Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 341 - Registration of vehicles.
341.31 - When part-period fees payable for vehicles other than automobiles and certain motor trucks; computation of part-period fees.

341.31 When part-period fees payable for vehicles other than automobiles and certain motor trucks; computation of part-period fees.
(1) The annual registration fee shall be paid in full on all vehicles registered pursuant to s. 341.29 or 341.295, the biennial registration fee shall be paid in full on all vehicles registered pursuant to s. 341.297 and the quarterly registration fee shall be paid in full on all vehicles registered pursuant to s. 341.30 unless the vehicle comes within one of the following categories, in which event the applicant is liable for the payment of only a part-period fee to be computed in accordance with sub. (2):
(a) The vehicle has not previously been registered in this state; or
(b) The vehicle previously was registered in this state but:
1. The vehicle in the meantime has been registered in another jurisdiction and such foreign registration was in effect during or subsequent to the expiration of the previous registration in this state; or
2. The vehicle was transferred or leased to the applicant after the expiration of the last registration in this state; or
3. At least 12 months have elapsed since the end of the period for which the vehicle previously was registered and the applicant files with the department a statement that the applicant did not, during such 12-month period, operate or consent to the operation of the vehicle under circumstances making the vehicle subject to registration in this state; or
5. The vehicle is a motorcycle which has been transferred or leased to the applicant and for which current registration plates had been issued to the previous owner; or
6. The vehicle that has been transferred to or leased by the applicant is a motor home or a dual purpose motor home or dual purpose farm truck that had been registered by the previous owner at a gross weight of 8,000 pounds or less, other than a dual purpose motor home to be registered as a motor truck, or is a farm truck that had been registered by the previous owner at a gross weight of 12,000 pounds or less; or
(c) The vehicle is a replacement for a registered vehicle which has been junked or is no longer used on the highway; or
(cm) The vehicle is a replacement for a registered vehicle eligible for quarterly registration under s. 341.30 which has been traded, sold or removed from this state but for which the annual registration fee has been paid; or
(d) The vehicle is owned by a person who has been in active military service or who is a member of the U.S. foreign service appointed under 22 USC 3942 (a) (1) or 3943 who has been in active service and less than 12 months of nonoperation have elapsed since the end of the period for which the vehicle was previously registered, provided the applicant files with the department a statement of such nonoperation.
(2) Part-period registration fees shall be computed as follows:
(a) For vehicles registered under the conditions in sub. (1) (a), (b) or (d), the fee for the current registration period shall be computed on the basis of one-twelfth of the annual registration fee or one twenty-fourth of the biennial registration fee prescribed for the vehicle multiplied by the number of months of the current registration period which have not fully expired on the date the vehicle first is operated by or with the consent of the applicant under circumstances making it subject to registration in this state plus, in case of a quarterly registration, $5. In the case of a vehicle which has not previously been registered or which has not been registered in this state by the present owner since the owner last acquired ownership of the vehicle, the department shall assume that the date of first operation is the date of the bill of sale evidencing transfer of ownership to the applicant or, with respect to a leased vehicle, the date of commencement of the lease by the applicant, unless he or she files with the department a statement that the vehicle was not so operated until a later date, specifying the date of such first operation. The department may refuse to accept any statement which projects the date of first operation into the future.
(b) For the registration of a replacement vehicle under the conditions set forth in sub. (1) (c) or (cm), the fee shall be computed as for a vehicle not previously registered in this state but a credit shall be allowed for the unused portion of the fee paid for the vehicle being replaced. Such credit shall be computed on the basis of one-twelfth of the annual registration fee or one twenty-fourth of the biennial registration fee prescribed for the vehicle being replaced multiplied by the number of months of registration which have not fully expired at the time the vehicle being replaced was junked, traded, sold or removed from the state. Except for a vehicle registered on a biennial basis, it is not necessary that the replacement vehicle be of the same type as the one being replaced in order for the applicant to take advantage of the credit but the credit may be applied toward registration of the replacement vehicle only up to the date when the registration of the vehicle being replaced would have expired.
(4)
(a) The transferee or lessee of a vehicle registered as provided in s. 341.29, 341.295 or 341.30 is not subject to the payment of any registration fee for the remainder of the period for which the vehicle is registered unless, by reason of his or her status or the use to which the vehicle is put, the fee prescribed by law is higher than that paid by the former owner. In such event, the fee shall be computed on the basis of one-twelfth of the difference between the 2 annual fees multiplied by the number of months of the current registration period which have not fully expired on the date, after the vehicle is acquired by the applicant, when such vehicle is first operated by him or her or with his or her consent under circumstances making it subject to registration in this state.
(b) A person retaining a set of plates removed from a vehicle under s. 342.15 (4) (a) or 342.34 (1) (c) or (2) (c) and which was junked or transferred, is no longer leased to the person or used on the highways or has been registered as a special interest vehicle under s. 341.266 (2) (a) or a reconstructed, replica, street modified or homemade vehicle under s. 341.268 (2) (a) may receive credit for the unused portion of the registration fee paid when registering a replacement vehicle of the same type and gross weight.
(c) A person retaining a set of plates removed from a motorcycle may receive credit for the unused portion of the registration fee paid when registering a replacement motorcycle.
(5) This section does not apply to vehicles registered at a fee of $5 under s. 341.26. Such vehicles, whether registered for a full period or part thereof and whether or not previously registered, shall be registered at the full fee. If a person authorized to register a vehicle at a fee of $5 under s. 341.26 transfers the vehicle to a person not so authorized or no longer leases the vehicle, the fee payable by the transferee shall be computed as for a vehicle not previously registered in this state.
History: 1975 c. 32 s. 5; 1975 c. 297; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (a); 1977 c. 129, 273, 418; 1983 a. 27, 126, 227, 270, 538; 1987 a. 216, 349; 1989 a. 31, 137; 1993 a. 165; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 80; 2015 a. 323; 2021 a. 154.

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