Wisconsin eFiling Update
Oh my gourd! Pumpkin spice everything!
There's a chill in the air, color in the trees, and a surplus of pumpkin spice to ease us from summer to fall. As you stock up on fun-size treats (that may or may not live to see Halloween) and mull over office-appropriate costume options, take a beat to read up on what's happening with eFiling.
Mandatory eFiling
On September 1st, 2018, guardianship (GN), mental commitment (ME), and judgment and lien (CL, CO, FJ, HL, OL, & TJ) case types were merged into a lengthy list of other case types that must be electronically filed by attorneys and high-volume filing agents in all Wisconsin circuit courts. Other mandatory case types include:
- civil (CV) and small claims (SC);
- family (FA) and paternity (PA);
- criminal (CF, CM, & CT), traffic (TR), and ordinance (FO); and
- formal (PR) and informal probate (IN).
This list will continue to grow on a case-type-by-case-type, county-by-county basis until all circuit court cases can be electronically filed.
Voluntary case types
Over half of Wisconsin counties currently offer voluntary eFiling for adoption (AD), juvenile adoption (JA), juvenile guardianship (JG), and juvenile civil commitment (JM) cases. In addition, Barron, Dodge, and Green Lake are piloting commitment of an inmate (CI), complex forfeiture (CX), John Doe (JD), juvenile CHIPS (JC), juvenile civil law and ordinance violations (JO), juvenile delinquency (JV), and termination of parental rights (TP) cases. All of these voluntary case types, along with minor guardianship (GN; class codes 50304 and 50305) and minor commitment (ME; class code 50504) will become mandatory on March 4, 2019. Take a look at the Participating counties page of our website to learn about specific offerings in each county.
ePayment news
We're excited to announce ePayment enhancements currently in the works that will enable payment for eFilings in a new browser session if you forget to pay or accidentally close your browser window prior to completing your payment. This update makes it possible to return to the website and make payment on a filing you previously submitted, but for some reason, didn't get a chance to pay for. The new payment feature is set to be released within the next couple of weeks.
eFiling tricks to treat yourself to
You've likely been using the eFiling website for a while now, but there a several Easter eggs available (wrong holiday…I know) that you may not be aware of to help you get the most out of your eFiling experience. Read on if you dare, mwah hah hah hah!
- If something spooks you mid-filing, prompting you to step away from your computer, don't fret. Your work is saved on the In Progress page. Simply locate your case in the Pending filing list and select the Resume link to finish what you started.
- R.I.P. credit card number. If your credit card has reached its expiration date, you can raise it from the dead next time you pay for a filing. Once you navigate to the US Bank payment website, select the My Account tab in the top-right corner. Then, select the Payment Methods link to see a list of your saved cards and update the expiration date.
- Are your old paper checks haunting you as mandatory eFiling unfurls? You can still use them for payment by mailing them to the county clerk of court and requesting they be deposited into an electronic Court Debit Account (CDA). First, follow the steps in the "Creating and managing a court debit account" guide. Your new CDA is assigned a number—be sure to write this on the check when you send it off to the clerk. Once it's deposited, your CDA will appear as a payment option when paying for future filings.
- Have your closed cases up and vanished? Fear not, my friend. Simply navigate to your My cases page and select the Can't find a case? Click here to search. link. The My cases page only displays open cases and closed cases with future scheduled activities. All other cases are hiding in the background.
- Not seeing the right Document type when uploading a file? Don't let it dampen your spirits! Try converting your document from Word to PDF format, or vice versa. The Document type list transforms based on the document format you've uploaded.
- Are you haunting a new place of employment? Has your contact information changed? It's easy to update your eCourts account with a new email address, phone number, and/or mailing address. Take a look at the following guides for detailed instructions:
- Are your eFiling notifications flying in faster than bats to the belfry? Or perhaps you’d just prefer they roost elsewhere? Simply edit your user preferences for the desired results. To turn them off and instead monitor your case activity on the Notifications page of the eFiling website (while logged in), hover your cursor over your name on the right-hand side of the main navigation. Select the Preferences dropdown menu item. On the Preferences page, select the Off radio button and then, select the Save button.
To carbon copy a colleague or other interested party on eFiling notifications, simply enter their email address in the CC email notifications field and select the Save button. If you are an attorney at a larger firm and would like to carbon copy several people on your case notifications, we recommend setting up a generic email account for the intended user group equipped with forwarding rules that will deliver the notifications to all desired recipients.
Reach out to us!
Our knowledgeable staff is here to assist you. If you have questions along the way, call us at 1 (800) 462-8843, chat with us, or email us at eFileSupport@wicourts.gov. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter @ CCAP_Wisconsin!