(1) (b) In all forfeiture actions in circuit court, the clerk of court shall collect a fee of $40 to be paid by the defendant when judgment is entered against the defendant.
814.63.Fees in forfeiture actions.
Ch. 814: Court Costs, Fees, and Surcharges · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 814.63 requires a defendant found liable in a circuit court forfeiture action to pay a set clerk’s fee, requires the local government that prosecuted an ordinance violation to pay its own filing fee to the clerk, and lets a court add the cost of an OWI-related blood draw to what a convicted defendant owes.
Full Text of Section 814.63
Official Notes
NOTE: Par. (b) is shown as amended eff. 11-1-26 by 2025 Wis. Act 179. Prior to 11-1-26 it reads: (b) In all forfeiture actions in circuit court, the clerk of court shall collect a fee of $25 to be paid by the defendant when judgment is entered against the defendant. (c) This subsection does not apply to an action for a violation of s. 101.123 (2) or (2m), for a financial responsibility violation under s. 344.62 (2), for a violation under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), or for a safety belt use violation under s. 347.48 (2m). (2) Upon the disposition of a forfeiture action in circuit court for violation of a county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district ordinance, except for an action for a financial responsibility violation under s. 344.62 (2), for a violation under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), for a safety belt use violation under s. 347.48 (2m), or for a case transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c), the county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district shall pay a nonrefundable fee of $17 to the clerk of circuit court.
NOTE: Sub. (2) is shown as amended eff. 11-1-26 by 2025 Wis. Act 179. Prior to 11-1-26 it reads: (2) Upon the disposition of a forfeiture action in circuit court for violation of a county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district ordinance, except for an action for a financial responsibility violation under s. 344.62 (2), for a violation under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), for a safety belt use violation under s. 347.48 (2m), or for a case transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c), the county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district shall pay a nonrefundable fee of $5 to the clerk of circuit court. (3) In addition to any forfeiture imposed, a defendant shall pay the costs, fees, and surcharges imposed under this chapter. (3m) (a) Except as provided in par. (d), if a defendant is required to appear in court, in addition to any forfeiture, costs, fees, or surcharges it imposes, the court shall impose and collect from the defendant any costs charged to or paid by a law enforcement agency for the withdrawal of the defendant’s blood if the court finds that the defendant violated s. 23.33 (4c), 23.335 (12) (a) or (b), 30.681, 114.09, 346.63, or 350.101, or a local ordinance in conformity therewith. (b) Except as provided in par. (d), if at the time the court finds that the defendant committed the violation, the law enforcement agency has not paid or been charged with the costs of withdrawing the defendant’s blood, the court shall impose and collect the costs the law enforcement agency reasonably expects to be charged for the withdrawal, based on the current charges for this procedure. (c) The court shall disburse the amounts it collects under this subsection to the law enforcement agency that requested the blood withdrawal. (d) The court may not impose on the defendant any cost for an alternative test provided free of charge as described in s. 343.305 (4). (4) In forfeiture actions in which a county, town, city, village, town sanitary district or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district prevails, costs and disbursements shall be allowed to the county, town, city, village, town sanitary district or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district subject only to sub. (2) and such other limitation as the court may direct. For a case transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c), the court shall disburse all forfeitures it collects to the municipality. (5) Of the fees received by the clerk under sub. (1) (b), the county treasurer shall pay $17.50 to the secretary of administration for deposit in the general fund and shall retain the balance for the use of the county. The secretary of administration shall credit $5 of the $17.50 to the appropriation under s. 20.680 (2) (j).
Plain-English Summary
Section 814.63 (1) (b) charges a defendant a clerk’s fee once judgment is entered against them in a circuit court forfeiture action — currently $25, rising to $40 on November 1, 2026. That fee doesn’t apply to a handful of specific violations: certain violations under s. 101.123 (2) or (2m), a financial responsibility violation under s. 344.62 (2), a violation under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), or a safety belt use violation under s. 347.48 (2m).
The section also runs the other direction. When a county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district wins a forfeiture case for violation of its own ordinance, that government has to pay the clerk of circuit court its own nonrefundable fee — currently $5, rising to $17 — with the same category of exclusions plus cases transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c), which are handled separately under (4).
Beyond the base fee, a defendant owes any other costs, fees, and surcharges chapter 814 imposes, on top of the forfeiture itself. And if the defendant is convicted of violating an OWI-related statute (or a conforming local ordinance) and had blood drawn as part of the case, the court must add whatever a law enforcement agency was charged — or reasonably expects to be charged — for that blood withdrawal, and disburse that amount back to the agency. The one thing a court can’t charge for is an alternative test provided free of charge under s. 343.305 (4).
When the prosecuting government prevails, it recovers its costs and disbursements, subject to the (2) fee limit and whatever else the court directs; in a case transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c), the court instead disburses all the forfeitures it collects straight to the municipality. Of the fee collected under (1) (b), the county treasurer pays $17.50 to the secretary of administration and keeps the rest for the county — a split this section keeps unchanged even as the underlying fee itself rises.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a defendant pay the clerk of court after losing a Wisconsin forfeiture action?
Currently $25, rising to $40 on November 1, 2026, under 2025 Wisconsin Act 179. The fee is paid by the defendant when judgment is entered against them.
Does this clerk’s fee apply to every kind of forfeiture violation?
No. Section 814.63 (1) (c) excludes certain violations under s. 101.123 (2) or (2m), financial responsibility violations under s. 344.62 (2), violations under s. 343.51 (1m) (b), and safety belt use violations under s. 347.48 (2m).
Does a municipality have to pay a fee when it wins an ordinance forfeiture case?
Yes. Under (2), the county, town, city, village, town sanitary district, or lake district that prosecuted the ordinance violation pays a nonrefundable fee to the clerk of circuit court — currently $5, rising to $17 — subject to the same exclusions plus cases transferred under s. 800.035 (5) (c).
Can a Wisconsin court make a convicted OWI defendant pay for the blood test?
Yes. Under (3m), the court must impose and collect any costs a law enforcement agency was charged, or expects to be charged, for withdrawing the defendant’s blood if the defendant is found to have violated an OWI-related statute or conforming ordinance — except the court can’t charge for an alternative test provided free of charge.
Who gets the forfeiture money in a case transferred under section 800.035 (5) (c)?
The court disburses all forfeitures it collects in that transferred case to the municipality, separately from the general cost-and-disbursement rule that otherwise applies when a prosecuting government prevails.
Amendment History
History: 1981 c. 317; 1985 a. 36; 1987 a. 27, 399; 1989 a. 22, 31, 64, 97, 107, 359; 1991 a. 26, 39, 130; 1993 a. 16, 167, 313; 1995 a. 27, 227, 349; 1997 a. 27, 248; 1999 a. 9, 72; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 30, 33, 139, 268, 327; 2005 a. 455; 2009 a. 12, 28, 100; 2011 a. 32, 258, 260; 2015 a. 55, 170; 2019 a. 70; 2025 a. 179.
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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