PDF requirements for e-filing in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (eFiling)

What the court requires

The limit is 20 MB per document. Split appendices into volumes of 20 MB or less.

“Documents larger than 20 MB must be split into smaller files before uploading them to the eFiling Website.”

Common reasons filings are rejected

• A brief or appendix is over 20 MB.
• Volumes of a split appendix are not labeled in order.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions.
• The PDF is password-protected or has security restrictions, so the court's system can't open it.

Questions about the Wisconsin appellate courts's PDF rules

What is the maximum PDF file size for the Wisconsin appellate courts?

20 MB per PDF.

What should I do if my PDF is too large for the Wisconsin appellate courts?

Split it into consecutive parts that are each under 20 MB, never cutting a page in half, and file the first part as the main document and the rest as attachments named in order (for example "Exhibit A, Part 2 of 3"). For scanned documents, re-scanning in black and white at 300 dpi often shrinks the file enough to avoid splitting. Docket Prime can split the file for you in your browser.

Does the Wisconsin appellate courts require text-searchable PDFs?

It is recommended. Documents saved directly from a word processor are searchable and much smaller than scans; for paper documents, OCR adds searchable text.

What page size does the Wisconsin appellate courts accept?

Letter size (8.5 × 11 inches) is expected. Legal-size or A4 pages may print badly or be refused, so resize them to letter.

Does the Wisconsin appellate courts require bookmarks in PDFs?

They are recommended. Bookmarks help the judge navigate longer documents.