809.11.Rule (Items to be filed and transmitted).
Ch. 809: Rules of Appellate Procedure · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
Full Text of Section 809.11
Official Notes
Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1978: This section requires the forwarding of the notice of appeal, filing fee and trial court docket entries immediately, the record to be forwarded when the transcript is completed. This will permit early notice to the court of the pendency of the appeal and will permit it to monitor the appeal during the period when the record and transcript are being prepared. Another purpose of this section is to expedite the appellate process by requiring the appellant to order the transcript, if one is necessary, within 10 days of the filing of the notice of appeal. The filing of the statement of the reporter that the transcript has been ordered and arrangements made for payment for it will prevent any delay resulting from counsel not ordering the transcript immediately. Docket entries are required by s. 59.39 (2) and (3). In order to comply with this section, the docket entries will have to be kept. [Re Order effective July 1, 1978]
Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1979: Sub. (4) is amended to clarify that the statement on transcript that is initiated by the appellant must include information that arrangements have been made for the preparation and payment of copies of the transcript for the other parties to the appeal. The language clarification rectifies a present ambiguity in chapter 809 in regard to who is responsible for initiating the arrangements for preparation and payment of copies of the transcript as compared with just the original. The appellant must make all arrangements for the original and copies of a transcript and is responsible for payment. Cost of the preparation of the transcript is included in allowable costs under s. 809.25. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1980]
Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1981: Sub. (4) is amended to require that the appellant file a copy of the statement on transcript with the clerk of the trial court within 10 days of the filing of the notice of appeal. This filing will notify the trial court clerk as to whether a transcript is necessary for prosecution of the appeal and, if so, the date on which the transcript is due. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1982]
Judicial Council Note, 2001: The revision places all of the rules concerning transcript preparation and service in one statute, and eliminates the need for former s. 809.16. Subsection (4) combines and recreates former s. 809.11 (4) and the first sentence of former s. 809.16 (1). Subsection (5) recreates the remaining portions of former s. 809.16 (1). The time limits in subs. (4) and (5) are changed from 10 to 14 days. See the comment to s. 808.07 (6) concerning time limits. No other substantive changes in subs. (4) and (5) were intended. Subsection (6) recreates former s. 809.16 (2). Subsection (7) (a) recreates former s. 809.16 (3). Subsection (7) (b) is created to specify a time within which the court reporter must furnish a statement regarding transcript arrangements to the appellant or cross-appellant. Subsection (7) (c) recreates former s. 809.16 (4). Subsection (7) (d) recreates former s. 809.16 (5). [Re Order No. 00-02 effective July 1, 2001]
Judicial Council Note, 2002: Subsection (4) (b) is amended for consistency in terminology and to clarify that the court reporters’ statement regarding transcript arrangements, sometimes referred to as the court reporters’ certification, is required only for a transcript that has not been filed in circuit court when the statement on transcript is filed, consistent with the clerk of the court of appeals’ interpretation and enforcement practices. Subsection (5) is amended to create a time limit for the completion of the transcript ordering process. If the appellant does not request the preparation of the additional portions of transcript that have been designated by another party within 14 days of the designation, the other party may either request the preparation of the portions from the reporter or move the circuit court for an order requiring the appellant to request the designated portions. This revision creates a 14-day time period for the other party to take action to obtain the additional portions of the record. Subsection (7) (a) is amended to clarify the time limits for the preparation of additional portions of the transcript requested under s. 809.11 (5), and to require the court reporter to notify the clerk of the court of appeals and the parties to the appeal when a transcript is filed and served. Subsection (7) (b) is amended to correct the cross-reference to the rule in sub. (4) (b) that requires the reporter to file a statement regarding transcript arrangements. Subsection (7) (c) is amended to require a court reporter who files a motion to extend the time within which to prepare a transcript to serve a copy of the motion on the clerk of the circuit court and the district court administrator. Early notice that a reporter has requested additional time to prepare a transcript will enable the clerk and the district court administrator to provide workload relief to the reporter if deemed appropriate. [Re Order No. 02-01 effective January 1, 2003]
NOTE: Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07 states that “the Comments to the statutes created pursuant to this order are not adopted, but will be published and may be consulted for guidance in interpreting and applying the rule.”
Comment, 2021: Sub. (3) codifies the clerk’s practice of sending a notice of docketing to inform the parties that the appeal has been filed and providing the case number. The appellate clerk serves the notice of docketing on the electronic parties in the circuit court case, advising them to opt in to the court of appeals case. The appellate clerk also serves the notice of docketing on the attorney general and opts in the attorney general as an attorney for the state. To facilitate the adoption of electronic filing and service, s. 809.11 (4) requires that the statement on transcript be filed and served in the circuit court case. The statement on transcript must be filed within 14 days of filing the notice of appeal, the docketing statement under s. 809.10 (1) (d), and motions made under s. 809.10 (1) (g), if any.
Plain-English Summary
Section 809.11 covers the paperwork and deadlines that follow right after a notice of appeal gets filed. The appellant pays the filing fee to the court of appeals clerk when the notice is filed, by check, through the court’s electronic payment system, or by other arrangement, and can petition for a fee waiver under section 814.29 instead. The circuit court clerk then has 3 days to transmit the notice of appeal, the docketing statement, any motion filed under section 809.41(1) or (4), and the circuit court record to the court of appeals, which dockets the case and creates a notice of docketing on receipt.
Getting the transcript moving is the appellant’s job. Within 14 days of filing the notice of appeal, the appellant must request transcript copies for every party and arrange payment, and must file a statement on transcript in the circuit court either designating the portions requested or stating that no transcript is needed. If another party wants additional portions of the transcript, that party has 14 days after the statement on transcript is filed to designate them, the appellant then has 14 days to request those portions, and if the appellant does not, the other party can either request them directly or move the circuit court to order the appellant to do so. These same rules apply to cross-appellants.
The court reporter’s obligations round out the section. The reporter has to serve transcript copies, file the transcript with the circuit court, and notify the court of appeals and the parties, all within 60 days of the transcript being requested and payment arranged, with a shorter 20-day deadline for supplemental or corrected transcripts ordered under section 809.14(3)(b). The reporter must also return a signed statement confirming the transcript arrangements within 5 days of receiving it. A reporter can only get more time by filing a motion showing good cause, and a reporter who misses the deadline anyway risks being declared ineligible to work as an official court reporter, or barred from private reporting work, until the overdue transcript is filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the circuit court clerk have to send my case to the court of appeals after I file a notice of appeal?
Section 809.11(2) requires the circuit court clerk to transmit the notice of appeal, docketing statement, certain motions, and the circuit court record to the court of appeals within 3 days of the notice of appeal being filed.
How soon do I have to request the transcript after filing my notice of appeal?
Within 14 days after the notice of appeal is filed, the appellant must request transcript copies for each party and file a statement on transcript.
What happens if I do not request transcript portions another party has designated?
The other party may request the portions directly by filing a statement on transcript, or move the circuit court for an order requiring the appellant to request the designated portions, within 14 days of the appellant’s failure or refusal.
How long does a court reporter have to prepare and serve a transcript?
Generally 60 days after the date the transcript was requested and arrangements were made for payment, with a shorter 20-day deadline for supplemental or corrected transcripts ordered under section 809.14(3)(b).
What happens if a court reporter fails to file a transcript on time?
The court of appeals may declare the reporter ineligible to act as an official court reporter in any court proceeding and may prohibit the reporter from performing private reporting work until the overdue transcript is filed.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); Sup. Ct. Order, 92 Wis. 2d xiii (1979); Sup. Ct. Order, 104 Wis. 2d xi (1981); Sup. Ct. Order, 146 Wis. 2d xiii (1988); 1995 a. 201, 224; 1997 a. 35; Sup. Ct. Order No. 00-02, 2001 WI 39, 242 Wis. 2d xxvii; Sup. Ct. Order No. 02-01, 2002 WI 120, 255 Wis. 2d xiii; Sup. Ct. Order No. 15-02, 2015 WI 102, 365 Wis. 2d xix; Sup. Ct. Order No. 19-01, 2019 WI 44, 386 Wis. 2d xvii; Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07, 2021 WI 37, 397 Wis. 2d xiii.