Median response time climbed to 81 days as the department completed fewer requests
The Wisconsin Department of Justice took a median of 81 calendar days to complete public records requests in September, up from 56 days in August, according to the department’s monthly reports.
DOJ completed 58 requests in September, down from 75 in August. One of the September requests had been open for more than five years.
Attorney General Josh Kaul says more staff would help. “Additional resources could help DOJ reduce response times to public records requests,” Kaul wrote in his answers to a Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council candidate questionnaire released Oct. 1.
The average response time rose from 93.83 days in August to 139.14 days in September.
The oldest request DOJ closed in September took 1,884 days. It was opened July 22, 2021, and closed Sept. 18, 2026. The report does not say what records were sought.
While that 5-year case drove up the average, it wasn’t a standalone fluke. Even after stripping out September’s five oldest resolved requests, DOJ’s median response time was still 78 days—a 39% increase over August.
Four other September responses also involved older requests. Two took 460 and 461 days, one took 335 days and another took 327 days.
Our review found only two September requests were completed within 10 calendar days. Each of the other 56 took at least 20 calendar days, and 25 took more than 100 days.
In August, by comparison, 21 requests were completed within 10 calendar days.
Wisconsin law sets no fixed deadline for a records request. It requires an authority to respond “as soon as practicable and without delay.”
DOJ’s own compliance guide says 10 working days is generally a reasonable time to answer a simple request for a limited number of easily identifiable records. Broader requests, or those that require locating, reviewing or redacting multiple records, may take longer.
The monthly report covers only requests DOJ completed during the month. It does not show how many new requests came in, so it cannot show whether the department’s overall backlog grew or shrank.
Slowdown continued after first half of 2026
The September numbers extend a slowdown Dairyland Sentinel reported Oct. 5.
DOJ reported a median response time of 14 calendar days for requests it completed in 2025. The department completed 1,165 requests that year, which it called the highest yearly total it has ever responded to. About 53% were answered within DOJ’s 10-working-day guideline.
In the first six months of 2026, the median rose to 58 calendar days. DOJ completed 545 requests, 35 fewer than at the same point in 2025, and answered about 25% within 10 working days.
Kaul’s administration has requested 2.6 positions for DOJ’s Office of Open Government in the 2027-29 state budget. He said it asked for 2.6 public records positions in the 2025-27 budget too, but those positions were not included in the final budget signed by Governor Evers.
Besides handling requests for DOJ’s own records, the Office of Open Government answers public questions about the public records and open meetings laws, provides training, reviews citizen complaints and gives guidance to state and local governments.
Weekly pending list is two weeks old
The most recent pending-request list on DOJ’s website was still the one dated Sept. 28 when Dairyland Sentinel checked at 1:42 p.m. Monday. No Oct. 5 or Oct. 12 list had been posted despite DOJ indicating the Office of Open Government compiles the list at the beginning of every week.
The Sept. 28 list showed 658 unresolved requests. The oldest, for Division of Criminal Investigation records, was opened Feb. 22, 2021.
The weekly list is a snapshot. It leaves out requests DOJ received and answered between postings. It also excludes pending public records postings for officer-involved critical incidents, pending family and victim requests tied to those incidents, and other agency public records assists.
DOJ’s public records pages and its 2025 and midyear 2026 reports list no targets for cutting the number of pending requests or the median response time. Kaul’s questionnaire answers did not include performance goals for the positions he is seeking.
Previously at Dairyland Sentinel
