Home › Child custody filing costs › Wisconsin

How much does it cost to file for custody in Wisconsin?

Starting a custody case in Wisconsin costs $95 in clerk of court fees under the state's fee statute — and coming back to change a custody order costs $50. Wisconsin Statutes §814.61(1)(a) sets a $75 fee at the commencement of a civil action or special proceeding, and §814.61(1)(b) adds $20 at the commencement of an action affecting the family, a fee the county treasurer deposits in a separate account used exclusively for family court services under §767.405. A standalone custody or physical placement case is exactly that kind of action, so the two lines stack to $95. The revision side is priced separately in §814.61(7)(b): filing a petition, motion or order to show cause to revise a judgment or order for legal custody or physical placement costs $50 — unless both parties have stipulated to the change, in which case the statute says no fee may be collected at all.

Wisconsin custody fees at a glance

Wisconsin's structure rewards agreement twice over. At the front end, parents who can file jointly or stipulate still pay the $95 commencement stack — the exemption there is narrow — but at the revision stage a fully stipulated custody or placement change is free to file, a rule written directly into §814.61(7)(b). The contrast with the $50 contested-revision fee is the statute's way of pricing the court's time: a change both parents already accept needs a judge's signature, not a fight. The $20 family increment is also earmarked rather than general revenue — it funds the family court counseling and mediation services described in §767.405, the same services many custody filers will actually use. The national comparison is on the child custody filing costs hub and the wider state picture is on the Wisconsin court costs guide.

Custody, placement, and where the case is filed

Wisconsin splits what other states call custody into two concepts: legal custody (decision-making) and physical placement (where the child lives), both governed by chapter 767, Actions Affecting the Family. A standalone case is commenced in circuit court with a petition for legal custody and physical placement, and the clerk collects the §814.61(1) stack at commencement. Custody raised inside a divorce or legal separation is part of that family action rather than a second commencement — the divorce itself pays the same $75-plus-$20 stack once, as this site's Wisconsin divorce costs page explains — so the $95 on this page is the price of a custody case that stands on its own, most often for unmarried parents or for a parent whose divorce was completed elsewhere or long ago. Two commencement exemptions matter at the margins: §814.61(1)(c) excludes actions to terminate parental rights and actions for adoption from the commencement paragraphs, so neither of those family proceedings is priced by the $95 stack.

The revision fees in practice

Most custody litigation is revision litigation: a placement schedule that worked for a toddler fails for a teenager, a parent moves, a job changes. Wisconsin prices those returns in §814.61(7). A petition, motion or order to show cause under §§767.451 or 767.481 to revise a custody or placement judgment costs $50, of which the county treasurer sends 25 percent to the state general fund, retains 25 percent for the county, and deposits 50 percent into the §767.405 family services account. Revisions of other parts of a family judgment — support mechanics aside — fall under §814.61(7)(a) at $30, with its own stipulation exemption for support, family support and maintenance revisions both parties accept. And where a person not receiving public benefits files a petition requesting child support, maintenance or family support, §814.61(13) adds $10 for the cost of court services. Every one of those figures is in the statute itself, which is why Wisconsin filers can predict the clerk's bill more precisely than filers in county-priced states.

How the case runs

1. Complete the petition for legal custody and physical placement for the circuit court in the county where the child lives
2. File the petition and pay the commencement fees $95
3. Serve the other parent and attend any mediation orientation the county's family court services provides
4. Reach a stipulation or try the custody and placement issues to the court
5. Return later, if circumstances change, on a revision filing $50 — or no fee where both parents stipulate

What custody really costs beyond the clerk

The figures on this page are the clerk of court's statutory fees under §814.61, and they are the predictable spine of the case — but two cautions belong on the record. First, other statutory charges can attach to a circuit court case outside §814.61, and the clerk's office confirms the complete amount due at filing; this page publishes the §814.61 custody stack it verified rather than a built grand total. Second, the real money in a contested custody case is rarely the clerk: mediation beyond the county program, custody studies or evaluations where ordered, guardian ad litem charges and attorney fees are set by the provider, the court or the market, and no statewide schedule publishes them, so they are named here without invented figures. Process service likewise varies by server. Compare other states' structures on the custody hub, including Michigan family filings background, Minnesota family filings background and Ohio custody costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Wisconsin circuit courts can waive or defer filing fees for a person who cannot pay them, on a sworn statement of income, assets and expenses filed with the petition — ask the clerk of circuit court for the current indigency paperwork at the same visit, because the case cannot be commenced on an unpaid fee unless the court grants relief. A granted waiver addresses the court fees; it does not pay for service, mediation beyond the county program, or a lawyer. Note the built-in relief the statute already gives agreed cases: parents who stipulate to a custody or placement revision owe no §814.61(7)(b) fee at all, waiver or no waiver. The general mechanics of fee waivers are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: Wis. Stat. §814.61, official text at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov, read directly — (1)(a) commencement of a civil action $75; (1)(b) additional $20 at commencement of an action affecting the family, deposited for §767.405 family court services; (1)(c) commencement exemptions including termination of parental rights and adoption; (7)(a) general revision of a family judgment $30; (7)(b) revision of a legal custody or physical placement judgment under §§767.451 or 767.481 $50, no fee where both parties stipulated; (13) support or maintenance petition $10 additional for a non-benefit filer. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm the complete amount due, including any charges outside §814.61, with the clerk of circuit court.