Circuit court eFiling - Opting in on an existing case as a filing agent

Purpose: A filing agent is an employee or non-lawyer representative appearing on behalf of a business or corporation. Filing agents can only opt into or create small claims cases. 

Applicable Users: Filing agents

Prerequisites:

• If the case is a traditional paper case, it must be converted to an electronic case before filers can opt in. Contact the clerk of circuit court’s office in the appropriate county to request the case be converted from a paper case to an electronic case.
• An eCourts account is required to participate in eFiling; refer to the article Creating an eCourts account for additional information.

Steps:

1. Visit the eFiling website at https://efiling.wicourts.gov/ and log in. For more information, see the article Logging into Wisconsin circuit court eFiling.
   
2. Select the opt in link from the main navigation or the Opt in as an electronic party link from the bottom-left menu.
   
3. Select the County the case is filed in and enter the applicable Case number. This information is located on the Electronic Filing Notice. Select the Party you are the filing agent for and select your Email address.
   
   Note: Case numbers can be entered completely (e.g. 2024SC000001) or in an abbreviated format (e.g. 24SC1), but they must exclude dashes and spaces.
4. If you are not already listed as the filing agent for the party selected in step three, you must upload an Appearance of filing agent document. Select the [Upload document] button to upload your Appearance of filing agent in .pdf format. Please note that there is not an official court form for a notice of filing agent. To submit this notice, create a form on your company’s letterhead with appropriate details about your role representing parties on the case.
   
5. If you need to file any additional documents, click the Yes radio button beneath "Do you need to file additional documents?" Click [Continue] to proceed to the document upload screen. For more information on uploading documents, review steps 5 and 6 of the article eFiling to an existing case.
   
6. If you do not need to file any additional documents, click [Save] to proceed.
   
7. On the Ready to file page, verify the information you entered, then select the checkbox next to the filing(s) you wish to submit, or select the checkbox next to a county name to submit all filings in that county. Then, select [File] or [File and Pay].
   
8. Note: If you have set up a court debit account (CDA) with the circuit court you are filing in, you will have the option to choose a payment method. To learn how to set up a CDA, see the article Creating and managing a court debit account. It is your responsibility to ensure proper funds are available in the account at the time of filing.
   If paying with a credit/debit card or eCheck via the US Bank ePayment website, a transaction fee will be applied to the total.
9. On the Filings submitted page, select [Make payment with US Bank] to proceed to the US Bank ePayment website and pay associated filing fees. If fees were not assessed, the [Make payment with US Bank] button will display as [Return to main menu].
   
   Note: Once you have advanced to this page, do not close out of your browser window or take a break. Selecting [File and pay] at the bottom of the previous page initiates a connection with the US Bank ePayment website that only stays open for 10-15 minutes.
   US Bank is the vendor that processes circuit court credit card and electronic check transactions. You do not need a US Bank checking or savings account to pay for filings on the US Bank ePayment website. You can pay using a Visa card, MasterCard, or electronic check.
10. After you submit your opt-in request, it is transmitted to the clerk of circuit court’s office and processed when both the request and payment (if fees were assessed) are received. Upon successful opt-in, you will receive an email notifying you that you are now an electronic notice (eNotice) party and the case will display in your My cases list. You can now access electronic documents and file documents on the case.
    Note: Opt-in requests that have not yet been processed display with a status of Opt in pending on the My cases page.