How to Get an Eviction Off Your Record in Wisconsin

Getting an eviction off your record in Wisconsin comes down to three paths: waiting out the retention period that applies to your case, asking the court to vacate the judgment, or negotiating with the former landlord to change how the case is classified. Which path fits depends almost entirely on how the case ended — whether the court granted a writ of restitution, entered a money judgment, or neither.

How Long the Record Stays Up

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rule 72.01 sets retention periods for small claims records, and as of July 1, 2025, eviction cases fall into three tiers based on outcome:

Two years for cases with no money judgment and no writ of restitution. This covers contested cases, stipulated dismissals, and even default judgments where no money was awarded.
Ten years for cases where the court granted a writ of restitution authorizing the sheriff to remove the tenant.
Twenty years for cases where the court entered a money judgment against the tenant, such as unpaid rent or damages.

The ten-year tier is new. Before the 2025 rule change, writ-of-restitution cases sat inside the general twenty-year small claims retention period, so older records should drop sooner going forward.¹ These timelines control how long the case appears on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA), which is the database most Wisconsin landlords check.

Everything below is about moving a case into a shorter tier or clearing the record outright.

Filing a Motion to Vacate the Judgment

Wisconsin Statutes § 806.07 lets a court set aside a judgment for several reasons:

Mistake or excusable neglect, such as missing the court date because of a medical emergency or genuine misunderstanding.
Improper service, meaning you were never properly notified of the lawsuit.
Fraud or misrepresentation by the landlord.
A void judgment, such as a case filed in the wrong county.
Newly discovered evidence that could change the outcome.
Any other reason justifying relief, a catch-all for situations where basic fairness demands it.

A motion based on excusable neglect or fraud must be filed within one year of the judgment. Motions on other grounds just need to be filed within a “reasonable time,” which the court evaluates case by case.² If the court vacates the judgment, the case may be dismissed or set for a new hearing. A successful vacatur can push the record into the two-year retention tier, provided no new money judgment is entered.

The 15-Day Deadline for Default Evictions

If the judgment was entered by default because you didn’t appear or didn’t respond, Wisconsin law gives you a much shorter window than the general one-year rule. Under § 799.29, a motion to reopen a default judgment in an eviction case must be filed within 15 days of the judgment.³

Fifteen days passes quickly, especially if you didn’t know about the hearing. Miss it, and you’re stuck arguing under § 806.07 that the judgment is void — a harder standard than simply asking to reopen a default. If the court does grant the motion, it will schedule a new hearing and require you to pay the landlord’s court costs up to that point.³

Negotiating With the Landlord

When the case is still pending, a stipulated dismissal is often the cleanest outcome. You and the landlord agree to specific terms (paying overdue rent, moving out by a set date), the case gets dismissed once you follow through, and because there’s no money judgment and no writ of restitution, the record falls into the two-year retention tier.¹

Landlords are usually open to this when you can resolve the underlying problem. For nonpayment cases, offering to pay the balance or set up a payment plan gives the landlord what they actually want. For lease violations, agreeing to vacate by a specific date often works. Get the agreement in writing and file it with the court; an informal deal that never reaches the court record won’t change how the case is classified.

Even after judgment, it’s worth asking the landlord to satisfy or release the judgment as part of a settlement. If they agree, you can file a motion under § 806.07(1)(e), which allows relief when a judgment has been satisfied. That won’t erase the filing entirely, but it can change the record’s status on WCCA.²

Fixing Errors on Tenant Screening Reports

Court records are only half the problem. Private tenant screening companies maintain their own databases, and those reports are what most landlords actually pull. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these companies have to follow the same accuracy rules as credit bureaus.

Common errors include eviction records that should have dropped off after the retention period expired, cases listed as judgments when they were actually dismissed, and records belonging to someone else with a similar name. You’re entitled to one free report per year from each nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency, which includes tenant screening companies.⁴ You can also get a free copy of any report a landlord used to deny your application, as long as you request it within 60 days.⁵

When you find an error, file a written dispute with both the screening company and whoever furnished the bad data. Describe the specific mistake, attach supporting documents (court records showing dismissal, a satisfaction of judgment), and keep copies. The company has 30 days to investigate and respond. If the information turns out to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, it has to be corrected or deleted.⁶

The FCRA also caps how long any civil judgment or civil suit record can appear on a consumer report at seven years from the date of entry.⁷ If a screening company is still reporting an eviction judgment older than seven years, that’s a clear violation worth disputing.

What About Your Credit Report?

Eviction judgments themselves don’t appear on standard credit reports. Since July 2017, the three major credit bureaus have excluded civil judgments entirely, after the National Consumer Assistance Plan required public records to include a name, address, and Social Security number or date of birth before being added to credit files. Court records almost never carry Social Security numbers, so civil judgments were effectively removed.⁸

Unpaid rent is a different story. If the landlord sends the debt to a collection agency, that collection account will appear on your credit report and stay for seven years from the date of the original missed payment.⁷ Paying off the balance as part of a settlement gives you grounds to dispute the entry with the credit bureaus if the collector doesn’t update the status.

If the Eviction Involved Domestic Violence

The Violence Against Women Act bars landlords in federally subsidized housing programs from denying your application based on an eviction that resulted from violence committed against you, and bars terminating assistance for the same reason. You can self-certify your status using HUD Form 5382, and you can request a lease bifurcation to remove the perpetrator without losing your housing.⁹ These protections apply to HUD-assisted housing, including public housing and Section 8 vouchers, not to private market rentals.

Where to Get Help

Legal Action of Wisconsin runs an Eviction Defense Project with same-day legal help at courthouses in Milwaukee and La Crosse counties. Services include brief legal advice, help drafting documents, settlement negotiation, and sometimes courtroom representation. The program serves tenants with hearings scheduled that day, and spots are limited.¹⁰ If your case has already been decided, contacting Legal Action or a legal aid group in your area for a consultation is still worth doing. They can tell you whether a motion to vacate is realistic given the facts and how much time has passed.

1
Wisconsin Court System. Supreme Court Order – Retention of Court Records
2
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 806.07 – Relief From Judgment or Order
3
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 799 – Small Claims Procedure
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Review Your Rental Background Check
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 Section 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
8
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Removal of Public Records Has Little Effect on Consumers’ Credit Scores
9
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
10
Legal Action of Wisconsin. Housing Services