Middleton, WI

Middleton has not adopted a short-term rental-specific off-street parking minimum. STR guests must comply with the City's general parking ordinances, including Sec. 15.04(5) seasonal…

Middleton caps overnight guests at a Short-Term Residential Rental to twice the number of legal bedrooms or twelve people, whichever is lower, under Zoning Code Section…

Every Short-Term Residential Rental in Middleton must hold a current Annual City of Middleton Short-Term Residential Rental License under Zoning Code Section 10.03.28(26)(b)2…

Middleton requires every Short-Term Residential Rental to hold an annual zoning license before operating, and that license application must include room tax registration information…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.05(2) bans noise that unreasonably disturbs the peace, restricts heavy construction machinery to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.05(2)(c) makes it unlawful to keep any animal or bird that habitually disturbs the peace and quiet of nearby persons through noise, treating a…

City of Middleton caps continuous noise measured at the property line as an increase over ambient sound: 3 dBA in residential and agricultural districts, 5 dBA in institutional and…

Amplified outdoor sound in Middleton requires a permit issued by the City Clerk under Municipal Code § 7.15. Sunday through Thursday, sound is capped at 65 decibels from 9 a.m. to 9…

Middleton bars heavy construction equipment operation to weekdays and Saturdays between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., shutting it down entirely on Sundays and city holidays. The rule…

Middleton outlaws compression brakes, commonly called jake brakes or engine brakes, on any truck or motor vehicle within city limits. The device uses engine compression to slow a…

City of Middleton zoning requires all off-street parking areas, including residential driveways, to be paved with a hard, dust-free, all-weather surface. Front yards may only be used…

Middleton treats EV chargers as an accessory land use to on-site parking, requiring the equipment to stay clear of pedestrian and wheelchair paths, post voltage and contact…

City of Middleton limits residential properties to one commercial vehicle parked outdoors per dwelling unit under Zoning Code Section 10.06.06(9)(d)2, capped at a 10,000-pound gross…

Middleton lets homeowners park an RV or recreational equipment like a boat trailer in a driveway like a passenger vehicle, but bars it from any front or corner side yard unless it sits…

The City of Middleton bans two specific on-street obstructions: parking anywhere not clearly designated as a spot so that another driver cannot freely pull a lawfully parked vehicle…

Middleton's on-street storage ban, Municipal Code § 15.04(6)(a), makes it illegal to leave any vehicle, boat, or trailer standing on a City street, highway, or municipal parking lot…

Middleton treats any motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer, or mobile home left unattended on a public street, highway, or public or private property for more than 48 hours, without the…

Middleton designates specific curb loading zones under Municipal Code § 15.04(11), where vehicles may stop only while actually loading, unloading, or picking up and dropping off…

Wisconsin caps what a towing service may charge you after a nonconsensual tow from private property. Wis. Admin. Code § Trans 319.03(1) limits removal to $150 regardless of the…

Middleton limits residential fences to 3 feet in a required front or corner side yard and 6 feet in a side or rear yard, and bars any fence over roughly 2.5 feet from blocking the…

Every fence in Middleton needs review and approval by the Zoning Administrator plus zoning and building permits, though temporary garden, snow, and construction-site fencing is…

Middleton bans rope, wire netting, broken glass, corrugated or sheet metal, plywood, pallets, and plastic panels as fencing, forbids permanent chicken wire and snow fences, and…

Wisconsin Chapter 90 governs partition (line) fences between adjoining owners of farming or grazing land. Adjoining owners generally share the cost equally, and town fence viewers…

Middleton requires any residential pool not enclosed in a permanent building to be surrounded by a 4-to-6-foot fence with no gaps over 4 inches and self-closing, self-latching gates…

Middleton requires a building permit before constructing, altering, or improving a private swimming pool, with site plan review triggered once excavation goes below one foot, though…

Middleton allows one accessory dwelling unit on a single- or two-family lot, attached or detached, but caps its size at the principal home's floor area, bars separate sale, and ties it…

Middleton caps all detached accessory buildings on a lot, sheds, garages, workshops and similar structures, at 1,000 square feet of combined footprint by right, growing with larger…

Dane County's zoning code flatly bars turning a garage or other accessory building into living space. Section 10.004(2) defines an accessory building as incidental to the main building…

Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code (Wis. Stat. ch. 101 and SPS 320-325) sets statewide construction standards for one- and two-family dwellings, including tiny homes built as permanent…

Middleton allows small home-based businesses in any dwelling as a Home Occupation, but caps the space at 20 percent of the home or 300 square feet, bars exterior signs of business use…

A Middleton Home Occupation cannot see more than two clients at any one time, and neither clients nor non-resident employees may come to the property between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., a…

Middleton allows a licensed operator to run an in-home daycare for four to eight children as an accessory use in any residential zoning district, by right, under City of Middleton…

Signage for home businesses in unincorporated Dane County is regulated through Chapter 10 zoning. Residential districts typically allow small, non-illuminated signs only.

Wisconsin has only one cottage food exemption written into its statutes, and it is narrow. Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2. lets you sell home-canned pickles and other processed fruits or…

Wisconsin has never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit, and it has no exemption that lets you cook meals in your own kitchen and sell them. Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a) requires…

Middleton makes it unlawful for an owner or keeper to let a dog or cat run at large anywhere in the City. Under Section 7.07(2), an animal counts as at large unless it is on a chain…

City of Middleton allows residential beekeeping under Zoning Code Section 10.03.28(22), capping a property at six hives of no more than 20 cubic feet each. Hives must sit at least…

Keeping backyard chickens in Middleton requires a Building Inspector permit under Municipal Code § 7.21. Parcels up to a half acre may keep up to six hens, larger lots up to eight, and…

Middleton bans keeping, harboring, or possessing any poisonous reptile (except rear-fanged snakes) or any other wild, vicious, or dangerous animal, insect, or reptile within city…

Middleton makes it unlawful to place salt, mineral, grain, fruit or vegetable matter outdoors anywhere in the City for the purpose of feeding whitetail deer. Placing more than half a…

Middleton caps the number of cats and dogs any household may keep at five, in any combination, per premises. The Common Council adopted the numeric cap because case-by-case nuisance…

Dane County does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but ch. 47.17(3)-(4) requires cats kept in residentially zoned areas to wear an identification tag with the owner's name…

Dane County has no general pet-microchipping mandate, but ch. 47.18(9)(b) requires an owner whose animal has been declared dangerous to provide written veterinary proof that a…

Dane County's zoning code defines a veterinary clinic as an establishment for medical or surgical treatment of animals, with boarding limited to patients under active treatment. In the…

Dane County's Public Health Department for Madison and Dane County can formally declare any animal dangerous under Code ch. 47.18 after it bites, attacks, or menaces a person or…

Middleton allows dry-wood outdoor recreational fireplaces and fire pits without a burning permit under Municipal Code Section 5.08(2)(b), but only commercially certified units or…

Middleton bans open burning of leaves, grass, wood, rubbish or other combustible material anywhere on a street, alley, sidewalk or driveway at all times, and bans the same burning on…

Middleton enforces smoke alarm requirements by adopting the state's SPS 328 Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors code by reference into City law under Municipal Code Section…

Dane County Code § 34.05 bars anyone from bringing or possessing fireworks containing an explosive or flammable compound on any land the county owns or leases, county parks, forests…

Wisconsin uniformly regulates propane storage, installation, and handling under Wis. Admin. Code SPS 340, adopting NFPA 58 statewide and preempting inconsistent local rules through…

Wisconsin DNR designates statewide Fire Protection Areas under Wis. Stat. § 26.11 where the agency holds primary wildfire suppression authority and enforces stricter ignition rules…

Middleton requires trees and shrubs overhanging any public right-of-way, whether on public or private property, to be trimmed to a 14-foot clearance above the ground and a 10-foot…

The City of Middleton requires a written permit from the City Forester before anyone plants, injures, trims, removes, or destroys a tree or shrub located in or upon a public place…

Middleton declares any lawn, grass or weed taller than eight inches on a lot a public nuisance, citing pollen, hidden debris and fire risk. The Building Inspector must give written…

Wisconsin has no statute banning rainwater harvesting. Under Wis. Stat. 145.01(10)(br)1, a rainwater gutter or downspout is expressly excluded from the legal definition of "plumbing"…

In Middleton's SR-L Single-Family Residential Low Density district, City of Middleton Zoning Code Section 10.02.10(7) sets a 20-foot minimum front setback, an 8-foot minimum interior…

The City of Middleton limits impervious surface, the combined footprint of buildings, driveways, patios and pavement, to 45 percent of any lot in the SR-L Single-Family Residential Low…

The City of Middleton caps principal building height at 36 feet in its core single-family and multi-family residential zoning districts, from SR-L through MR-L, under City of Middleton…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.04(2) makes it a violation to loiter or prowl under circumstances warranting alarm for public safety, and separately bans minors subject to…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.04(8) bans riding a skateboard, coaster, in-line skates, roller skates or roller skis on sidewalks in commercial or business districts, except for…

Middleton bars smoking within fifteen feet of any line of people waiting for a good or service, and requires designated smoking areas away from the main viewing area at outdoor…

Middleton's public-urination rule lives inside its adult entertainment ordinance rather than a general nuisance chapter: Section 7.13(1)(g)4 lists patrons urinating in public as a…

Dane County does not ban drinking in its parks outright, but any group of ten or more people of legal drinking age who bring or serve alcoholic beverages must first get a written…

Dane County bars possessing, using, or delivering any controlled substance, including marijuana, which Wisconsin has not legalized for recreational use, anywhere in a county park…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.04(9) bars obstructing, loitering on, or causing a nuisance on public streets, sidewalks, bridges or grounds, and separately makes it unlawful to…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.04(11) bans camping on any City-owned land, including public rights of way, citing the lack of bathroom, waste and sanitation facilities, and…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.05(1)(ee) requires pawnbrokers to electronically report every secondhand-article and jewelry transaction to a Police-specified reporting service…

City of Middleton Municipal Code § 16.05(1)(ee) requires secondhand article, secondhand jewelry and precious metals dealers to photograph unmarked items and imposes resale holding…

Middleton's Home Occupation ordinance flatly bars running a vehicle or motor repair business, or selling large appliances, out of a residence; it is one of the specific activities the…

Anyone providing massage or bodywork therapy in Middleton, and any establishment that employs such a practitioner, must hold the state license Wis. Stat. ch. 460 requires. Municipal…

Middleton requires a City license for any adult-oriented establishment or venue offering live adult entertainment, and Section 7.13(1)(h) keeps them 500 feet from residential zones…

Selling cigarettes, electronic vaping devices or tobacco products in Middleton requires an annual license from the City Clerk under Municipal Code § 7.16. Licenses run July 1 through…

Dane County requires a license to operate a tattooing or body-piercing establishment and for every practitioner working in one, under Code ch. 48.13. The Public Health Madison and Dane…

Rooftop, building-mounted and freestanding solar systems are permitted accessory uses by right in every City of Middleton zoning district except the Conservancy district, where a…

Wisconsin does not merely limit what a homeowners' association may say about solar. Wis. Stat. § 236.292(2) declares that all restrictions on platted land that prevent or unduly…

Multi-family, commercial, institutional and industrial dumpsters in Middleton must sit inside a six-foot enclosure with a solid, building-matched exterior and an opaque gate, and…

Middleton requires every person who generates waste in the city to separate recyclables from trash and use the city's curbside carts or a private hauler under Municipal Code § 6.04…

Middleton residents cannot mix tires, major appliances and other bulk items in with regular curbside trash. Municipal Code § 6.04(4)(b)5 requires households to arrange separate…

Homeowners bundling their own brush for city pickup must stack it separately with the cut ends facing the street, but Middleton bars landscapers and tree services from leaving job-site…

Middleton limits how long residents can leave collection carts at the curb: no more than twelve hours before pickup and no more than twelve hours after, under Municipal Code §…

Dumping waste of any kind on someone else's property in Middleton without the owner's or lessee's permission violates Municipal Code § 6.04(7)(c), and a related nuisance section, §…

Middleton requires every household to use City curbside carts for trash and recycling, mandates separation of recyclables from trash, and sets a hard cutoff of 6:00 AM for putting…

Middleton's AGR Agricultural zoning district, established at City of Middleton Municipal Code § 10.02.60, is written to preserve farmland long-term and protect existing farm operations…

Wisconsin Statute 823.08 protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits by neighbors, requiring courts to dismiss claims unless the farm substantially threatens…

Middleton's mobile food establishment ordinance forbids food trucks and carts from blocking any public street, sidewalk, trail access or the visibility of crosswalks, corners…

Food trucks and mobile vendors need a City Clerk-issued permit before operating anywhere in Middleton, and Municipal Code § 7.01 caps their hours to 7:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. and…

Middleton confines food trucks to private property where the owner agrees and the zoning is not limited to residential use, and bars them from public streets or City property except as…

Middleton bars direct sellers and solicitors from calling at any dwelling between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., all day Sunday, and on legal holidays, unless an appointment was arranged in…

Anyone peddling goods door-to-door in Middleton must register as a direct seller with the City Clerk before starting, filing a form with personal and business details, submitting…

Selling food at tables set up on a Middleton sidewalk, street terrace or other public right-of-way requires a sidewalk cafe permit issued by the City Clerk. Section 7.09 sets siting…

Any special event on Middleton public property, including races, concerts or events expecting 200 or more participants, needs a special event permit from the City Clerk approved by the…

Groups that want to reserve a shelter, park, or other City of Middleton park facility must get a written permit from the Parks and Recreation Department, approved first by the Board of…

City of Middleton limits garage and estate sales to four days each and caps them at four sales per calendar year, with no more than two sales allowed in any 30-day stretch. No permit…

City of Middleton has imposed a temporary moratorium blocking zoning certificates for any data center over 10,000 square feet under Zoning Code Section 10.03.40, adopted June 16, 2026…

Middleton imposes an 8 percent room tax on hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts and other transient lodging under Municipal Code Section 3.10, adopted pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 66.0615…

Grilling with LP or natural gas, charcoal or dry wood in vessels made for cooking is exempt from Middleton's burning-permit requirement under Municipal Code Section 5.08(2), so…

The City of Middleton requires a building permit from the Building Inspector before any excavation, construction, alteration, repair, extension, or demolition of a building or…

The City of Middleton adopts the Wisconsin State Plumbing Code to govern all drainage, drain laying, and plumbing citywide, and Municipal Code § 14.04(1) separately requires anyone…

Middleton adopts the Wisconsin SPS 316 Electrical Code and requires a City permit, issued only for work performed by a Wisconsin-licensed electrician, before any electrical…

Before a septic system in unincorporated Dane County gets covered up, the division has to see it: ch. 46.11(1) requires an inspection after construction but before backfilling, no…

Middleton puts the duty to build, repair and perpetually maintain public sidewalks on the abutting property owner, who also pays the entire cost, under Municipal Code § 8.03…

Placing construction machinery, materials, or a moving or storage container in a Middleton street, alley or other public right of way needs a Street Storage Permit from the Building…

Middleton bars anyone from obstructing, encroaching on or encumbering a public street, alley, sidewalk or other public ground under Municipal Code § 8.06(1), including dumping mud…

Middleton owners, occupants and even vacant-lot holders must clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks, handicap ramps and nearby fire hydrants under Municipal Code § 8.07, with no…

Middleton's Building Inspector can placard a building as unfit for human habitation when it is so dilapidated, unsafe or unsanitary that it endangers occupants or the public. Once…

Middleton's Minimum Housing and Property Maintenance Code sets the baseline every rental unit must meet: working kitchen and bathroom fixtures, hot water at 120 degrees, and heat…

Wis. Stat. Sec. 704.17 sets the pre-eviction notice. For nonpayment of rent on a month-to-month tenancy or a lease of one year or less, the landlord gives a 5-day notice to pay or…

Wisconsin Statute 66.0104 and Act 317 prevent municipalities from limiting landlord-tenant relationships beyond state law, including any local just-cause eviction requirement. Eviction…

Wis. Stat. Sec. 704.05(2) lets a landlord enter only on advance notice and at reasonable times to inspect, repair, or show the unit. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.09(2) makes that…

Under Wis. Stat. Sec. 704.19, either the landlord or tenant may end a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy with at least 28 days' written notice. If rent is payable on a basis less…

Wisconsin prohibits rent control statewide. Wis. Stat. § 66.1015 bars every city, village, town, and county from regulating the amount of rent charged for a residential rental unit…

Wisconsin Statute 66.0104 bars municipalities from requiring rental registration or licensing and limits inspection programs to designated districts with blight or code problems…

Wisconsin sets no statutory cap on the amount of a residential security deposit. After a tenancy ends, the landlord must mail or deliver the deposit, less lawful deductions, within 21…

Wisconsin recognizes three adverse-possession tracks. The default under Wis. Stat. Sec. 893.25 is 20 years of uninterrupted possession with no written instrument. Sec. 893.26 shortens…

Middleton's Floodplain Zoning Ordinance requires the lowest floor of new and substantially improved residential structures in the floodfringe to sit at or above the flood protection…

Middleton requires an Erosion Control Plan and land disturbing permit for construction disturbing more than 4,000 square feet, moving over 400 cubic yards, or grading slopes steeper…

Middleton requires a Storm Water Runoff Control permit for new development that creates 20,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, or redevelopment disturbing 4,000 square feet…

Dane County bars boats from tying up at county-owned piers on navigable waters without authorization, and bars docking at any privately owned pier, mooring buoy or raft without the…

Diesel-powered commercial motor vehicles in unincorporated Dane County cannot idle more than five minutes in any sixty-minute period under ch. 34.26. The rule targets diesel trucks…

Dane County regulates every Zone A, AO, AH, A1-30 and AE area on the Flood Insurance Rate Map under Chapter 17 of its Code of Ordinances, adopted under Wis. Stat. §§ 59.69, 59.692…

Wisconsin's NR 115 sets minimum shoreland zoning standards along navigable waters, and the Public Trust Doctrine protects Great Lakes shores. Counties must adopt rules at least as…

Middleton's Sign Code treats garage sale signs as part of the permit-free Yard Sign Category, letting residents post freestanding stake or frame signs on their own property without a…

Middleton limits electronic message signs, the digital billboards and reader boards businesses use for changing ads, to one per site, nonresidential zoning only, and bars any message…

Wisconsin protects the display of political signs on private property. Wis. Stat. 12.04 limits how municipalities may restrict residential political signs, and Wis. Stat. 12.13(3)(h)…

Middleton's Outdoor Lighting Code, effective March 3, 2026, requires any luminaire over 1,000 lumens to be fully shielded and caps upward light spill at 5 percent, aiming to preserve…

Middleton caps how much artificial light can cross onto a neighbor's land: no more than 1 lux onto residential property or waters of the United States, and just 0.1 lux toward…

Dane County caps how signs, including billboards, may be lit: external fixtures must aim only at the copy from a downward angle, no up-lighting is allowed, and glare toward roadways is…

Every City of Middleton park closes at 10:00 p.m. and stays closed until 5:00 a.m., with the Quarry Park Skate Facility opening later, at 8:00 a.m., and closing during hours of…

Middleton bars minors under fifteen from public streets, alleys and other public areas between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on…

City of Middleton ordinances confine electric bicycles, electric scooters, and electric personal assistive mobility devices to designated trails and pathways inside City parks and…

In Dane County parks, bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles must stay on trails or grounds the parks division has designated for that use: riding elsewhere isn't allowed without a…

Wisconsin splits these two machines apart in the definitions and then treats them completely differently. A low-speed vehicle has a statewide right of the road: under Wis. Stat. s…

Middleton does not run its own drone code; instead it adopts a handful of Wisconsin drone statutes by reference so City police can enforce them locally. The adopted provisions bar…

Wisconsin commercial drone operators follow FAA Part 107. Wis. Stat. 114.045 sets state no-fly zones over prisons, schools, and utilities, and local governments cannot regulate flight…

To report an unsanitary or nuisance condition in unincorporated Dane County, you file with the health department under ch. 46.26: the department must inspect any premises complained of…

Dane County backs Wisconsin's certified food manager requirement with a financial penalty: sec. 46.34(4) of the county code lets Public Health Madison and Dane County charge a…

Wisconsin has no legal recreational or medical marijuana dispensary program. State law prohibits cannabis sales, so no municipality can authorize dispensary operations through zoning…

Wisconsin prohibits all marijuana cultivation, including for personal use. Growing any cannabis plant is a felony under state controlled substances law. No municipality may authorize…

Wisconsin Statute 104.001 expressly preempts cities, villages, towns, and counties from establishing a minimum wage higher than the state minimum, ensuring uniform wage rules across…

Wisconsin Statute 103.10 and 104.001 preempt local paid sick leave ordinances, blocking cities and counties from requiring private employers to provide paid time off beyond state and…

Wisconsin preempts local predictive scheduling and fair workweek ordinances under Wis. Stat. 103.007, ensuring statewide uniformity for employer scheduling practices and forbidding…

Wisconsin Statute 66.0409 broadly preempts local firearm regulation, barring cities, villages, towns, and counties from enacting ordinances stricter than state law on possession…

Wisconsin permits adults at least 18 who are not prohibited persons to openly carry firearms in public without a permit, with statewide preemption blocking local restrictions on lawful…

Wisconsin Statute 941.23 makes carrying a concealed handgun in a vehicle without a CCW license a misdemeanor, while open carry and licensed concealed carry inside vehicles are lawful…

Wisconsin requires footings and foundations to sit below the frost penetration level or at least 48 inches below adjacent grade, whichever is deeper, so 48 inches is a floor, not a…

Wisconsin's dwelling code sets minimum roof snow loads from a state zone map and does not state a ground snow load at all, which is the opposite of how most states publish the figure.

Wisconsin bans gambling as a crime, but Wis. Stat. § 563.11(1) lets bona fide religious, charitable, service, fraternal, or veterans organizations apply to the Department of…

Wisconsin's gambling code has no carve-out for private social games. Wis. Stat. § 945.01(1) defines 'bet' and lists eight exceptions, business deals, contest prizes, bingo, pari-mutuel…

Wisconsin has no commercial sportsbook law. Wis. Stat. § 945.02 makes placing any bet a Class B misdemeanor unless it fits a listed exception, and § 945.01(1)(h), added by 2025…

Wisconsin has no comprehensive non-condo HOA act. Condominium associations get a statutory assessment lien under Wis. Stat. § 703.165 that is foreclosed like a mortgage. Non-condo HOAs…

Wisconsin condominiums run through an association of unit owners under Wis. Stat. § 703.15, which sets meeting-notice, proxy, and voting rules. Non-condo HOAs are governed as nonstock…

Wisconsin overrides anti-solar and anti-wind HOA restrictions by statute. Wis. Stat. § 236.292 voids restrictions on platted land that prevent or unduly restrict solar or wind energy…

Wisconsin protects flag display through two separate statutes, and which one applies depends on whether you own a condominium unit or a lot in a covenanted subdivision. Wis. Stat. §…

Wisconsin sets no dollar cap on association fines and requires no hearing before one is imposed. For condominiums, Wis. Stat. § 703.24(2) makes a unit owner liable for any charges…

Only Wisconsin condominium associations hold a statutory collection lien. Wis. Stat. § 703.165(3) gives the association a lien for unpaid assessments if it files a statement of…

Wisconsin runs the opposite way from states that shield owners who lease. Wis. Stat. § 703.10(3) expressly authorizes condominium bylaws to carry any restriction on the use of the…

You will not meet an OWI checkpoint in Wisconsin. Wis. Stat. § 349.02(2)(a) forbids a police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, traffic officer or motor vehicle inspector from stopping…

Wisconsin is a one-party consent state. Wis. Stat. § 968.31(2)(c) makes it lawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication when…

Wisconsin has no general stop-and-identify offense. Wis. Stat. § 968.24 lets an officer who has first identified himself or herself as law enforcement stop you in a public place, for a…

Wisconsin is unusual in codifying the grounds for a search at all. Wis. Stat. § 968.10 says a search may be made and things seized only when it is incident to a lawful arrest, with…

Wisconsin Statute 134.66 bars selling cigarettes and tobacco to anyone under 18 and vapor products to anyone under 21. The federal Tobacco 21 law independently requires all tobacco and…

Wisconsin has not enacted a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vapor products; sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes remain lawful under Wis. Stat. 134.66 subject to…

Wisconsin's rule on extra lighting is a colour rule with a count attached. Wis. Stat. § 347.07(2) bars operating any vehicle on a highway displaying a colour other than white or amber…

Wisconsin never legislated dash cams, so the governing rule is the windshield rule, and Wisconsin's version is a closed list. Wis. Admin. Code § Trans 305.34(6) bars any posters…

Wisconsin has never legislated lane splitting in either direction. The phrases "lane splitting" and "between lanes" appear nowhere in chs. 340 to 351, the whole Wisconsin Vehicle Code…

Wisconsin attacks plate covers from two directions. Wis. Stat. s. 341.61 (3) makes it an offence carrying a forfeiture of up to $500 to place any substance on a plate that hinders its…

A radar detector is lawful in a private car in Wisconsin. The phrase "radar detector" appears nowhere in the Wisconsin Statutes or the Wisconsin Administrative Code, and the equipment…

Wisconsin gives ordinary drivers no studded-tire season at all. Wis. Stat. s. 347.45 (2) bans any block, stud, flange, cleat, spike or other non-rubber protuberance that projects…

Wisconsin puts its tint numbers in the Department of Transportation's equipment rules, not in the statute book. Aftermarket film on the vent and front side windows must still pass at…