(1) No person may be arrested in a civil action except as prescribed by this chapter.
818.01.In civil actions.
Ch. 818: Arrest and Bail · Last amended 1985 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 818.01 bars arresting anyone in a civil action except through the procedure this chapter sets out, while leaving arrests connected to contempt proceedings free to follow this chapter’s procedure or not.
Full Text of Section 818.01
(2) Arrest of a person subject to contempt proceedings under ch. 785 may, but need not, be in accordance with the procedure under this chapter.
Plain-English Summary
Section 818.01 opens Wisconsin’s civil arrest chapter with a default rule of restraint. No person may be arrested in a civil action except as this chapter prescribes. That default matters because it makes the chapter’s procedure — the order, the plaintiff’s bond, the categories of case in which arrest is even available — the exclusive route to a civil arrest, rather than one option among several.
The section carves out one adjacent area: arrest of a person facing contempt proceedings under chapter 785. There, the chapter’s procedure may be followed, but it does not have to be. Contempt arrests can proceed under this chapter’s framework or through whatever separate process chapter 785 itself supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone be arrested in a Wisconsin civil case outside the procedure this chapter sets out?
No. Section 818.01 says no person may be arrested in a civil action except as prescribed by this chapter.
Does this chapter’s procedure have to be used for contempt arrests?
No. Section 818.01 says arrest of a person subject to contempt proceedings under chapter 785 may, but need not, follow this chapter’s procedure.
What is the practical effect of making this chapter’s procedure exclusive for civil arrests?
It means the specific requirements in the rest of chapter 818 — the categories of case in section 818.02, the order requirement in section 818.03, and the plaintiff’s bond in section 818.05 — are not optional alternatives but the only way to arrest someone in a civil action.
Does section 818.01 list the situations in which arrest is allowed?
No. It sets the general rule that this chapter’s procedure is exclusive; section 818.02 lists the specific cases in which arrest may be made.
Why does chapter 818 treat contempt arrests differently from ordinary civil arrests?
Section 818.01 does not explain the reason; it leaves contempt arrests under chapter 785 free to follow this chapter’s procedure or a different one, unlike ordinary civil arrests, which must follow this chapter.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 758 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 809.01; Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiiiv (1978); Stats. 1977 s. 818.01; 1985 a. 29.
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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