Chapter 341

341.05(15) (15) The vehicle is a motor vehicle being towed, except that when the person operating the vehicle supplying the motive power is a transporter, that person must be registered as a transporter.

341.05(16) (16) The vehicle is a piece of road machinery.

341.05(17) (17) The vehicle is an implement of husbandry or an agricultural commercial motor vehicle.

341.05(18) (18) The vehicle is a motor truck that is operated upon a highway only when directly crossing the highway.

341.05(19) (19) The vehicle is a repaired salvage vehicle operated to or from a location where it is to be inspected as required by s. 342.07, or is an unregistered vehicle operated to or from a location where it is to be inspected as required by s. 110.20.

341.05(19m) (19m) The vehicle is owned by a technical college district board, used exclusively to instruct students in techniques of automotive repair and maintenance and is operated only within 5 miles of the technical college to transport the vehicle to or from a technical college. The operator of the vehicle shall, when operating the vehicle upon a highway, carry in the vehicle a letter from the district director of the technical college stating that the vehicle is exempt from registration.

341.05(20) (20) The vehicle is an amphibious motor vehicle capable of carrying 10 or more passengers when used for sight-seeing purposes, registered as a boat with the department of natural resources and operated upon a highway for a distance not to exceed 5 miles.

341.05(21) (21) The vehicle is owned by the United States.

341.05(22) (22) The vehicle is registered by a federally recognized Indian band or tribe and is exempt under a reciprocal registration exemption agreement under s. 341.409.

341.05(23) (23) The vehicle is a motor bicycle, electric bicycle, or bicycle, except as provided in s. 349.18.

341.05(24) (24) The vehicle is a golf cart being operated in accordance with s. 349.18 (1) (b) or (c) or (1m).

341.05(25) (25) The vehicle is a wood harvesting slasher, as defined by the department by rule, that is used principally off the highway.

341.05 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Trans 316, Wis. adm. code.

341.05(26) (26) The vehicle is a manufactured home, as defined in s. 101.91 (2).

341.05(27) (27) The vehicle is an off-road utility vehicle being operated in accordance with s. 346.94 (19).

341.05(27m) (27m) The vehicle is a lightweight utility vehicle, as defined in s. 346.94 (21) (a) 2.

341.05(28) (28) Notwithstanding s. 341.26 (3) (ar), the vehicle is a farm truck tractor being operated solely in intrastate transportation and is transporting manure, grains, silage, haylage, or equipment between fields or between a farm and a field at the time of operation or is being operated from its point of purchase to the operator’s farm. This subsection does not apply to transportation by a common motor carrier or contract motor carrier.

341.05 History History: 1971 c. 207; 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29, 43, 418; 1983 a. 50, 180, 243, 288, 538; 1985 a. 187; 1985 a. 197 s. 7; 1987 a. 349; 1991 a. 39, 316; 1993 a. 288; 1995 a. 138, 189; 1997 a. 27, 269; 1999 a. 9, 53, 85, 186; 2003 a. 192, 237, 327; 2007 a. 11; 2009 a. 157; 2013 a. 13, 20, 377; 2015 a. 55, 232; 2019 a. 34.

341.055 341.055 Snowmobiles. Snowmobiles shall not be registered under this chapter but shall be registered under ch. 350.

341.055 History History: 1971 c. 277.

341.057 341.057 All-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles. All-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles are not required to be registered under this chapter but shall be registered under s. 23.33 (2) or (2g).

341.057 History History: 1985 a. 29; 1997 a. 27; 2011 a. 208.

341.058 341.058 Electric scooters and electric personal assistive mobility devices. Electric scooters and electric personal assistive mobility devices, even though operated upon a highway of this state, are exempt from registration.

341.058 History History: 2001 a. 90; 2019 a. 11.

341.0585 341.0585 Personal delivery devices. Personal delivery devices, even though operated upon a highway of this state, are exempt from registration.

341.0585 History History: 2017 a. 13.

341.059 341.059 Off-highway motorcycles. All motorcycles that are only being operated off the highways, as defined in s. 23.335 (1) (y), are not required to be registered under this chapter but shall be registered as required under s. 23.335 (3).

341.059 History History: 2015 a. 170.

341.06 341.06 Optional registration.

341.06(1) (1) The department shall register the following vehicles upon proper application therefor and payment of the required fee even though such vehicles may be exempt from registration:

341.06(1)(am) (am) A trailer or semitrailer or camping trailer having a gross weight of 3,000 pounds or less and not used for hire or rental. The registration fee charged under this paragraph shall be the same as the fee under s. 341.25 (1) (gd).

341.06(1)(b) (b) A vehicle owned by a nonresident and which would be subject to registration if owned by a resident. The registration fee charged shall be the same as if the vehicle were owned by a resident.

341.06(2) (2) A vehicle registered under authority of this section is not on that account exempt from any property tax which would be payable in the absence of such registration.

341.06 History History: 1977 c. 29 ss. 1413, 1654 (7) (a); 1977 c. 418; 1999 a. 80.

341.067 341.067 Registration of special vehicles. The department shall register a specially designed vehicle which is authorized for operation by a person holding a special restricted operator’s license under s. 343.135 if the special vehicle meets the equipment standards established under s. 347.02 (6).

341.067 History History: 1979 c. 345; Stats. 1979 s. 341.065; 1979 c. 355 s. 156; Stats. 1979 s. 341.067.

341.07 341.07 Certain vehicles to be registered by resident lessee.

341.07(1) (1) If a motor truck or truck tractor is to be operated in this state under authority of a common carrier certificate or contract carrier license issued by the department to a resident of this state, including a Wisconsin corporation, and such operation is in accordance with a lease or operating agreement with the owner of the motor truck or truck tractor or other person authorized to enter into such lease or operating agreement, the certificated or licensed carrier shall register such motor truck or truck tractor in this state unless it has been so registered by the owner. This section applies even though the motor truck or truck tractor is owned by a nonresident.

341.07(2) (2) If a motor truck or truck tractor is operated by or with the consent of such certificated or licensed carrier on any highway of this state when such vehicle is not registered in this state or when such vehicle is required by s. 341.04 (2) to be reregistered, such carrier is subject to the penalty provided in s. 341.04 (3). The court, in addition to imposing the penalty, shall order the carrier to make application for registration or reregistration and to pay the fee therefor.

341.07(3) (3) This section does not affect the interchange of trailers and semitrailers as authorized by s. 341.41 (4).

341.07 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (9) (f); 1981 c. 347 s. 80 (2); 1993 a. 16.

341.075 341.075 Mobile air conditioner servicing information. The department shall provide information concerning the requirements for servicing mobile air conditioners under s. 100.45 (4) to the public.

341.075 History History: 1993 a. 243.

341.08 341.08 Application for registration.

341.08(1) (1) Application for original registration and for renewal of registration shall be made to the department upon forms prescribed by it and shall be accompanied by the required fee.

341.08(1m) (1m) The forms for application for original registration and for renewal of registration under sub. (1) shall include the information required under s. 85.103 (2) and the applicant’s birth date.

341.08(2) (2) Applications for original registration of a vehicle shall contain the following information:

341.08(2)(a) (a) The name and birth date of the owner.

341.08(2)(ag) (ag) A statement that a form on which the applicant may indicate to law enforcement officers the existence of an invisible disability is available on the department’s Internet site and at local examining centers. The department shall make available on its Internet site and at each local examining center a separate form on which an applicant may indicate that he or she has a disability that may not be immediately apparent to another. The form shall include the following statement together with a set of check boxes allowing a person to indicate that the person wishes to disclose the condition indicated by the check box. “I have an invisible disability that I wish to disclose to law enforcement officers and that may include:

Appears deaf or unable to understand.

Has difficulty speaking or communicating.

Engages in repetitive or self-stimulating behaviors such as rocking or hand flapping.

Appears anxious, nervous, or upset.

Becomes agitated due to physical contact or stressful situations.

Acts indifferent or unresponsive.

Other (provide brief description).”
The department shall inform the applicant that an indication under this paragraph will be available to law enforcement officers and employees of the department.

341.08(2)(am) (am) If the owner under par. (a) is a lessee, the name and birth date of the lessor.

341.08(2)(b) (b) The name of the town, city or village in which the owner resides and, if the owner resides in a city of the first or second class, the owner’s true residential or business address.

341.08(2)(bm) (bm) If applicable, the name of the town, city or village in which the lessor resides and, if the lessor resides in a 1st or 2nd class city, the lessor’s true residential or business address.

341.08(2)(c) (c) A description of the vehicle, including make, model, color, identification number and any other information which the department may reasonably require for proper identification of the vehicle. An application for a motorcycle or for a vehicle registered at a gross weight of more than 8,000 pounds is not required to include the vehicle color in the description of the vehicle.

341.08(2)(cm) (cm) A place for the applicant to indicate whether the color of the vehicle being registered has changed from the color specified on the certificate of registration and, if so, the new color.

341.08(2)(d) (d) The city, village or town and the county in which the vehicle is customarily kept.

341.08(2)(e) (e) Such further information as the department may reasonably require to enable it to determine whether the vehicle is by law entitled to registration or to enable it to determine the proper applicant or registration fee for the vehicle.

341.08(2)(f) (f) If the application is for registration of a vehicle under s. 341.14 (6m), an opportunity for the applicant to identify himself or herself as a member or former member of a Wisconsin national guard unit identified by the department of military affairs under s. 341.14 (6m) (d) 5.

341.08(3) (3) The department may accept an application and complete registration of a vehicle when the evidence of ownership is held by a nonresident lienholder or for other reason is not immediately available and the department is satisfied as to ownership of the vehicle. The title fee shall be collected at the time of registration and retained even though certificate of title is not issued.

341.08(4) (4) Applications for renewal of registration shall contain the information required in sub. (2) for original applications or such parts thereof as the department deems necessary to assure the proper registration of the vehicle. The department may require that applications for renewal of registration be accompanied by the certificate of title issued for the vehicle only when the true ownership or proper registration of the vehicle is in doubt and cannot be resolved from records maintained by the department.

341.08(4m) (4m) At least 30 days prior to the expiration of a vehicle’s registration, the department shall mail to the last-known address of the registrant a notice of the date upon which the registration must be renewed and an application form for renewal of registration. The application form or an accompanying document shall include a list of any unpaid citations for nonmoving traffic violations or any judgments for violation of ch. 110, 194, or 341 to 350, an administrative rule of the department, or an ordinance enacted in accordance with s. 349.06, including parking violations, and of any unpaid towing and storage charges associated with nonmoving traffic violations entered against the registrant that remain unpaid. The list of unpaid citations for nonmoving traffic violations and of unpaid towing and storage charges associated with nonmoving traffic violations shall be based on information obtained under s. 345.28 (4). The list of unpaid judgments shall be based on information obtained under s. 345.47 (1) (d). If there is a citation for any nonmoving traffic violation entered against the registrant that is unpaid, he or she shall be notified that the vehicle may not be registered until the citation is paid or the registrant appears in court to respond to the citation. If there are any towing and storage charges entered against the registrant that are unpaid, he or she shall be notified that the vehicle may not be registered until such towing and storage charges are paid. If there is a judgment entered against the registrant which is unpaid, he or she shall be notified that the vehicle may not be registered until the judgment is paid.

341.08 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Trans 128, Wis. adm. code.

341.08(5) (5) The department shall supply the several county clerks with blank application forms for original registration of vehicles.

341.08(6) (6) If the applicant for a certificate of registration is under 18 years of age, the application shall be accompanied by a statement made and signed by either of the applicant’s parents, if such parent has custody of the minor; or if neither parent has custody, then by the person having custody, stating that the applicant has the signer’s consent to register the vehicle in the applicant’s name. The signature on the statement shall not impute any liability for the negligence or misconduct of the applicant while operating such motor vehicle on the highways. Any person who violates this section may be required to forfeit not more than $200.

341.08(7) (7) A vehicle’s registration does not expire on the date of expiration of registration under ss. 341.25 to 341.36 if, on that date of expiration, the registrant is on active duty in the U.S. armed forces and is absent from this state or is a member of the U.S. foreign service appointed under 22 USC 3942 (a) (1) or 3943 who is on active duty and is absent from this state. Any registration extended under this subsection expires 30 days after the registrant returns to this state or 90 days after the registrant is discharged from active duty, whichever is earlier. If a registration is renewed after an extension under this subsection, the renewal period shall begin on the day after the date of expiration of registration.

341.08(8) (8) 

341.08(8)(a) (a) The department shall maintain a record of applicants who file a form under sub. (2) (ag). In the event of a request of a law enforcement officer or other appropriate person, as determined by the department, for application information, the department shall examine its record of applicants who have indicated a disability that may not be immediately apparent to another and shall advise the law enforcement officer or other person as to whether the applicant is recorded as a person who has indicated a disability that may not be immediately apparent to another and as to any condition that has been disclosed under sub. (2) (ag).

341.08(8)(b) (b) Upon request by a person, the department shall remove any information related to that person from the record under par. (a).

341.08 History History: 1971 c. 164; 1973 c. 218; 1975 c. 94; 1977 c. 29 ss. 1414, 1654 (7) (a); 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 165; 1983 a. 180; 1987 a. 349; 1991 a. 13, 269, 316; 1995 a. 255, 338; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 88, 90, 110; 2003 a. 201; 2009 a. 195; 2015 a. 323; 2017 a. 244.

341.08 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Trans 157, Wis. adm. code.

341.085 341.085 Registration of ambulances.

341.085(1) (1) The department shall inspect all ambulances prior to issuing an original or renewal registration to determine that the vehicles meet requirements specified by law or administrative rule as to specifications, medical equipment, supplies and sanitation.

341.085(2) (2) The department may adopt rules necessary for administration of this section and prescribe ambulance service equipment and standards therefor, except that any ambulance which does not conform to rules adopted by the department may be used until December 30, 1979.

341.085 History History: 1977 c. 29.

341.085 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Trans 309, Wis. adm. code.

341.09 341.09 Temporary operation permits and plates.

341.09(1) (1) 

341.09(1)(a) (a) The department shall issue temporary operation plates as provided under subs. (2), (2m) and (9) and may issue a temporary operation permit or plate for an unregistered vehicle as otherwise provided under this section. Except as provided in par. (b), the permits or plates shall contain the date of expiration and sufficient information to identify the vehicle for which and the person to whom it is issued. The department may place the information identifying the vehicle and the person to whom the permit or plate is issued on a separate form. Except as provided in subs. (3) to (5), a temporary operation plate issued under this section is valid for a period of 90 days or until the applicant receives the regular registration plates, whichever occurs first.

341.09(1)(b) (b) The department shall specify by rule the size, color, design, form and specifications of temporary operation plates issued under sub. (2m) or (9) for an automobile or motor truck having a registered weight of 8,000 pounds or less, and the system to be used to identify the date of issuance of such plates. All temporary operation plates issued under sub. (2m) or (9) for an automobile or motor truck having a registered weight of 8,000 pounds or less shall contain a registration number composed of letters or numbers.

341.09(1)(c) (c) Notwithstanding sub. (2m) (a) 1. b., a dealer may collect a special handling fee of not more than $5 if the dealer provides special assistance to a person who is applying for a temporary operation plate under sub. (2m) (a) 1. b.

341.09(1m) (1m) The department may issue a temporary operation plate for a motorcycle under sub. (8). The plate shall contain the date of expiration and sufficient information to identify the motorcycle for which and the person to whom it is issued.

341.09(2) (2) 

341.09(2)(a) (a) Upon request therefor by a person who has made a verifiable application for registration and paid the registration fee, the department shall issue a temporary operation permit or plate if it appears that the person would otherwise be unable to lawfully operate the vehicle pending receipt of the registration plates.