Burnett County, Wisconsin
Sued for debt in Burnett County?
The first thing that matters is which court your papers came from — in Wisconsin that decides your deadline and what you actually have to file. Wisconsin small claims has no days-from-service answer clock. The return date on your summons is the deadline, and return dates are set 8-30 days after the summons issues (§ 799.05(3)(b)).
Which Wisconsin court is yours?
Read the court name off the top of the first page. That name — not the amount, not the collector — tells you which rule applies.
Circuit Court, small claims (Wis. Stat. ch. 799)
money claims of $10,000 or less
Respond by the RETURN DATE printed on the summons (Wis. Stat. § 799.20(1)) — appear that day, or file a written answer by then where your county directs. Missing it risks default judgment under § 799.22.
Circuit Court, regular civil (Wis. Stat. ch. 801-806)
above $10,000
Regular civil procedure applies, including the 20-day answer rule under § 802.06(1) — a different track from small claims.
Scheduled change: the limit moves from $10,000 to $15,000 on 2027-01-01 (2025 Wis. Act 105). The small-claims money limit rises to $15,000 on January 1, 2027. Until then it is $10,000 — statute pages display the future text with today’s law in a note, which is how secondary sources get this wrong.
Filing, fees, and closures in Wisconsin
- Can you e-file as a self-represented defendant?
- Wisconsin eFiling is live in all 72 counties and mandatory for attorneys, but VOLUNTARY for self-represented parties (Wis. Stat. § 801.18(3)) — you may file on paper.
- Does filing an answer cost money?
- No statewide fee is charged for filing an answer (§ 814.62(3) charges the plaintiff at summons issuance). A COUNTERCLAIM does trigger a fee. Local surcharges may apply — ask your clerk.
- Court holidays and closures
- Court closures are published per county, not statewide — Wisconsin publishes a county-by-county Circuit Court Closure Schedule.
- What you have to check locally
- This one matters in Wisconsin: whether a WRITTEN answer is required at all, how it is filed, and how it is served vary by county. The state’s own instructions say "follow local court rules." Ask your Clerk of Courts.
Confirm the case, and reach your Burnett County clerk
Free and open statewide with no login — search your name or case number. WCCA shows case information; document images generally stay at the courthouse.
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) ↗Wisconsin clerk of circuit court directory (all 72 counties) ↗Is this summons real?
Answered does not publish courthouse addresses, phone numbers, or office hours for individual counties: Wisconsindoes not publish clerk hours at the state level, so we link the state’s own directory rather than print contact details we cannot stand behind.
Sources and scope
Court structure, amount limits, filing rules, and fee facts on this page were verified against these primary sources: Wisconsin small claims self-help · Wis. Stat. § 799.01 (small claims scope) · Wisconsin clerk of circuit court directory. County names come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s ANSI county file (72 counties in Wisconsin). Answered is self-help software, not a law firm; every deadline is an estimate you confirm against your summons or the clerk.
Other Wisconsin counties: Adams · Ashland · Barron · Bayfield · Brown · Buffalo · Calumet · Chippewa · Wisconsin statewide guide