Oct. 7, 2020 – In 2019, the Wisconsin Supreme Court began a pilot project to expand appellate court eFiling beyond the filing of just briefs and appendices.

As part of this project, as of Sept. 28, 2020, Court of Appeals District IV – which serves central and southwest Wisconsin – now accepts electronic filing of almost all documents.

This is the next step in the appellate eFiling pilot project currently underway in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals Districts II and III are also accepting eFiled documents.

Participation in this pilot project is voluntary for attorneys and self-represented litigants. Attorneys who wish to use eFiling can join in two ways:

• For a new appeal, attorneys should file the notice of appeal in circuit court as usual under Wis. Stat. section 809.10(1). The notice of appeal should clearly state (preferably in bold) that participation in the pilot project is requested.

• For pending cases, attorneys should contact the Clerk of the Court of Appeals by email or other writing to request that the case be converted from paper to electronic format.

In the last two months, 160 cases have been converted and are now proceeding electronically.

Attorneys who participate in voluntary eFiling are excused from filing multiple paper copies of briefs with the court. If other parties opt in, they will be served through the eFiling system and will no longer have to be served paper copies. The $20 eFiling fee is waived during the pilot project.

Please note that attorneys who do not choose to participate in the pilot project are still required to file electronic copies of appellate briefs, no-merit reports, petitions for review, and responses, as required by Wis. Stat. section 809.19(12).

Check the appellate eFiling website for more information.

If you have questions, please contact the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals at (608) 266-1880 or at clerk@wicourts.gov.