The Wisconsin military affidavit

How Wisconsin handles it

Wisconsin publishes one statewide circuit court form and expects it to be used unaltered. GF-175, Declaration of Nonmilitary Service, was approved 11/21/2019 and released 03/06/2020, and its official summary sheet names the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney as the person who completes it, ties it to benchbook reference CV-52, and records that the 2019 update was made "Pursuant to 2019 WI Act 30, updated to add party/attorney address, email address and telephone number." The circuit court forms index also flags it as available in the court system's forms web application.

The form is a numbered declaration rather than a checklist. Paragraph 1 asks whether you are the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney. Paragraph 2 states the declaration "is made for the purpose of obtaining a default judgment." Paragraph 3 is the personal-knowledge route and says choose one of four: you know the defendant personally and they have never indicated service "with the United States military or National Guard"; you contacted the defendant, who told you on a stated date that they are not on active duty; you see the defendant regularly; or other personal knowledge, written out. Paragraph 4 is the documentary route, with is and is not boxes for a certificate obtained "from the United States Department of Defense website" and the line "This certificate is attached." Paragraph 5 is the honest-failure route: you attempted to determine status, lack sufficient information, have no reason to believe the defendant is serving, and must "Describe efforts made."

The second obligation is the one Wisconsin filers miss, because GF-175 does not cover it. Wis. Stat. section 321.62(5)(a) requires that when a defendant defaults, the plaintiff requesting default judgment "shall file with the court an affidavit setting forth facts showing that the defendant is not in state active duty," and if it cannot, an affidavit saying the defendant is in state active duty or that the plaintiff cannot tell. A "service member" for that section is a National Guard or state defense force member ordered into state active duty for 30 days or more, which is exactly the person the federal database will not show. If no affidavit shows the defendant is out of state active duty, a default judgment "may not be entered without a court order," the court must appoint an attorney before entering judgment against someone in state active duty, and it may require the plaintiff to post a bond to indemnify that defendant against loss if the judgment is later set aside.

The state penalties run alongside the federal ones. Section 321.62(5)(d) provides that anyone who makes or uses an affidavit required by that subsection knowing it to be false "shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 9 months or both." Section 321.62(5)(b) lets a Wisconsin service member reopen a judgment entered during state active duty or within 30 days after it ends, on a motion filed within 90 days of the end of that duty and a showing of a meritorious or legal defense, though section 321.62(5)(c) protects a bona fide purchaser for value who acquired rights under the judgment.

What trips filers up here

• The footer of GF-175 misprints the federal citation as "15 U.S.C. §3931." The default judgment section of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is 50 U.S.C. section 3931. The footer also lists "50 U.S.C. §3912 and §321.62, Wisconsin Statutes," while the separate form summary sheet lists "50 U.S.C. §3912 and §806.19, Wisconsin Statutes." File the form as printed, but do not carry its citation into a brief.
• The form carries its own editing ban: "This form shall not be modified. It may be supplemented with additional material." If your facts do not fit the four options in paragraph 3, attach a page rather than rewriting a line.
• GF-175 asks only about "active military duty" and "service with the United States military or National Guard." It has no box for state active duty, which is what Wis. Stat. section 321.62(5) is about. A Wisconsin Guard member on a governor's order can produce a clean federal database result and still be protected by state law.
• Paragraph 3 says "choose one," but paragraphs 4 and 5 are separate paragraphs with their own boxes. A declaration that relies on the Department of Defense certificate still needs paragraph 4 checked and the certificate physically attached, not just paragraph 3 filled in.

Signing it: declaration, no notary

No notary and no clerk. The verification block reads: "Under penalty of perjury, I state that the above declaration is true, except as those matters stated upon information and belief, and as to those matters, I believe them to be true." The form then gives parallel signature blocks, one for the plaintiff or petitioner and one for the attorney, each asking for address, email, and telephone number, with a State Bar number field on the attorney side.

No notary is needed. The signature block is an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, which is what 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) expressly allows. Signing it knowing the military statement is false is still a federal crime, and a state perjury exposure on top.

Wisconsin law on top of the federal rule

Wis. Stat. section 321.62: Wisconsin's state-duty civil relief statute. Subsection (5) creates a separate affidavit requirement about state active duty before default judgment, requires appointed counsel for a defendant in state active duty, permits an indemnity bond, allows reopening within 90 days of the end of state active duty on a meritorious defense, and punishes a knowingly false affidavit by up to $10,000 or 9 months or both. Other subsections add a 6 percent interest ceiling, an eviction stay, stays of execution and garnishment, and tolling of limitations periods during state active duty.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in Wisconsin and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: Wisconsin SCRA benefits.