Washington County Sheriff - Records and Checks
The Department of Transportation information may not be given out to the public. Also, Criminal History Background Checks are not available through the Sheriff's Office.
WI DOT Information
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is not authorized to release Wisconsin Department of Transportation records. For driver license records and/or vehicle records, a Vehicle/Driver Information Request form (MV2896) needs to be completed and mailed to the address below:
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 7995
Madison, WI 53707-7995
More information may be found by calling Wisconsin DOT at 608-266-0233 or by visiting the web site at: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/drivers/points/abstract.htm
WI Criminal History Background Checks
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is not authorized by law to release state criminal history records. For criminal history records please submit a Criminal History Request form and mail to:
Crime Information Bureau
Records Check Unit
PO Box 2688
Madison WI 53701-2688
Washington County Sheriff - Records Notice
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office promotes effective citizen oversight by fostering a policy of open government. We strive to accomplish this by releasing records and giving access whenever legally possible.
PUBLIC RECORDS NOTICE PER §19.34, Wis. Stats.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office provides the following service(s) to Washington County government: The sheriff’s office strives to provide and environment of stability and security in the community; to enforce Federal, State and County Laws; to perform functions designated to the Office by the Constitution, State Statutes, and County Ordinance.
The sheriff’s office is located at 500 Rolfs Avenue in the City of West Bend, WI. Regular office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for holidays.
This Office is a local public office within the meaning of Wis. Stats. Sec. 19.34(1). The legal custodian of the sheriff’s office’s records is Lt. Hope Demler. Information about records and access to records is available from the legal custodian and/or designee at the front counter of the sheriff’s office
Certain sheriff’s office records may be exempt from disclosure under the Wisconsin Public Records Law because they are protected under common law, confidentiality requirements, court decisions, lawyer-client privilege or local, state or federal regulations, rules, or laws.
Public records will be made available for inspection at the sheriff’s office during regular office hours. No original record may be removed.
Copies of public records may be obtained upon request at a cost of $.25 per page (or as provided by other ordinance or state statute) for regular photocopies made by sheriff’s office staff, or for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of reproduction in all other cases. A location fee may be charged if the cost of locating a requested record exceeds $50.00. Advance payment may be required if charges exceed $5.00.
NOTICE:
In compliance with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Senne v. Village of Palatine, 695F3d597 (7th Circuit, 2012), and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. §2721 et.seq., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office is no longer releasing personal information under the DPPA unless it falls under a permissible use. Personal information obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles, including an individual’s date of birth, drivers license number, social security number, home address, telephone number, photograph and medical or disability information is prohibited from disclosure unless one of the permissible uses applies. Permissible uses are listed in 18 U.S.C. 2721 (b). The above restrictions do not apply to Wisconsin accident reports released in compliance with applicable Wisconsin law.
Washington County Sheriff - Release of Information
The following notice will explain how the Washington County Sheriff's Office releases information. This includes not only to whom it is released, but what information will be released.
Drivers Privacy and Protection Act (DPPA)
In compliance with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Senne v. Village of Palatine, 695F3d597 (7th Circuit, 2012), and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. §2721 et.seq., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office will not release personal information under the DPPA unless it falls under a permissible use. Personal information obtained from the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles, including an individual’s date of birth, driver’s license number, social security number, home address, telephone number, photograph and medical or disability information is prohibited from disclosure unless one of the permissible uses applies. Permissible uses are listed in 18 U.S.C. 2721 (b). The Sheriff’s Office will continue to provide records in accordance with those Wisconsin State Statutes that are not in conflict with DPPA. Any records that are denied are subject to review by mandamus under §19.37(1), Wis Stats., or upon application to the Attorney General or a District Attorney.
Records Requests for Motor Vehicle Accident Reports:
Reportable Motor Vehicle Accident Reports that are generated by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are available in un-redacted form from either Crashdocs.org ($2.00 flat fee), or the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) at app.wi.gov/crashreports ($6.00 flat fee). You will need the following information: state, agency, accident report number, your last name, and date of incident (all of this information is contained on the gold Motor Vehicle Accident Information sheet that is supplied to involved operators by the investigating deputy at the time of crash).
If you do not have access to the internet, motor vehicle accident reports will still be available directly from the Sheriff’s Office during normal business hours (Monday - Friday, holidays excluded, between 8:00AM – 4:30PM), for a fee of 25¢ per page (an average accident report is between 4 and 6 pages, but maybe longer depending on the number of vehicles involved and/or other extenuating circumstances).
Whatever method you choose, please allow ten (10) days from the date of accident for internal processing before requesting copies of Motor Vehicle Accident Reports.
Accidents are considered reportable when any of the following criteria are met:
- Injury or death of a person
- $1,000 or more total damage to property owned by any one person
- Damages of $200 or more to government property (except motor vehicles)
Non-reportable Motor Vehicle Accidents Reports are not available WisDOT and can only be obtained online at Crashdocs.org or in person from the Sheriff’s Office.
Accidents are considered non-reportable when all of the following criteria are met:
- There is not any injury or death associated with the crash
- There is less than $1000 total damage to property
- There is less than $200 damage to government property (except less than $1000 damage threshold for a government vehicle).
Any accompanying supplemental reports (if generated) will be released following DPPA guidelines. These guidelines strictly limit the Sheriff’s Office from releasing information derived from WisDOT records unless the requestor falls under one of the permissible uses. This form will be required for the release of any reports other than accident reports. The Permissible Use form, and the consent forms, can be personally obtained at the Sheriff’s Office during normal business hours or directly downloaded from the following PDF form: Permissible Uses form
Written consent: Part of the Permissible Use disclosure may include obtaining written consent of individuals involved in the incident. Keep in mind the consent for other party (Form 1B), needs to be signed by the other individual(s) before release.
There are two PDF forms of written DPPA consent:
Consent for yourself or your child – Link for Form 1A
Consent for other involved party – Link for Form 1B
Audio/Video Requests - Link to PDF Form
Other Open Records Requests:
Any record other than a Motor Vehicle Accident Report that is in possession of the Washington County Sheriff's Office which contains personal identifiable information that was either obtained or confirmed through WisDOT records is also subject to disclosure restrictions under DPPA. These records will be redacted unless the requester falls under one of the permissible uses (see Permissible form link and consent links above). Due to the redaction process, it is beneficial for the requester to contact the Sheriff's Office and speak with the Records Assistant prior to personally stopping at our office to determine if the record is available and if DPPA redaction is necessary.
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