341.08 Application for registration.

(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.

(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.

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

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

(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.

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

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

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

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

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

(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.

(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.

(8)

(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).

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

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.