343.15 Application of persons under 18; liability of sponsors; release from liability; notification of juvenile violation.

(1)

(a) Except as provided in sub. (4), the application of any person under 18 years of age for a license shall be signed and verified by either of the applicant's parents, or a stepparent of the applicant or other adult sponsor, as defined by the department by rule. The application shall be signed and verified before a traffic officer, a duly authorized agent of the department or a person duly authorized to administer oaths. A signature and verification under this paragraph may be provided electronically in a format designated by the department.

(b) The adult sponsor under par. (a) shall sign and verify on the application that the person under 18 years of age is enrolled in a school program or high school equivalency program and is not a habitual truant as defined in s. 118.16 (1) (a), has graduated from high school or been granted a declaration of high school graduation equivalency or is enrolled in a home-based private educational program, as defined in s. 115.001 (3g).

(2)

(a) In this subsection, “custody" does not mean joint legal custody as defined in s. 767.001 (1s).

(b) Any negligence or willful misconduct of a person under the age of 18 years when operating a motor vehicle upon the highways is imputed to the parents where both have custody and either parent signed as sponsor, otherwise, it is imputed to the adult sponsor who signed the application for such person's license. The parents or the adult sponsor is jointly and severally liable with such operator for any damages caused by such negligent or willful misconduct. The liability imputed under this paragraph is limited to a maximum total of the higher of the following:

1. $300,000 for all parents or adult sponsors to all parties arising from any one accident.

2. The limits of any insurance coverage provided to the minor under the parent's or adult sponsor's applicable insurance policies.

(3) Any adult who signed the application of a person under the age of 18 years for a license may thereafter file with the department a verified written request that the license of such minor be canceled. Within 10 days after the receipt of such request the department shall cancel the license. When the license has been so canceled, the adult who signed the application and the parents or guardian of such minor is relieved from the liability which otherwise would be imposed under sub. (2) by reason of having signed such application, or being a parent or guardian, insofar as any negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the minor while operating a motor vehicle subsequent to the cancellation concerned.

(4)

(a) The department may issue a license to a person who is under 18 years of age even though an adult sponsor has not signed the application for license if such person is in one of the classes specified in this paragraph or in a substantially similar class specified by the department by rule and if a certificate of insurance to the effect that such person is covered by a motor vehicle policy of liability insurance meeting the requirements of s. 344.33 has been filed with the department. Such policy may be canceled or terminated only after notice as provided in s. 344.34.

1. A person who does not have a living parent.

2. A person who does not reside with his or her parents and who is a full-time student or earning a living.

3. A person who is a ward of the state, county, or court and who has been placed in a foster home or in the care of a religious welfare service.

4. A person who is married and whose spouse is under 18 years of age.

(b) A person who is not required to have an adult sponsor under par. (a) shall sign and verify on the application that he or she is enrolled in a school program or high school equivalency program and is not a habitual truant as defined in s. 118.16 (1) (a), has graduated from high school or been granted a declaration of high school graduation equivalency or is enrolled in a home-based private educational program, as defined in s. 115.001 (3g).

(5) When a citation for a moving traffic violation, under chs. 341 to 349 or under a local ordinance in conformity therewith, is issued to or a notice of revocation under s. 351.027 is sent to a person who is under 18 years of age and required to have a sponsor under this section, the issuing or filing agency shall, within 7 days, notify the person's sponsor or parents of the violation or notice. When the secretary suspends or revokes the operating privilege of a person who is under 18 years of age and who possesses a license and who is required to have a sponsor under this section or when the secretary receives notice that a court has suspended or revoked the operating privilege of such a person, the secretary shall, within 14 days after the suspension or revocation or receipt of the notice of suspension or revocation by the court, respectively, notify the person's sponsor or parents of the suspension or revocation.

History: 1971 c. 45; 1971 c. 213 s. 5; 1971 c. 223; 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (a), (e); 1977 c. 273; 1979 c. 215, 333, 338, 355; 1985 a. 71; 1987 a. 355; 1989 a. 105, 244; 1993 a. 162, 363, 446, 491; 1995 a. 100; 2009 a. 28; 2015 a. 55, 202.

A Pierringer release of a minor did not bar the plaintiff's action under sub. (2) against a sponsor. Swanigan v. State Farm Insurance Co. 99 Wis. 2d 179, 299 N.W.2d 234 (1980).

A Pierringer release of a minor barred an action for contribution by nonsettling defendants against a sponsor who was not joined in the action by the plaintiff. Jackson v. Ozaukee County, 111 Wis. 2d 462, 331 N.W.2d 338 (1983).

Sub. (2) does not violate the constitutional guarantees of due process or equal protection. Mikaelian v. Woyak, 121 Wis. 2d 581, 360 N.W.2d 706 (Ct. App. 1984).

Parent sponsors are liable under this section for punitive damages assessed against their child. Evidence of the sponsors' wealth is not admissible for purposes of assessing punitive damages against an underage driver. Franz v. Brennan, 150 Wis. 2d 1, 440 N.W.2d 562 (1989).

The suspension of a minor's license does not relieve the sponsoring adult from liability if after suspension of the license the minor, while operating without a license, causes injury. Relief from liability can only be had by applying for cancellation of the license under sub. (3). Johnson v. Schlitt, 211 Wis. 2d 832, 565 N.W.2d 305 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-1304.

The scope of parental liability under this section does not extend to a child's conduct distinct from operating a vehicle. The child's shooting of a gun from a car while driving was outside the ambit of the statute. Reyes v. Greatway Insurance Co. 227 Wis. 2d 357, 597 N.W.2d 687 (1999), 97-1587.

Parents are both liable under this statute when one signs as a sponsor. It is irrelevant that one withdrew as the sponsor when the other signed the documents to assume sponsorship. Beerbohm v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. 2000 WI App 105, 235 Wis. 2d 182, 612 N.W.2d 338, 99-1784.

As sub. (2) (a) excludes joint legal custody under s. 767.001 (1s) from the meaning of custody under sub. (2) (b), custody in sub. (2) (b) can only mean the natural legal custody that married parents share. Because divorced parents do not share that type of custody, liability may not be imputed to the non-sponsoring parent under sub. (2) (b). LaCount v. Salkowski, 2002 WI App 287, 258 Wis. 2d 635, 654 N.W.2d 295, 02-0630.