Unfortunately, because this case is not a Wisconsin felony conviction, it is likely not eligible for a pardon in Wisconsin. 

• If this case is a federal felony: we can't help with federal felonies. More information on that process is available here. 
• If this case is an out-of-state conviction: try searching the internet for "[STATE NAME] pardons" to get information from legal aid providers, the governor's office, etc., about your options.

Before you answer the next question, it may help to read the following information about how to check when you completed your last criminal sentence:

• Step 1: Go to Wisconsin’s circuit court case database (CCAP) (http://wcca.wicourts.gov/case.html)

• If you know the case number, type it in the box at the bottom and click “search.”

• If you don’t know the case number, search your last and first name. If there are multiple people with the same name, filter by your year of birth.

• Step 2: Find the case you’re looking for and view the case details

• To find the date you completed your most recent criminal sentence, look for misdemeanor and/or felony cases (the case number will be “[year]CM[####]” (ex: 2025CM1234)). The most recent cases should be at the top of the page.

• Make sure you search for all former names/spellings.

• If the case was a misdemeanor case from over 20 years ago, a municipal court case (a noncriminal traffic ticket/forfeiture), or dismissed entirely, it will not appear on CCAP (and is not eligible for a pardon or expungement).

• Step 3: View the case details

• Confirm that the case ended in a criminal (misdemeanor or felony) conviction. In the “Charges” section at the top of the page, look at the “Severity” & “Disposition” listed in the last two columns. Make sure that at least 1 disposition is “guilty” and the severity is a misdemeanor or felony (if the disposition is “dismissed” or “dismissed/read in,” it doesn’t count as a conviction).

• Step 4: Confirm the sentence date and sentence details. There are two places to look for sentence details:

• (1) “Court Record” section (closer to bottom of page)

• You may get lucky and have a case where the date you completed your sentence is listed on CCAP. Look through the “Court Record” section and see if one of the recent entries has the date of discharge listed.

• If there is no discharge date listed, when in the “Court Record” section, look for an entry from the Sentencing hearing. Sometimes there are details on the sentence there.

• (2) In the “Charges” section: If the sentencing details are not in the “Court Record” section, or if they’re not straightforward and you want to confirm them, scroll up to the “Charges” section and click on “View history and details of charges/sentences.”

• Find the sentence date where it says “On [date] the following was ordered:.” (Not where it says “On [date] there was a finding of:”--that’s the conviction date, which is sometimes different than the sentence date).

• Look for time served in jail or prison or on probation:

• Probation: Unless your probation was revoked, the end of the probation period is the end of the sentence (Ex: If 12 months probation was ordered on 01/01/2000, the sentence ended on 01/01/2001). If there is jail time listed as a condition, ignore that (this is served within the longer probation sentence). If there is probation and “imposed and stayed” prison time, ignore that unless you were revoked (if revoked, add the prison time to the date of revocation)

• Jail: If there was jail ordered and no probation, the end of the jail sentence is the end of the sentence (minus any days “credit” you already served)

• Prison: The whole prison sentence is broken down into 2 parts: initial confinement (the time inside) & extended supervision (the time out on supervision). Sometimes initial confinement time is listed as “prison” time, which can be confusing. Typically, if you see 2 years prison (initial confinement) and 3 years extended supervision, the whole sentence is 5 years.

• “Time served” or “Forfeiture/fine only”: If you were ordered to serve jail time but given a “time served” disposition, it means you already served all required jail time and your sentence is “complete” on the sentencing date (this is also the case if you were only sentenced to pay a fine (no jail or probation)).

• (If you are trying to see when you may be eligible for a pardon) Step 5: Add 5 years to the sentence completion date.

• Important: If you have other recent criminal convictions, make sure you check the sentence dates and sentences for those cases as well! It may be that you were sentenced to Case 2 after Case 1, but your sentence in Case 1 was longer and ends after your sentence in Case 2.

Unfortunately, you are likely not eligible for a pardon. Come back once it has been 5 years since you completed your most recent sentence. 

Unfortunately, you are likely not eligible for a pardon. Wait until your current case ends before pursuing a pardon because it may affect when you are eligible.

Unfortunately, you are likely not eligible for a pardon. Come back if you are no longer required to register to re-assess your eligibility for a pardon.

You are likely eligible for a pardon! Here is some important information about the pardon process.

• Step 1: Get certified copies of (1) the Criminal Complaint, (2) the Felony Information, & (3) the Judgment of Conviction from the clerk’s office in the county of conviction (cost ~$20-$30)

• Step 2: Complete the pardon application packet

• Step 3: Submit the completed application materials to the Pardon Board. Submit notices of the pardon application to the Judge’s office and DA’s office in the county of conviction

• Step 4: Wait for the Pardon Board to review the application materials and notify you if you’ve been scheduled for a pardon hearing

• Step 5: If you’ve been scheduled for a pardon hearing, attend the hearing and wait for the Pardon Board to notify you of their decision

• Things to consider before you begin:

• The process is long. It takes time to get the certified documents and answer all of the application questions. Once submitted, it will take at least ~18-24 months before you are scheduled for a hearing.

• There is no guarantee/no right to a pardon. Any felony conviction case can be eligible for a pardon, but if you have multiple/recent/violent cases on your record, you are much less likely to be pardoned.

• The future of pardons in Wisconsin is uncertain. It is up to each Wisconsin governor to decide whether to appoint a Pardon Advisory Board. The next elected governor could completely change pardon eligibility and process (or decide not to allow any pardons).

Unfortunately, because this case is not a Wisconsin criminal conviction, it is likely not eligible for expungement. Wisconsin's expungement law is extremely restrictive, so very few people can actually get their cases expunged. Legislators have been trying to update the expungement laws so that more people can be eligible, but nothing has been passed yet. We hope that changes in the future.

Unfortunately, because you were 25 or older at the time of the offense, this case is likely not eligible for expungement. Wisconsin's expungement law is extremely restrictive, so very few people can actually get their cases expunged. Legislators have been trying to update the expungement laws so that more people can be eligible, but nothing has been passed yet. We hope that changes in the future.

Before answering the next question, read the following information to help you determine if the judge found you eligible for expungement.

• Step 1: Go to Wisconsin’s circuit court case database (CCAP) (http://wcca.wicourts.gov/case.html)

• If you know the case number, type it in the box at the bottom and click “search.”

• If you don’t know the case number, search your last and first name. If there are multiple people with the same name, filter by your year of birth.

• Step 2: Find the case you’re looking for and view the case details

• Step 3: Check for any mention of expungement

• One easy way to do this is to search the page (CTRL + F for most browsers) for “expun” (this covers mentions of “expungement” and “expunction,” which are used interchangeably)

• If there are no mentions of expungement, it is very likely that the judge didn’t order it at sentencing, which means there’s nothing you can do to ask for it now.

• If the only reference to expungement is regarding “DNA expungement,” that’s talking about removing the DNA record that was taken when you were arrested, not expunging the case (this may happen if the case was charged as a violent offense and amended down to a non-violent offense).

• If there are no case details at all in CCAP aside from the case number and county (common with older cases), you’ll have to request the paper record of the Judgment of Conviction from the clerk’s office in the county of conviction.

• If you specifically remember the judge finding your case expungement-eligible at sentencing, but there’s no mention of it in in CCAP or the Judgment of Conviction, you can request a copy of the transcript from the sentencing hearing.

Unfortunately, this case is likely not eligible for expungement. If expungement wasn't ordered at sentencing, you can't request it later. Wisconsin's expungement law is extremely restrictive, so very few people can actually get their cases expunged. Legislators have been trying to update the expungement laws so that more people can be eligible, but nothing has been passed yet. We hope that changes in the future.

It is likely that your case can be expunged if you complete the following forms and submit them to the sentencing court:

CR-266

CR-267

Before answering the next question, please review the following information to help you find out if you successfully completed your sentence.

• Courts have interpreted the current statute’s definition of “successful sentence completion” extremely narrowly.

• Because the case should have been automatically removed/expunged if you successfully completed the sentence, the fact that the case is still on CCAP means there’s a good chance the sentence wasn’t successfully completed.

• If the sentence wasn’t successfully completed, the DOC would have completed and filed a “Notice of Failure to Meet Conditions for Expungement” form. Sometimes that file has been scanned into the court record and you can see it in the CCAP case notes.

• Check the sentencing notes from the case to look at the conditions of the sentence set by the court (often, this includes doing jail time, paying all costs/restitution/etc., maintaining full-time school/employment/etc., completing community service/parenting classes/etc.).

• Keep in mind: If you were sentenced to probation, your probation agent may have set additional conditions of probation (regular check-ins with agent, random drug testing, etc.). You need to comply fully with those conditions as well.

• Most of the time when people can’t get their cases expunged, it is because they were revoked from probation/picked up new charges and/or because they still owed a balance at the time they were discharged.

• If probation was revoked, that should be noted in the Court Record.

• To see whether you owed a balance at the time of your discharge, you can scroll to the “Total receivables” section at the bottom of the page. If you still see that there’s a balance due to the court, that’s likely why the case wasn’t expunged. Unfortunately, even if you pay the balance off now, the case still can’t be expunged.

• If you see in the Court Record that a Judgment for unpaid fine/forfeiture/other has been entered, that typically also means you owed a balance at the time you were discharged.

For you to have successfully completed your sentence, all of the following must be TRUE:

• You were not revoked/did not pick up new charges
• Before you were discharged, you paid all court costs, supervision fees, and other fines 
• Before you were discharged, you successfully completed all other conditions set by the court AND by the probation agency

Unfortunately, because you did not successfully complete your sentence, this case is likely not eligible for expungement. Wisconsin's expungement law is extremely restrictive, so very few people can actually get their cases expunged. Legislators have been trying to update the expungement laws so that more people can be eligible, but nothing has been passed yet. We hope that changes in the future.

It is likely your case should have been expunged. If you would like help, submit your information and our team will take a closer look at your case to figure out what might have happened.

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