Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 343 - Operators' licenses.
343.085 - Probationary licenses to new drivers.

343.085 Probationary licenses to new drivers.
(1)
(a) Except as provided in par. (b) and sub. (2), the department shall issue a probationary license to all applicants for an original license. The probationary license shall remain in effect as provided in s. 343.20 (1) (a).
(b) The department may not issue a probationary license to operate “Class D" vehicles under this section to an applicant who is under 18 years of age unless the applicant has attained the age of 16, has held an instruction permit issued under s. 343.07 for not less than 6 months, and, during the 6-month period immediately preceding application, has not committed a moving violation, specified by the department by rule, resulting in a conviction. The department may promulgate rules to waive the requirement of holding an instruction permit for not less than 6 months for qualified applicants who are licensed by another jurisdiction to operate “Class D" vehicles.
(2)
(a) Any person moving to this state who has been licensed in another jurisdiction for at least 3 years, who presently holds a license, other than an instruction permit, from another jurisdiction which has not expired for more than 6 months and who has passed the person's 21st birthday is exempt from this section.
(b) Applicants issued a commercial driver license are exempt from this section.
(c) Any person entitled to a regular license under an agreement entered into under s. 343.16 (1) (d) is exempt from this section.
(2m)
(a) Except as provided in this subsection, during the 9-month period after issuance of a probationary license under this section, no licensee under 18 years of age may operate a “Class D" vehicle upon a highway in this state:
1. If, in addition to the licensee, the vehicle is occupied by any person other than the following:
a. Any number of members of the licensee's immediate family.
b. A person who meets the requirements under s. 343.07 (1g) (a).
c. Not more than one other person not described in subd. 1. a. and b.
2. Between the hours of 12 midnight and 5 a.m., unless the licensee's parent or guardian, or a person who meets the requirements under s. 343.07 (1g) (a), occupies the seat beside the licensee, or unless the licensee is traveling between his or her place of residence, school, and place of employment.
(am)
1. Paragraph (a) does not apply to any licensee to whom all of the following apply:
a. The licensee is operating the motor vehicle in the service of an organized program that, without compensation, transports teenagers to their homes.
b. The licensee possesses documentation that identifies the program and the licensee and that authorizes the licensee to operate a motor vehicle in service of the program on the date and time of the operation. The documentation is valid only if signed by a person who is at least 25 years of age and associated with the program.
c. The licensee is accompanied by another licensee, other than a teenager who is being transported, who is in the motor vehicle in the service of the program described in subd. 1. a. and who possesses the documentation described in subd. 1. b.
d. The licensee is accompanied by not more than 3 passengers in the vehicle. The licensee described in subd. 1. c. shall not be counted under this subd. 1. d.
2. Paragraph (a) does not apply to any licensee operating the motor vehicle to or from a program described in subd. 1. a., if the licensee possesses documentation described in subd. 1. b. A licensee described in this subdivision may be accompanied by any number of persons also traveling to or from a program described in subd. 1. a.
(ar) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any licensee operating a motor vehicle for emergency purposes.
(b)
1. The department shall extend the restrictions under par. (a) for an additional 6-month period or until the licensee's 18th birthday, whichever occurs earlier, if any of the following occurs while the licensee is subject to the restrictions under par. (a):
a. The licensee commits a moving violation specified by the department by rule, resulting in a conviction of the licensee.
b. The licensee violates par. (a).
c. A court or the department suspends or revokes the licensee's operating privilege for any reason other than a mental or physical disability.
2. If the department extends a restriction period under subd. 1., the department shall immediately provide notice of the extension by 1st class mail to the person's last-known residence address.
(c) A period of restriction under this subsection does not run while a person's operating privilege is suspended or revoked.
(d) The restrictions under this subsection apply until the period of restriction expires or until the licensee reaches 18 years of age, whichever occurs first.
(e) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to create a separate cause of action against the parent or guardian of a probationary licensee under this subsection or against the owner of any vehicle operated by a probationary licensee under this section.
(3) The secretary may suspend a person's operating privilege under this section when such person has been assigned sufficient demerit points after conviction for traffic violations to require suspension under the rule adopted under sub. (5) and either holds a license issued under this section or by age comes under this section. This subsection applies only to a person holding a probationary license issued before September 1, 2000. This subsection does not apply on or after October 1, 2003.
(4) The secretary may require that a person be continued on probationary status beyond the period of first issuance if such person appears by the records of the department to have repeatedly violated any of the state traffic laws or any local ordinance in conformity therewith or any law of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state in conformity with any of the state traffic laws. A person may not be continued on probationary status due to a suspension under s. 343.30 (6).
(5) For the purpose of determining when to suspend or to continue a person on probationary status, the secretary may determine and adopt by rule a method of weighing traffic convictions by their seriousness and may change such weighted scale from time to time as experience or the accident frequency in the state makes necessary or desirable. Such scale may be weighted differently for this licensee than the scale used to determine suspensions under s. 343.32. This subsection applies only to a person holding a probationary license issued before September 1, 2000. This subsection does not apply on or after October 1, 2003.
(6)
(a) Notwithstanding s. 343.43 (1) (d) and (3m), any person who violates sub. (2m) (a) shall be required to forfeit $50 for the first offense and not less than $50 nor more than $100 for each subsequent offense.
(b) Upon receiving notice of a person's conviction for a violation of sub. (2m) (a), the department shall notify any adult sponsor who has signed for the person under s. 343.15 (1) of the conviction.
History: 1971 c. 204; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (a), (c); 1979 c. 306; 1979 c. 331 ss. 59, 72; 1981 c. 314; 1989 a. 105, 359; 1991 a. 39; 1997 a. 84, 237; 1999 a. 9, 185; 2005 a. 149, 294; 2021 a. 64.

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