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News & Announcements: 2026
Check this page, or the News and Announcements box on the homepage, for the latest official news and announcements released by the court. You can also access archived news and announcements from this page.
08/14/2026
On January 6, 2026, and June 3-4, 2026, the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (Standing Committee) approved publication of proposed amendments to the following:
Appellate Rule 25;
Bankruptcy Rules 2003, 5005, 8011, 9006, 9036, and 9037;
Civil Rules 5, 5.2, 6, and 55;
Criminal Rules 11, 32, 45, 49, and 49.1; and
Evidence Rules 104 and 902.
The comment period is open from August 14, 2026, to February 15, 2027.
The proposals and supporting materials are posted on the U.S. Court’s website at: https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/proposed-amendments-published-public-comment
If you have questions about the rulemaking process or pending rules amendments, please contact the Rules Committee Staff at 202-502-1820 or via email at RulesCommittee_Secretary@ao.uscourts.gov.
08/14/2026
PACER will undergo maintenance on Sunday, August 23, 2026, from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time.
PACER users and NextGen Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) e-filers may experience intermittent authentication issues when logging on, and intermittent connection issues when making payments through Pay.gov.
06/26/2026
On January 1, 2027, a modest temporary increase in fees for electronic access to court records will take effect to help reimburse the costs of the development of the new case management and public access system.
The increase of two cents per page, from 10 cents to 12 cents, was approved by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Judicial Conference. In addition, the automatic exemption for PACER fees will be raised from $30 to $40 per quarter, ensuring that the vast majority of individual users (those who use $40 or less in PACER services per quarter) will continue to incur no fee or fee increase.
The fee increase will remain in place for a five-year period. This is the first adjustment in PACER fees in nearly 15 years. In 2012, the per-page fee was raised from 8 cents to 10 cents.
Related links:
Temporary Fee Increase Effective Jan. 1, 2027
Judiciary Approves Funding for Case Management and Public Access Modernization
Judges Outline Accelerated Modernization of Case Management...
06/26/2026
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin will be closed on Friday, July 3, 2026, in observance of Independence Day. CM/ECF will be fully operational and will be accepting electronic filings from registered users. The Court will resume normal operations on Monday, July 6, 2026.
06/23/2026
The United States Bankruptcy for Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has issued Amended General Order 2026-2, which modifies the procedures governing the administrative reopening and subsequent re-closing of closed bankruptcy cases in connection with adversary proceedings seeking determinations of dischargeability of student loan debt under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8).
The general order can be found on the court’s website here.
06/16/2026
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin will be closed on Friday, June 19, 2026, in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day. CM/ECF will be fully operational and will be accepting electronic filings from registered users. The Court will resume normal operations on Monday, June 22, 2026.
06/11/2026
Beginning August 17, 2026, PACER users who have not updated their password in the last 18 months will be randomly selected to update their password to comply with the updated password standards. Strong passwords are essential in safeguarding systems from unauthorized access. The new password must:
Be 14-45 characters in length.
Contain at least one lowercase letter, one uppercase letter, and one special character (all special characters are allowed).
Not contain any part of your first name, last name, username, or email address.
Passwords must also be updated every 180 days. This will help reduce the risk of extended use of compromised passwords.
Impacted users will be prompted to update their password upon login. Users may skip the process three times before their account is locked. Once an account is locked, users will not be able to perform any activity until they change their password. Users are encouraged to update their password as soon as possible.
In preparation, users...
06/07/2026
Chief Judge Michael B. Brennan announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reappointed Bankruptcy Judge Catherine J. Furay to another 14-year term when her current term expires on January 2, 2027.
The press release is available here.
06/01/2026
Pay.gov services will be unavailable on Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Sunday, June 21, 2026. No payments can be made through Pay.gov during this time. If you have questions, please contact the clerk's office at (833) 758-0380.
05/20/2026
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Wisconsin will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2026, in observance of Memorial Day. CM/ECF will be fully operational and will be accepting electronic filings from registered users. The court will resume normal operations on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
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