On August 8, Governor Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 25, the follow-up to 2023 Wisconsin Act 235 on privacy protections for judicial officers. The changes include technical amendments to the law, updates to the CS-316 and CS-317 forms, and new submission procedures.
Under the new provisions, written requests and consents to release protected information must be notarized, identify the information to be protected with reasonable specificity, and be sent directly to a designated officer of the appropriate government agency. Judicial officers may also request protection for up to two secondary residences and opt out of public-facing land records website searches.
The CS-316 and CS-317 forms have been revised to reflect these updates, with fillable versions available in both PDF and Word formats. Judicial officers must use the most current forms when submitting requests.
Full details, including access instructions for the updated forms, can be found on CourtNet.
Third Branch eNews is an online monthly newsletter of the Director of State Courts Office. If you are interested in contributing an article about your department’s programs or accomplishments, contact your department head. Information about judicial retirements and judicial obituaries may be submitted to: Sara.Foster@wicourts.gov