contains more than just criminal felony and misdemeanor matters. Searches can also surface traffic, forfeiture and other public cases.
Felony cases
Serious criminal cases filed in Wisconsin circuit courts.
Misdemeanor cases
Lower-level criminal prosecutions handled in circuit court.
Traffic / forfeiture
These may appear in court search results but should not automatically be described as criminal convictions.
Wisconsin municipal-court cases are also separate from ordinary circuit-court criminal cases, so a municipal matter may require checking the appropriate municipal court.
Why a Wisconsin criminal case may not appear on CCAP/WCCA
A blank search is not always proof that no criminal matter ever existed.
- the person’s name was entered differently
- the case was filed in another state
- the matter is federal rather than state
- the record is confidential by law
- the court sealed some or all information
- the case was expunged
- an online-display policy removed the case from public web display
- the record predates the available electronic case information
- the matter is juvenile or otherwise restricted
- you are searching the wrong person with a similar name
Sealed, confidential and redacted Wisconsin court records
Wisconsin court records are generally open unless a statute, court rule, case law or court order restricts access. But not every document or identifier is public.
Wisconsin’s circuit-court confidentiality rules specifically protect certain sensitive identifiers, including:
- Social Security numbers
- employer and tax identification numbers
- financial-account numbers
- driver-license and state-ID numbers
- passport numbers
Other records can be confidential by statute, and a court can order information, a document or in rare situations an entire case sealed when legal standards are satisfied.
Victim and citizen-witness names and addresses are also not entered into public-display fields in criminal case types under Wisconsin court policy.
What if the Wisconsin CCAP record belongs to someone else?
Common names can create serious problems. Do not assume that a WCCA record belongs to a particular person simply because the name matches.
Compare as much identifying information as lawfully available, including:
- full name
- middle name or initial
- date of birth where displayed
- county
- case number
- known address history
- aliases
- other case-specific identifiers
Wisconsin provides a specific court form, GF-182, Petition Concerning Removal of Defendant’s Name from Online Records Because of Identity Theft or Mistaken Identity, for qualifying situations involving mistaken identity or identity theft.
How to get copies or certified Wisconsin criminal court records
Since WCCA does not function like PACER and does not make ordinary circuit-court case-document images available to the public online, copies usually come from the clerk of circuit court in the county where the case was filed.
| Copy service | Current statewide fee schedule | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Regular copy | $1.25 per page | Ordinary paper copy or report. |
| Certified copy | $5 certification + $1.25 per page | When an officially certified court record is required. |
| Blank mandatory form | No fee for a single blank mandatory form | Separate from copies of filed case records. |
Fees can change. Confirm the amount with the applicable Wisconsin clerk of circuit court before mailing payment or ordering a large record.
Wisconsin clerk directoryWhen to contact the county clerk instead of relying on WCCA
Wisconsin’s clerks of circuit court are the custodians of circuit-court records. They maintain filed documents, records of court proceedings and access procedures for each county.
Contact the clerk in the filing county when you need:
- the actual criminal complaint
- a judgment of conviction
- a sentencing document
- a certified copy
- a transcript or transcript-order information
- an older record not adequately represented online
- clarification of a docket entry
- information about courthouse inspection
Wisconsin maintains an official statewide clerk of circuit court directory with county addresses, phone numbers and links.
Wisconsin DOJ criminal-history checks are different from CCAP
A WCCA search is a court-case search. A Wisconsin criminal-history background check is a different service operated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Information Bureau (CIB).
The current online system is called Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS). It replaced the older INTCH application.
Public court-case research
Search public Wisconsin circuit-court case information.
Wisconsin criminal-history check
Submit a criminal background-check request to the Wisconsin DOJ Crime Information Bureau.
Open WORCS
Use the Wisconsin DOJ system and choose Submit Request under Public Access if you are not using a registered account.
Enter the required search information
Wisconsin DOJ uses name and identifying information to search its criminal-history database.
Pay through the system
WORCS directs users through its payment process before results are released. Check the current amount inside WORCS before submitting because fees can change.
Save your reference number
If you submit without registering, Wisconsin DOJ says you must keep the order reference number shown on the receipt so you can retrieve the result later.
How to interpret a Wisconsin DOJ background-check result
Wisconsin DOJ specifically warns that a name-based search can return records belonging to more than one person or to someone with similar identifying information.
WORCS says name-based searches use matching criteria involving date of birth, last name, first initial or other submitted identifying data. That still does not make a returned record a guaranteed identity match.
The DOJ database also may not contain everything held by local police departments, Wisconsin courts, federal agencies or the FBI.
WORCS results are currently available online for six months after submission. After that period, the DOJ says a new request must be submitted if a current result is needed.
Crime Information Bureau contact:
Phone: 608-266-7314
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals records use WSCCA
If a criminal case was appealed, the circuit-court WCCA entry is only part of the story. Wisconsin maintains a separate system called Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access (WSCCA).
WSCCA provides public appellate case information for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. The redesigned 2026 system also links publicly available appellate cases to related circuit-court cases when possible and displays available appellate documents more clearly.
Appeal docket
Follow appellate filings and case history.
Orders and decisions
View publicly available appellate documents attached to the case.
Related circuit case
Use the related circuit-court link when it is publicly available.
Wisconsin inmate and corrections records are not CCAP records
WCCA tells you about court cases. It does not replace the Wisconsin Department of Corrections when you need custody, prison or community-supervision information.
Wisconsin DOC maintains separate offender-information resources for adult inmates, probation and parole, facilities and other corrections matters.
Wisconsin DOC offender informationWisconsin expungement and what happens to CCAP/WCCA records
Wisconsin expungement is narrower than many people assume. For an adult conviction eligible under Wisconsin law, expungement generally concerns the court record of the conviction.
Wisconsin’s official criminal expungement form CR-266 specifically warns that:
- only the court record of the conviction is expunged
- police records are not automatically affected
- Crime Information Bureau records are not automatically affected
- district-attorney records are not automatically affected
- the conviction itself is not vacated or set aside
Wisconsin also maintains official circuit-court forms for qualifying expungement requests.
Wisconsin criminal court formsFederal criminal cases in Wisconsin do not appear in WCCA
Wisconsin has two federal district courts: the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the Western District of Wisconsin. Federal criminal cases use the federal PACER system rather than Wisconsin CCAP/WCCA.
Milwaukee / Green Bay federal court
Search federal cases through PACER. Public electronic records can also be viewed free at the Clerk’s Office during normal business hours, although printing fees may apply.
Madison federal court
The Western District states that its PACER criminal case information includes cases from September 1991 forward.
Using Wisconsin criminal records for employment decisions
A public WCCA search and a formal employment background check are not the same thing. Wisconsin DOJ warns employers that state law may restrict discrimination based on arrest and conviction records.
DOJ’s WORCS result guidance notes that, generally, an employer may rely on a conviction record when the circumstances of the conviction substantially relate to the circumstances of the job, subject to Wisconsin law.
Wisconsin CCAP criminal-record search tips
Search WCCA, not “CCAP” third-party sites
The official public circuit-court tool is WCCA. Start from the Wisconsin Court System’s case-search page.
Use the county as a reality check
A same-name case in a county the person has never lived in may indicate a mistaken match.
Do not stop at the charge
Scroll through the court events and final disposition before interpreting the case.
Need the actual document? Call the clerk
WCCA is not a public-document download system like PACER.
Appeal? Switch to WSCCA
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals records use a different Wisconsin public-access system.
Background check? Use WORCS
A DOJ criminal-history search is different from reading a court docket on WCCA.
Save the case number
It makes clerk requests, copy orders and appellate cross-checking much easier.
Check aliases carefully
Wisconsin DOJ warns that aliases and fraudulent names can create misleading background-check matches.
Separate county jail from state prison
WCCA, county jail systems and Wisconsin DOC all answer different questions.
Wisconsin CCAP criminal records: frequently asked questions
1. Is Wisconsin CCAP the same thing as WCCA?
Not exactly. CCAP is Consolidated Court Automation Programs, the Wisconsin Court System office that supports court technology. WCCA, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, is the public website used to search statewide circuit-court case information.
2. Is Wisconsin CCAP/WCCA free to search?
Public WCCA circuit-court case searching is available online without a fee. Fees may apply when you request paper copies, certified copies or other clerk services.
3. Does WCCA show criminal convictions only?
No. WCCA can display public criminal cases that did not result in conviction. Always review the case disposition rather than treating the existence of a case as proof of guilt.
4. Can I download criminal complaints or judgments from Wisconsin CCAP?
WCCA generally provides public case information rather than public circuit-court document images. To inspect or obtain actual case documents, contact the clerk of circuit court in the county where the case was filed.
5. How do I get a certified Wisconsin criminal court record?
Contact the clerk of circuit court for the filing county. The statewide fee chart currently lists regular copies at $1.25 per page and certified copies at a $5 certification charge plus $1.25 per page.
6. Is a Wisconsin DOJ background check the same as a CCAP search?
No. WCCA is a public court-case search. Wisconsin DOJ’s WORCS system is used to submit a Wisconsin criminal-history background-check request through the Crime Information Bureau.
7. Where do I search Wisconsin criminal appeals?
Use Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access, known as WSCCA, for public appellate case information.
8. Does expungement remove every Wisconsin criminal record?
No. Wisconsin’s official expungement form explains that qualifying expungement affects the court record of the conviction but does not automatically remove records held by police, the Crime Information Bureau, other law-enforcement agencies or the district attorney.
9. Can a Wisconsin CCAP record belong to someone else with the same name?
Yes. Name similarity can cause mistaken matches. Compare available identifiers such as date of birth, county and case number. Wisconsin also provides a court form for qualifying mistaken-identity or identity-theft situations involving online records.
10. Does Wisconsin CCAP include federal criminal cases?
No. Federal criminal cases in Wisconsin are maintained by the federal judiciary and should be searched through PACER for the Eastern or Western District of Wisconsin.
Official Wisconsin criminal-record sources
- Wisconsin Court System — Case Search
- Wisconsin Court System — Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP)
- Wisconsin Court System — Clerk of Circuit Court Directory
- Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access (WSCCA)
- Wisconsin Department of Justice — WORCS Background Check
- Wisconsin Department of Corrections — Offender Information
- Wisconsin Court System — Confidential, Redacted and Sealed Court Records
- Wisconsin Court System — Criminal Court Forms
- PACER — Federal Court Records