814.29.Security for costs, service and fees for indigents.

Ch. 814: Court Costs, Fees, and Surcharges · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 15, 2026

In one sentenceSection 814.29 lets a court excuse a party from paying costs, fees, or security based on poverty, through a detailed affidavit process and a separate prisoner trust-fund procedure, with only its opening paragraph gaining a new clerk-notice duty effective November 1, 2026.

Full Text of Section 814.29

Text sizeJump to: (1) (1m) (2) (3)

(1)

(a) Except as provided in sub. (1m), any person may commence, prosecute or defend any action or special proceeding in any court, or any writ of error or appeal therein, without being required to give security for costs or to pay any service or fee, upon order of the court based on a finding that because of poverty the person is unable to pay the costs of the action or special proceeding, or any writ of error or appeal therein, or to give security for those costs. Each clerk of court shall post a notice that an application for waiver of any requirement to give security for costs or for payment for any service or fee as provided under this paragraph is available for indigent parties at the clerk of court’s office.

(b) A person seeking an order under par. (a) shall file in the court an affidavit in the form prescribed by the judicial conference, setting forth briefly the nature of the cause, defense or appeal and facts demonstrating his or her poverty.

(c) The finding and order of the court under par. (a) shall be in the form prescribed by the judicial conference. The court may deny the request for an order if the court finds that the affidavit states no claim, defense or appeal upon which the court may grant relief.

(d) The court shall make a finding of poverty and issue an order under par. (a) if the affidavit demonstrates any of the following:

1. That the person is a recipient of means-tested public assistance, including aid to families with dependent children, relief funded by a relief block grant under ch. 49, relief provided by counties under s. 59.53 (21), medical assistance, supplemental security income, food stamps or benefits received by veterans under s. 45.40 (1m) or under 38 USC 1501 to 1562.

2. That the person is represented by an attorney through a legal services program for indigent persons, including, without limitation, those funded by the federal legal services corporation, the state public defender or volunteer attorney programs based on indigency.

3. That the person is otherwise unable, because of poverty, to pay the costs of the action, proceeding or appeal or to give security for those costs. In determining the person’s ability under this subdivision to pay or give security for fees and costs, the court shall consider the person’s household size, income, expenses, assets and debts and the federal poverty guidelines under 42 USC 9902 (2).

(1m)

(a) In this subsection, “prisoner” has the meaning given in s. 801.02 (7) (a) 2.

(b) If a prisoner makes a request for leave to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal without being required to prepay the fees or costs or without being required to give security for costs, the prisoner shall submit all of the following:

1. The affidavit required under sub. (1) (b).

2. A certified copy of the trust fund account statement for the prisoner for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the request for leave to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal, or for the period that the prisoner was incarcerated, imprisoned or detained, if that period is less than 6 months. The trust fund account statement must be obtained from the appropriate official at each facility in which the prisoner is or was incarcerated, imprisoned, confined or detained. “Trust fund account statement” includes accounts accessible to the prisoner before or upon release.

(c) Except when dismissal is required under s. 801.02 (7) (d), the court shall issue an order permitting the prisoner to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal without the prepayment of fees or costs or without being required to give security for costs if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The court determines that the prisoner does not have assets or other means by which to pay the fees or costs or to give security for the costs after reviewing the information provided under par. (b).

2. The prisoner authorizes in writing the agency having custody of the prisoner’s prison trust fund account to forward payments from the prisoner’s account to the clerk of court each time the amount in the account exceeds $10 until the fees or costs are paid in full.

(d) If the court determines that the prisoner who made the affidavit does have assets in a trust fund account, whether accessible to the prisoner only upon release or before release, the court shall order an initial partial filing fee to be paid from that trust fund account before allowing the prisoner to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal. The initial filing fee shall be the current balance of the prisoner’s trust fund account or the required filing fee, whichever is less.

(e) The agency having custody of the prisoner shall freeze the prisoner’s trust fund account until the deposits in that account are sufficient to pay the balance owed for the costs and fees. When the deposits in that account are sufficient to pay the balance owed for the court costs and fees, the agency shall forward that amount to the court. This paragraph does not prohibit the payment from the prisoner’s trust fund account of court-ordered payments for child or family support, restitution or federal court fees or for the payments of debts owed to the department of corrections.

(f) If the court believes that a prisoner is in imminent danger of serious physical harm, the court shall issue an order permitting the prisoner to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal without being required to submit the statement under par. (b) or prepaying the initial partial filing fee under par. (d).

(g) Except as provided under par. (f), if a prisoner files an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal under this subsection without complying with the requirements under pars. (b) and (d), the court shall dismiss the action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal without prejudice.

(h) The custodian of the trust fund account of a prisoner shall provide the prisoner with the certified copy of the trust fund account statement required under par. (b) if the custodian determines that the prisoner requires that copy for submittal to a court under this subsection.

(2) The court may dismiss any action or proceeding or may require the payment of, or the giving of security for, costs, fees and service if the court determines that the allegation of poverty is untrue. The court may later require the payment of, or the giving of security for, costs, fees and service if the court determines that the person no longer meets any of the requirements under sub. (1).

(3) RECOVERY OF FEES.

(a) A request for leave to commence or defend an action, proceeding, writ of error or appeal without being required to pay fees or costs or to give security for costs constitutes consent of the affiant and counsel for the affiant that if the judgment is in favor of the affiant the court may order the opposing party to first pay the amount of unpaid fees and costs, including attorney fees under ss. 802.05, 804.12 (1) (c), and 895.044 and under 42 USC 1988 and to pay the balance to the plaintiff.

(b) If the affiant is a prisoner, as defined in s. 801.02 (7) (a) 2., or a person confined in a federal correctional institution located in this state, a request for leave to commence or defend an action, special proceeding, writ of error or appeal without being required to pay fees or costs or to give security for costs constitutes consent as provided in par. (a), and, if the judgment is in favor of the opposing party, constitutes consent for the court to order the institution to deduct the unpaid fees and costs, including attorney fees listed in par. (a), from the amount in the inmate’s account at any time the account has sufficient money to pay the unpaid fees and costs. This paragraph does not prevent the collection of the unpaid fees and costs by any other method.

End

Official Notes

NOTE: Par. (a) is shown as amended eff. 11-1-26 by 2025 Wis. Act 179. Prior to 11-1-26 it reads:

Judicial Council Note, 1993: The amendments to sub. (1) are intended to simplify and make more uniform the procedure for determining when costs and fees for indigent persons should be waived by the court. The form of the affidavit and court finding and order is to be prescribed by the Judicial Conference. To simplify the determination of indigency, detailed financial statements are not necessary if the person is receiving means-tested public assistance or legal services based on indigency. Amended sub. (2) allows the court to require payment of fees if it is later shown that the person is no longer indigent.

Plain-English Summary

Section 814.29 is Wisconsin’s mechanism for letting a person proceed in court without being required to pay costs, fees, or security because of poverty. A party applies by affidavit, and the court makes a finding of poverty using specific criteria — such as receiving means-tested public assistance, being represented through a legal-services program for indigent people, or a broader financial showing tied to household size, income, expenses, assets, debts, and the federal poverty guidelines — before issuing an order matching a form the judicial conference prescribes. The section also contains a detailed subsection for prisoners, requiring a certified trust fund account statement, an initial partial filing fee drawn from the account when the prisoner has assets, and a process for the custodial agency to freeze and forward trust fund payments until fees are paid, along with provisions letting a court dismiss a case or later require payment if an allegation of poverty proves untrue, and provisions letting a winning affiant recover unpaid fees from the losing opponent.

An official note explains that only the opening paragraph, par. (a), is amended, effective November 1, 2026, by 2025 Wisconsin Act 179. The core authority in that paragraph stays the same: any person may commence, prosecute, or defend an action or special proceeding, or a writ of error or appeal, without giving security for costs or paying any service or fee, upon a court order finding that poverty makes the person unable to pay. What the amendment adds is a new sentence requiring each clerk of court to post a notice that an application for that waiver is available for indigent parties at the clerk’s office — a duty that does not appear in par. (a) as it reads before that date. The rest of the section, including the detailed affidavit criteria in pars. (b) through (d), the prisoner trust-fund procedure in sub. (1m), and the remaining subsections, is not described in the amendment note as changing and continues to apply both before and after November 1, 2026.

So the practical difference the 2026 change makes is narrow: starting November 1, 2026, the clerk of court has an express statutory duty to post notice that the indigency waiver is available. Everything else this section already does — the affidavit, the poverty-finding criteria, and the prisoner trust-fund mechanics — carries forward unchanged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a poor litigant avoid paying court costs and fees in Wisconsin?

Yes. Section 814.29 lets a court waive the requirement to pay costs, fees, or security for costs upon a finding that poverty makes the person unable to pay, both before and after the November 1, 2026 amendment to par. (a).

How is poverty proven under section 814.29?

A person files an affidavit, and the court must find poverty if the affidavit shows the person receives means-tested public assistance, is represented through a legal-services program for indigent people, or is otherwise unable to pay based on household size, income, expenses, assets, debts, and the federal poverty guidelines.

Do prisoners follow a different process to get fees waived under this section?

Yes. A prisoner must submit the poverty affidavit along with a certified trust fund account statement, and the court can require an initial partial filing fee from the account, with the custodial agency later forwarding trust fund payments until the fees are paid in full.

What changes about section 814.29 on November 1, 2026?

An official note confirms that only par. (a) is amended: it gains a sentence requiring each clerk of court to post notice that an indigency waiver application is available at the clerk’s office. The detailed affidavit criteria and the prisoner trust-fund procedure elsewhere in the section are not described as changing.

Does every clerk of court have to post notice about the poverty waiver process?

Starting November 1, 2026, yes — the amended par. (a) requires each clerk of court to post a notice that an application for a waiver of security, service, or fee requirements is available for indigent parties at the clerk’s office. That posting duty is not part of par. (a) as it reads before that date.

Amendment History

History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 761 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 814.29; 1981 c. 317; 1983 a. 538; 1989 a. 31; Sup. Ct. Order No. 93-15, 179 Wis. 2d xxxi; 1993 a. 490; 1995 a. 27, 201; 1997 a. 133; Sup. Ct. Order No. 03-06A, 2005 WI 86, 280 Wis. 2d xiii; 2005 a. 22; 2009 a. 113; 2011 a. 2; 2017 a. 366; 2025 a. 179.

Source & verification. Section text and official notes are reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: wisconsin indigent waiver of court feespoverty affidavit court costs wisconsinin forma pauperis wisconsin lawsuitprisoner filing fee trust account wisconsin814.29 change november 2026security for costs indigent party wisconsin