Run a public WORCS search and keep the receipt reference
For a statewide Wisconsin criminal records search, use Wisconsin DOJ's Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS). An unregistered public user can choose Submit Request, enter the required search information, submit the request, and continue to the U.S. Bank online payment screen. Wisconsin's statutory base fee for a non-fingerprint criminal-history search is $7.
If you search without a registered account, save the order reference number printed on the receipt. Enter that number under Review Results of Prior Search to retrieve the completed result. WORCS says prior results remain available for six months from submission; registered users can instead use View My Requests for requests within that period.
Know what the statewide repository can miss
Wisconsin DOJ says the Centralized Criminal History database contains demographic data, arrests, charges and reported final dispositions and is built from arrest fingerprint cards submitted by law-enforcement agencies. Arrests without supporting fingerprints, and dispositions connected to those unsupported arrests, are not included. Courts and the Department of Corrections can hold information outside the DOJ history.
A “no record” WORCS response is therefore a repository result, not proof that no Wisconsin court or agency record exists.
Separate the online base fee from paper and caregiver charges
The $7 amount is the statutory base for a non-fingerprint search. DOJ's current mailed single-name form lists $12 for general-public, government and nonprofit paper requests, reflecting the base search plus the statutory $5 paper-copy surcharge. The current Rev. 10/24 single-name form lists an additional $8 DHS fee for Caregiver-General and an additional $3 DHS fee specifically for Child Daycare - Caregiver processing. Those specialized mailed-form charges should not be mistaken for the ordinary WORCS public-access fee.
The mailed form also lists a Police Certificate at $20 and requires a fingerprint card.
Police Certificates and Statements of Good Conduct are not online WORCS products
WORCS specifically says a Police Certificate or Statement of Good Conduct cannot be completed online. For those requests, use the appropriate DOJ request form and mail it with a letter asking for a certified background check. Do not pay for a normal online WORCS search and assume it will substitute for the certification required by a consulate or other recipient.
Match identity and use the right follow-up source
Compare the searched name, date of birth or other available identifiers, reporting agency, arrest date, charge and disposition before treating a hit as the same person. If a known prosecution is absent, locate the responsible court case. If the problem is identity or a repository entry, Wisconsin DOJ publishes a criminal-history challenge process; if the court record itself is wrong, follow up with the court or agency that created that source record.
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Save the exact search identifiers and the WORCS order reference number.
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Separate an arrest-history entry from the final court disposition.
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Use the court file when you need a complaint, judgment, docket detail or certified case document.