A court of this state having jurisdiction of the subject matter has jurisdiction over a person served in an action pursuant to s. 801.11 under any of the following circumstances:
801.05.Personal jurisdiction, grounds for generally.
Ch. 801: Commencement of Action and Venue · Last amended 2015 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 801.05 lists the specific circumstances — residence, local acts, local injuries, contracts, property, marital ties, and more — under which a Wisconsin court has personal jurisdiction over someone who has been served with a summons.
Full Text of Section 801.05
(1) LOCAL PRESENCE OR STATUS. In any action whether arising within or without this state, against a defendant who when the action is commenced:
(a) Is a natural person present within this state when served; or
(b) Is a natural person domiciled within this state; or
(c) Is a domestic corporation or limited liability company; or
(d) Is engaged in substantial and not isolated activities within this state, whether such activities are wholly interstate, intrastate, or otherwise.
(2) SPECIAL JURISDICTION STATUTES. In any action which may be brought under statutes of this state that specifically confer grounds for personal jurisdiction over the defendant.
(3) LOCAL ACT OR OMISSION. In any action claiming injury to person or property within or without this state arising out of an act or omission within this state by the defendant.
(4) LOCAL INJURY; FOREIGN ACT. In any action claiming injury to person or property within this state arising out of an act or omission outside this state by the defendant, provided in addition that at the time of the injury, either:
(a) Solicitation or service activities were carried on within this state by or on behalf of the defendant; or
(b) Products, materials or things processed, serviced or manufactured by the defendant were used or consumed within this state in the ordinary course of trade.
(5) LOCAL SERVICES, GOODS OR CONTRACTS. In any action which:
(a) Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some 3rd party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to perform services within this state or to pay for services to be performed in this state by the plaintiff; or
(b) Arises out of services actually performed for the plaintiff by the defendant within this state, or services actually performed for the defendant by the plaintiff within this state if such performance within this state was authorized or ratified by the defendant; or
(c) Arises out of a promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some 3rd party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to deliver or receive within this state or to ship from this state goods, documents of title, or other things of value; or
(d) Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value shipped from this state by the plaintiff to the defendant on the defendant’s order or direction; or
(e) Relates to goods, documents of title, or other things of value actually received by the plaintiff in this state from the defendant without regard to where delivery to carrier occurred.
(6) LOCAL PROPERTY. In any action which arises out of:
(a) A promise, made anywhere to the plaintiff or to some 3rd party for the plaintiff’s benefit, by the defendant to create in either party an interest in, or protect, acquire, dispose of, use, rent, own, control or possess by either party real property situated in this state; or
(b) A claim to recover any benefit derived by the defendant through the use, ownership, control or possession by the defendant of tangible property situated within this state either at the time of the first use, ownership, control or possession or at the time the action is commenced; or
(c) A claim that the defendant return, restore, or account to the plaintiff for any asset or thing of value which was within this state at the time the defendant acquired possession or control over it.
(7) DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT ON LOCAL FORECLOSURE OR RESALE. In any action to recover a deficiency judgment upon a mortgage note or conditional sales contract or other security agreement executed by the defendant or predecessor to whose obligation the defendant has succeeded and the deficiency is claimed either:
(a) In an action in this state to foreclose upon real property situated in this state; or
(b) Following sale of real property in this state by the plaintiff under ch. 846; or
(c) Following resale of tangible property in this state by the plaintiff under ch. 409.
(8) DIRECTOR, OFFICER OR MANAGER OF A DOMESTIC CORPORATION OR LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. In any action against a defendant who is or was an officer, director or manager of a domestic corporation or domestic limited liability company where the action arises out of the defendant’s conduct as such officer, director or manager or out of the activities of such corporation or limited liability company while the defendant held office as a director, officer or manager.
(9) TAXES OR ASSESSMENTS. In any action for the collection of taxes or assessments levied, assessed or otherwise imposed by a taxing authority of this state after July 1, 1960.
(10) INSURANCE OR INSURERS. In any action which arises out of a promise made anywhere to the plaintiff or some 3rd party by the defendant to insure upon or against the happening of an event and in addition either:
(a) The person insured was a resident of this state when the event out of which the cause of action is claimed to arise occurred; or
(b) The event out of which the cause of action is claimed to arise occurred within this state, regardless of where the person insured resided.
(11) CERTAIN MARITAL ACTIONS. In addition to personal jurisdiction under sub. (1) and s. 801.06, in any action affecting the family, except for actions under ch. 769, in which a personal claim is asserted against the respondent commenced in the county in which the petitioner resides at the commencement of the action when the respondent resided in this state in marital relationship with the petitioner for not less than 6 consecutive months within the 6 years next preceding the commencement of the action and the respondent is served personally under s. 801.11. The effect of any determination of a child’s custody shall not be binding personally against any parent or guardian unless the parent or guardian has been made personally subject to the jurisdiction of the court in the action as provided under this chapter or has been notified under s. 822.08 as provided in s. 822.06. (11m) CERTAIN RESTRAINING ORDERS OR INJUNCTIONS. (a) Subject to subch. II of ch. 822, and in addition to personal jurisdiction under sub. (1) and s. 801.06, in any action filed pursuant to s. 813.12, 813.122, 813.123, or 813.125, if any of the following apply: 1. Subject to par. (b), an act or threat of the respondent giving rise to the petition occurred outside the state and is part of an ongoing pattern of harassment that has an adverse effect on the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s family or household, and the petitioner resides in this state. 2. Subject to par. (b), the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s family or household has sought safety or protection in this state as a result of an act or threat of the respondent giving rise to the petition. 3. Personal jurisdiction is permissible under the constitution of the United States or of the state of Wisconsin. (b) Paragraph (a) 1. or 2. applies if, while the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s family or household resides or is temporarily living in this state, the respondent has had direct or indirect communication with the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s family or household or if the respondent has indicated a threat to the physical health or safety of the petitioner or of a member of the petitioner’s family or household. A communication or indication for the purpose of this paragraph includes communication through mail, telephone, electronic message or transmittal, and posting on an electronic communication site, web page, or other electronic medium. Communication on any electronic medium that is generally available to any individual residing in this state is sufficient to exercise jurisdiction under par. (a) 1. or 2. (c) If a court has personal jurisdiction pursuant to par. (a) and a respondent has been served but does not appear or does not file a response or motion asserting the defense of lack of personal jurisdiction, the court shall hear the action. This paragraph does not limit the respondent’s right to challenge personal jurisdiction on appeal.
(12) PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE. In any action against a personal representative to enforce a claim against the deceased person represented where one or more of the grounds stated in subs. (2) to (11) would have furnished a basis for jurisdiction over the deceased had the deceased been living and it is immaterial under this subsection whether the action had been commenced during the lifetime of the deceased.
(13) JOINDER OF CLAIMS IN THE SAME ACTION. In any action brought in reliance upon jurisdictional grounds stated in subs. (2) to (11) there cannot be joined in the same action any other claim or cause against the defendant unless grounds exist under this section for personal jurisdiction over the defendant as to the claim or cause to be joined.
Plain-English Summary
Section 801.05 is Wisconsin’s long-arm statute: it spells out, category by category, when a Wisconsin court can exercise personal jurisdiction over a defendant who has been served under section 801.11. The list runs from the obvious to the specialized. A defendant who is physically present in Wisconsin when served, or who is domiciled here, or who is a domestic corporation or limited liability company, or who is engaged in substantial and not-isolated activity in the state, falls within reach under the local presence or status category alone. Beyond that baseline, the section reaches defendants whose acts or omissions caused injury within Wisconsin, and even defendants whose out-of-state acts caused injury here, if they also solicited or serviced Wisconsin customers or their products ended up used here in the ordinary course of trade.
Several categories track everyday commercial and property connections to the state: promises to perform services in Wisconsin or pay for services performed here, promises to ship or receive goods to or from Wisconsin, and disputes over real or tangible property located in the state. Others are narrower — deficiency judgments following a Wisconsin foreclosure or resale, claims against a corporate officer or manager arising from their role in a domestic corporation, collection of Wisconsin taxes, and insurance disputes tied to a Wisconsin-resident insured or a Wisconsin event.
The section also reaches certain family-law and protective-order situations, tying jurisdiction to a spouse’s past residence in the state or, for restraining orders and injunctions, to harassment or threats connected to Wisconsin or to a petitioner who has sought safety here. It extends jurisdiction grounds that would have reached a deceased person to their personal representative, and it closes with a limit on its own reach: a claim that doesn’t independently satisfy one of these jurisdictional grounds cannot be tacked onto a case that does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a Wisconsin court have personal jurisdiction over someone who lives in Wisconsin?
Section 801.05 covers this under its local presence or status category: a natural person who is domiciled in Wisconsin, or who is present in the state when served, falls within the court’s personal jurisdiction, as does a domestic corporation or limited liability company.
Can an out-of-state company be sued in a Wisconsin court over an injury that happened here?
Yes. Section 801.05 gives Wisconsin courts jurisdiction over any action claiming injury to person or property within the state arising from an act or omission by the defendant, whether that act or omission happened inside or outside Wisconsin, subject to additional conditions when the act occurred outside the state.
Does a contract to perform services in Wisconsin create jurisdiction here?
It can. Section 801.05 covers actions arising out of a promise, made anywhere, to perform services within Wisconsin or to pay for services performed here by the plaintiff, as one of several contract- and property-related jurisdictional grounds.
Can jurisdiction reach a deceased defendant’s personal representative?
Yes. Section 801.05 extends any jurisdictional ground that would have applied to the deceased person, had that person been living, to an action against the personal representative enforcing a claim against the deceased.
Can I add an unrelated claim to a lawsuit just because the court has jurisdiction over one claim against the defendant?
No. Section 801.05 says that in an action relying on the jurisdictional grounds listed for particular claims, no other claim against the defendant may be joined unless independent grounds exist for personal jurisdiction over that additional claim as well.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 592 (1975); 1975 c. 218; 1977 c. 105, 203, 418; 1979 c. 196; 1979 c. 352 s. 39; 1993 a. 112, 326, 486; 2005 a. 130; 2015 a. 4.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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