Wisconsin Criminal Records

Wisconsin Criminal Records Search

The Crime Information Bureau (CIB) of the Department of Justice maintains the criminal records in Wisconsin. The Crime Information Bureau maintains the Wisconsin criminal records in the Centralized Criminal History (CCH) database. The CCH database maintained by the CIB contains detailed information about charges, arrests, sentences, court findings and prosecution.

The Crime Information Bureau (CIB) of the Department of Justice receives the aforementioned information from multiple sources including:

• The Wisconsin Department of Corrections
• Courts
• Prosecutors
• Law enforcement agencies

There are a number of reasons people require criminal records including performing background checks on prospective employees, school admittance, property rental, adopting children and purchasing firearm. When a person is arrested for a crime, his or her criminal record begins. The arrested person is photographed and fingerprinted. Along with the information about current arrest, the person?s personal information is also recorded. The aforementioned information is stored if the arrested person is convicted of the crime. In order to confirm whether or not a criminal record in a file belongs to a particular individual, fingerprint-based records are used. Though, as they are quicker and cheaper than fingerprint-based checks, name-based searches are used for most criminal background checks.

As Wisconsin is an open records state, Wisconsin criminal records are available to the general public upon request. Though, the state protects sealed, juvenile, and expunged records. Individuals wishing to view/review personal records and law enforcement agencies are allowed to access complete criminal records. You can request for Wisconsin Criminal Records by mail or online.

To make an online request, you need to be a registered user. Usually, employers or landlords who want to see whether the information provided to them is accurate make third party requests for Wisconsin criminal records. The cost for an online request is $13. On the other hand, to make a mail request for the criminal record, you need to complete a request form and submit it along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Wisconsin Record Check Unit
PO Box 2688
Madison WI 53701-2688

The mail request for the criminal record costs $18 and usually takes 5-7 days to process. Apart from the aforementioned ways, you can obtain Wisconsin criminal records online through public databases. To avail this facility, you need to pay a convenience fee in addition to the fee required for processing the request.