This guide is for legal and restructuring professionals, creditors, investors, researchers, and individuals who want general court information. It covers jurisdiction, venue, filing logistics, records research, case milestones, data use, and what professionals should monitor. Verify current procedures through the court's website and PACER before relying on anything here. Nothing below is legal advice.
Key Takeaways
- The court covers 28 eastern Wisconsin counties and is separate from the Western District.
- Venue rules, fees, judges, and e-filing procedures change, so confirm them with official sources.
- PACER and the court website hold the primary record; BankruptcyData adds structured monitoring and comparison on top.
- Filing statistics mean little without chapter, period, status, and measure type.
Understanding the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court
Jurisdiction and Geography
Federal district courts hold original jurisdiction over Title 11 cases under 28 U.S.C. § 1334, and bankruptcy judges handle matters referred to them. Wisconsin has two separate bankruptcy courts, Eastern and Western. The Eastern District's 28 counties are:
- Brown, Calumet, Dodge, Door, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Green Lake, Kenosha, Kewaunee
- Langlade, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Racine
- Shawano, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago
The court's jurisdiction map is the official reference for boundaries. Governing law includes the Bankruptcy Code, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and the E.D. Wis. Local Rules (effective Jan. 1, 2026).
Locations and Clerk's Office
Filings are accepted only in Milwaukee. Green Bay and Oshkosh are hearing locations.
| Location | Address | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee U.S. Courthouse | 517 East Wisconsin Avenue, Room 126, Milwaukee, WI 53202 | Filing location |
| Green Bay Federal Courthouse | 125 S. Jefferson Street, Green Bay, WI 54301 | Hearings only |
| Winnebago County Courthouse | 415 Jackson Street, Oshkosh, WI 54901 | Hearings only |
The clerk's office (Sean D. McDermott, Clerk of Court) is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except legal holidays. The phone number is 414-297-3291.
Matters, Judges, and Trustees
The court handles Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 cases, plus adversary proceedings, contested motions, claims disputes, plans, and orders. Adversary proceedings are lawsuits filed within a bankruptcy case, such as Lee v. Cho, Adv. Proc. No. 25-02050.
Judges resolve disputes. Trustees administer cases under the U.S. Trustee Program, which appoints and supervises private trustees. Their roles differ by chapter:
- Chapter 7 trustees administer estates and may liquidate nonexempt assets
- Chapter 13 trustees collect and distribute plan payments
- Judges do not attend the § 341 meeting of creditors
The active roster lists Chief Judge Katherine M. Perhach and Judges G. Michael Halfenger and Rachel M. Blise. Check the court's judges page for assignments, recusals, and vacancies.
Venue, Filing Requirements, and Court Logistics
Choosing the Right District
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1408, venue generally lies where the debtor's domicile, residence, principal place of business, or principal assets in the U.S. were located for the 180 days before filing. It can also lie in the district where the longer part of that period was spent. A separate basis applies when a case involving an affiliate, general partner, or partnership is already pending.
Choosing the district is a different question from choosing a courthouse. The Local Rules don't publish a county-to-division table, so confirm case assignment with the clerk's office.
Filing Paths
- Attorneys must file electronically through CM/ECF.
- Self-represented filers can use the court's "Filing Without a Lawyer" page and its Chapter 7 and 13 packets.
- Mail or drop-off instructions are not readily available, so ask the clerk before assuming either works.
Documents Individuals Typically Need
For Chapter 7 or 13, the court identifies:
- Voluntary Petition (Form 101)
- Fee installment application (Form 103A), if applicable
- Creditor matrix
- Statement of Social Security Number (Form 121)
- Credit-counseling certificate
- Schedules, summary, declaration, and Statement of Financial Affairs
- The court's payment-advices cover sheet
Schedules and statements are generally due within 14 days of the petition. An individual Chapter 7 debtor must file a statement of intention within 30 days. A financial-management course certificate is required before discharge.
Fees, Installments, and Waivers
Published petition totals, combining statutory fees from 28 U.S.C. § 1930 and the miscellaneous fee schedule (effective Dec. 1, 2023):
| Chapter | Petition total |
|---|---|
| 7 | $338 ($245 + $78 + $15) |
| 11 (nonrailroad) | $1,738 |
| 12 | $278 |
| 13 | $313 |
Ancillary fees are extra. Under Rule 1006, an individual may apply to pay in up to four installments, generally within 120 days and no later than 180. Chapter 7 individuals may seek a waiver on Form 103B if income is below 150% of the poverty line and installments aren't feasible.
Incomplete filings risk dismissal. The court specifically warns that a missing credit-counseling certificate can end a case.
How to Find and Research Eastern District Bankruptcy Court Records
What's Free and What Isn't
Bankruptcy papers and dockets are generally public under 11 U.S.C. § 107, subject to sealing and protective orders. Court opinions are free. PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3 per document, and waives quarterly charges of $30 or less. The court also lists the McVCIS phone system (866-222-8029) and an online claim-filing portal.
A Practical Search Workflow
- Search by debtor name or case number.
- Confirm the chapter and filing date.
- Read the docket from the top, noting amended and terminated entries.
- Pull the key documents.
- Log later motions, orders, claims, and the final disposition.
Which Documents Answer Which Questions
- Debtor's financial picture: petition, schedules, statement of financial affairs
- Business operations in Chapter 11: first-day motions, financing requests
- Creditor recovery: claims register, disclosure statement, plan, confirmation order
- Asset outcomes: sale orders
- Case endings: dismissal, discharge, or closing documents
Validating What You Find
Check docket timestamps and amended filings. Look for related adversary proceedings. Remember that sealed or restricted documents won't appear, and that docket text sometimes differs from the filed document. Read the document itself.
Where BankruptcyData Fits
Court records are the source of truth. BankruptcyData is a supplementary option for professionals who need unified visibility across court activity, filings, stakeholders, restructuring developments, and historical outcomes. Its platform holds 600k+ records spanning 45+ years of U.S. bankruptcy activity. It complements official records and doesn't replace them.
Understanding the Bankruptcy Case Lifecycle
From Petition to Closing
Filing ordinarily triggers the automatic stay, which halts many collection actions, subject to exceptions. From there, a trustee or debtor-in-possession administers the estate. Creditors file claims, motions get decided, and the case moves toward a plan, liquidation, discharge, dismissal, conversion, or closing.
| Chapter | Structure | Discharge |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Liquidation; trustee administers nonexempt assets | Covers most individual debts, with exceptions |
| 11 | Reorganization; debtor usually stays in possession | Generally follows plan confirmation |
| 12 | Family farmers and fishermen; 3-5 year plan | Generally follows plan completion |
| 13 | Individuals with regular income; 3-5 year plan | Generally follows plan completion |
Events Worth Tracking
- The § 341 meeting of creditors (a required meeting, not a court hearing)
- First-day hearings and financing requests
- Asset sales and claim objections
- Plan confirmation
- Contested matters and adversary proceedings
- Final outcomes
Status Matters More Than Filing Date
A filing date says nothing about where a case stands today. Separate pending, dismissed, converted, discharged, confirmed, and closed cases. A Chapter 7 case can convert to Chapter 11, 12, or 13 if statutory requirements are met.
Deadlines and legal consequences depend on the case. Ask qualified bankruptcy counsel instead of inferring them from a docket summary.
Using Eastern District Bankruptcy Data Responsibly
Benchmarks and Context
In the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, the Administrative Office's F-2 table reported 7,333 cases commenced in the district:
- Chapter 7: 4,567
- Chapter 11: 24
- Chapter 13: 2,734
- Other chapters: 8
"Other" is not a separate Chapter 12 count.
National figures are a different measure. ABI and Epiq reported 469,719 U.S. filings from January through September 2026, up 11% year over year. That's a calendar-year-to-date number and can't be compared directly with a district's 12-month table.
Always record the source, period, methodology, and retrieval date. The AO notes that its database is continually updated, so later tables may differ.
Common Data-Quality Problems
- Duplicate or amended entries
- Reopened and transferred cases
- Sealed information
- Inconsistent debtor names
- Incomplete industry classifications
- Changes in reporting practices
Categories matter too. Business and nonbusiness cases, and filings versus pending or closed cases, answer different questions.
An Example Workflow
A credit analyst might start with a new Chapter 11 petition in the district, then:
- Pull the schedules and claims register from PACER.
- Map advisors and creditor counsel from retention filings.
- Track financing, sale, and plan events.
- Compare timelines against historical cases.
BankruptcyData supports the last steps through case benchmarking and timeline research. Its licensed datasets, API feeds, and MCP server connect this intelligence to analytics, automation, and compatible AI tools.
Keep links back to primary court records so every conclusion can be traced.
What Professionals Should Monitor in the District
Law Firms and Restructuring Advisors
- New petitions and first-day relief
- Key motions and debtor and creditor counsel
- Plan developments
- Comparable case outcomes
Distressed-Debt Investors
Useful signals include:
- Claims activity
- Financing and asset sales
- Plan terms and recoveries
- Conversion or dismissal risk
- Stakeholder changes
None of these speaks for itself. Each needs legal and financial analysis.
Credit and Trade-Risk Teams
- Monitor customers and counterparties for new filings.
- Verify exposure against the debtor's schedules and your own records.
- Note the claims bar date. In voluntary Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases, Rule 3002 generally sets 70 days after the order for relief; governmental units get 180 days. Chapter 11 uses a court-set bar date.
- Escalate material docket events to counsel.
A lien isn't void just because a creditor didn't file a claim, but don't count on that without advice.
Researchers and Data Licensors
Document your search criteria, source versions, extraction dates, coding decisions, and limitations. Without them, nobody can reproduce your results.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Chapter 7 bankruptcy cost in Wisconsin?
The published petition total is $338 ($245 statutory, $78 administrative, $15 trustee). Installments or a fee waiver may be available, and attorney and counseling costs are extra. Confirm with the court and counsel.
What is the income limit for Chapter 7 in Wisconsin?
Eligibility depends on household size, income, expenses, and the means test. For cases filed on or after July 15, 2026, the U.S. Trustee Program lists a one-person median of $71,168. Check its current table and get legal advice.
What are the non-dischargeable debts in Wisconsin?
Federal law governs. Exceptions under 11 U.S.C. § 523 can include domestic support, certain taxes, some student loans, and debts from fraud or willful injury. Some require an adversary proceeding.
Can I access Wisconsin court records online?
Yes. PACER provides dockets and documents, opinions are free, and the court's website links to case information and claim filing. Some documents cost money, and sealed records aren't public.
Who are the current district judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin?
The court's website currently displays Chief Judge Katherine M. Perhach and Judges G. Michael Halfenger and Rachel M. Blise. Verify assignments and changes on its judges page.
