818.03.Order of arrest, by whom made.

Ch. 818: Arrest and Bail · Last amended 1978 · Last verified July 15, 2026

In one sentenceSection 818.03 requires that any order for a defendant’s arrest in a civil action come from the court in which the action is brought or from a judge, rather than from a clerk, sheriff, or the plaintiff alone.

Full Text of Section 818.03

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An order for the arrest of the defendant must be obtained from the court in which the action is brought or a judge.

Plain-English Summary

Section 818.03 keeps control of civil arrest firmly with the judiciary. An order for the arrest of the defendant must be obtained from the court in which the action is brought, or from a judge. There is no route to a civil arrest order through a clerk, a sheriff, or the plaintiff’s own say-so.

This section works together with section 818.02, which limits arrest to particular categories of case, and section 818.04, which sets what the order must be based on. Section 818.03 supplies the piece in between: whichever body or person is asked to make the order, it has to be a court or a judge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can issue an order for a defendant’s arrest in a Wisconsin civil action?

Section 818.03 requires the order to come from the court in which the action is brought, or from a judge.

Can a sheriff or clerk issue an arrest order on their own?

No. Section 818.03 limits that authority to the court in which the action is brought or a judge.

Does this section list what has to be shown before the order is made?

No. Section 818.04 addresses that, requiring an affidavit showing a cause of action exists and falls within section 818.02.

Does section 818.03 apply to every case, or only the categories in section 818.02?

It governs who may issue the order for arrest generally, but an order can only be obtained in the first place for a case within one of the categories section 818.02 lists.

Is there a separate procedure for county versus circuit judges under this section?

Section 818.03 does not distinguish between kinds of judges; it requires the order to come from the court or a judge.

Amendment History

History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 758 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 809.03; Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiiiv (1978); Stats. 1977 s. 818.03.

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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