Most forms are obtained from the Clerk of Courts Office located in the courthouse. Most forms are free, but there are filing fees. Forms may also be found on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access - Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) via the internet.

First take the papers to the Clerk of Courts Office to be authenticated, then to the Civil Process Unit of the Marathon County Sheriff's Office, both located at 500 Forest Street, in the Marathon County Courthouse Complex.

Two copies of the papers are required with an official court stamp on them for each person served.

No. The Sheriff's Office will only check papers to make sure they are legible (readable) and accurate.

The Sheriff's Office is not allowed to give legal advice of any kind whatsoever. You may contact an attorney for legal advice. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may call Wisconsin Judicare Incorporated at 715-842-1681, to see if you qualify for their services.

Many employers request that we do not come to their company for the purpose of serving papers. Serving papers at a company often results in loss of production for the company. The person receiving the papers may become emotional, and the company does not have the resources to deal with this type of situation. Additionally, the actual job site that the employee is at may be different from the company's headquarters, and locating the employee may be difficult.

No. The Sheriff's Office will not provide an address. You will need a current physical address in order for us to attempt service.

We will attempt to accommodate this, but it can be very difficult to schedule a deputy to be somewhere at a specific time.

The Civil Process Unit handles between five and six thousand legal papers annually. We serve papers as efficiently as possible, but we cannot promise that a paper will be served immediately or in a specific time period. We suggest that you allow us sufficient time to locate and serve the person their papers.

Answer the questions as completely as you can. All information you provide helps us to serve the papers as efficiently as possible.

There are many types of legal papers. Some papers require personal service, meaning the papers must be served to the person who's named on the papers. Other papers can be to someone else at the residence after three attempts to serve the person who's named on the papers (substitute service). Please speak with someone in the Civil Process Unit if you have further questions about substitute service.

The person being served must be served personally.  In some cases, substitute service can be made to someone over the age of 14 who lives in the same residence. 

Pre-payment is required for process service unless a Petition of Fee Waiver is obtained from the court ahead of time. Payment is accepted via cash, credit card, check, or money order. See our fees page for additional details.