Wisconsin drunk driving laws in 2025: What are they? Have the laws changed over the last year?
Sometimes, state criminal laws change quickly. Criminal drunk driving laws are no exception. Prior to 2017, a fourth offense OWI was a misdemeanor in Wisconsin, so long as no prior drunk driving offense had occurred within the last five years. The law changed with the passage of Senate Bill 455, signed into law by Governor Scott Walker on April 25, 2016. As of January 1, 2017, all fourth offense operating while intoxicated charges are felonies throughout the state. This applies regardless of the age of your prior convictions. Subsequently, the law changed to punish fourth offenses even further. In 2018, Governor Walker enacted an additional law, which required the lifetime revocation of the driver license of anyone convicted of a fourth offense (or subsequent) OWI.
The changes described above were the last major modifications to OWI law in Wisconsin. No major changes occurred to OWI law in 2024. This article will describe the penalties for being convicted of operating while intoxicated in 2025, and a few common issues we see when defending these cases.
If you’re facing any kind of criminal charges, contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. Our drunk driving defense lawyers are consistently recognized as some of the best in Wisconsin. Whether you’re facing a first offense non-criminal OWI, the most serious felony-level OWIs, or anything between the two, we can help. Contact us at (414) 270-0202 to begin discussing your case with any of our staff, or to set up a time to visit our office for a free initial consultation.
What is the punishment for a first-offense OWI in Wisconsin in 2025?
Generally speaking, a first-offense OWI in Wisconsin is a non-criminal forfeiture. In other words, it carries penalties similar to a speeding ticket, including:
- A fine or forfeiture ranging between $150.00 and $300.00.
- A driver license revocation that lasts 6-9 months.
- No ignition interlock device is required.
But aggravated cases are treated a little differently, and individuals whose blood alcohol content was higher than a 0.15 receive higher penalties:
- A fine or forfeiture of between $150.00 and $300.00.
- A driver license revocation that lasts 6-9 months.
- An ignition interlock device for one year.
Having to blow into a device for a full year is a pain, but it could be worse. Even if you’re higher than a 0.15, this isn’t a crime. This changes if you commit OWI with a child under the age of 16 in the car. This is a crime, and is punished similarly to second-offense OWI in Wisconsin. Penalties include:
- 5 days – 6 months jail.
- Fines ranging between $350.00 and $1,100.00.
- An ignition interlock device for 12-18 months, in addition to any term of confinement.
While these penalties don’t include prison and are on the mitigated end of things, they’re certainly still serious. Even non-criminal drunk driving convictions can have an impact on professional licenses and could cause other serious collateral consequences.
Second and third offense drunk driving charges in Wisconsin
Second and third offense OWIs are misdemeanor criminal charges in Wisconsin. A conviction for either of these offenses will result in mandatory time in jail. Here are the penalties:
- 2nd offense operating while intoxicated – 5 days – 6 months in jail, $350.00 – $1,100.00 fines, driver license revocation of 12-18 months (on top of time incarcerated), 12-18 months ignition interlock device (also on top of incarceration).
- 3rd offense operating while intoxicated – 45 days – 1 year in jail, $600.00 – $1,200.00 fines, driver license revocation 2-3 years, 2-3 years ignition interlock device.
Importantly, both of these crimes are misdemeanors and cannot result in a sentence to prison. Unfortunately, mandatory minimum penalties apply to both offenses. A second offense OWI conviction requires the defendant to spend at least 5 days in jail. This increases significantly for a third offense OWI, and the defendant must spend at least 45 days in jail after a conviction.
What about a “second first offense OWI?” This is a very special situation that only applies to specific second offense OWIs. If it’s been longer than ten years since your first OWI, your second does not carry jail penalties, and is treated the same as a first offense drunk driving charge. Importantly, this does not apply to future offenses and only applies to second offenses. So if it’s 15 years between your second offense and third offense, you’ll still be charged with a third. Wisconsin drunk driving laws in 2025 didn’t change regarding this issue, and the law is the same as it has been the last few years.
Felony drunk driving charges in Wisconsin – what are the penalties in 2025.
A fourth offense drunk driving charge in Wisconsin is a felony. All subsequent offenses are also felonies. Fourth offense OWI charges are the only felony-level OWIs that do not carry a mandatory minimum penalty of prison. In other words, the mandatory minimum penalty for fifth and subsequent offenses is prison. The mandatory minimum penalty for an OWI 4th is 60 days in jail.
Here are the penalties for this offense:
- Fourth offense operating while intoxicated – 60 days jail – 6 years prison, $600.00 – $10,000.00 in fines, driver license revocation of 2 – 3 years, ignition interlock device installation required for 1 – 3 years.
But there’s more. As we previously discussed, Wisconsinites convicted of four or more drunk driving charges lose their driver licenses forever under 2017 Wisconsin Act 172. After ten years, drivers may petition the DMV for reinstatement of their license. Occupational licenses are not available to drivers revoked due to a violation of this law.
Certain OWI convictions will result in automatic prison.
Again, we used the word convictions. Simply being charged for a drunk driving offense isn’t enough to go to prison. But a conviction is. That means we’ve exhausted all pre-trial motions and the defendant accepted responsibility with a plea or after an adverse decision at trial. After a fourth offense OWI, all subsequent drunk driving convictions will result in prison. Here are the penalties for OWI 5 – OWI 10.
- OWI 5th offense, OWI 6th offense – 1 year – 10 years prison, $600.00 – $10,000.00 fines, driver license revocation 2-3 years, ignition interlock device 1-3 years.
- OWI 7th offense, OWI 8th offense, OWI 9th offense – 3 years – 12.5 years prison, up to $25,000.00 fines, driver license revocation 2-3 years, ignition interlock device 1-3 years.
- OWI 10th offense – 4 years – 15 years prison, up to $50,000.00 fines, driver license revocation 2-3 years, ignition interlock device 1-3 years.
Penalties for eleventh and subsequent drunk driving charges are the same as the tenth offense.
What should you do if you’re arrested for a drunk driving charge in 2025?
At Van Severen Law Office, our advice is consistently the same: when facing an arrest for operating while intoxicated, we think it’s a good idea to hire a drunk driving defense attorney. Why? You’re certainly allowed to defend yourself, but we handle these cases every day. Our attorneys are familiar with the issues, timelines, and strategies for defending these cases. While you can certainly spend hours, days, and weeks reading up on the law, you’ll still be facing off against a prosecutor who went to law school and likely has at least a cursory understanding of the laws they’re prosecuting.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. for drunk driving defense
Drunk driving charges are serious, and the penalties increase quickly. A few simple mistakes can quickly lead to the possibility of a felony conviction. And that will make getting a job difficult, getting into school difficult, may cause an issue with professional licenses, and will result in a lifetime without firearms.
Contact Van Severen Law Office, S.C. Let’s talk about the charges you’re facing and how our firm can help. You can reach us 24/7 at (414) 270-0202.