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How Wisconsin Distributes traffic citation deposits and fines

The Wisconsin State Patrol issues traffic citations for violations of various state traffic laws. The revenue generated by traffic citations is not kept by the Wisconsin State Patrol. Rather, the revenue is distributed to various state and county agencies.

This document describes how the traffic citation revenue is distributed in accordance with Wisconsin statutes. These fees are applicable to all traffic citations regardless of the law enforcement agency issuing the citation.

Base deposit
State statutes determine the amount of the base deposit for traffic violations, excluding traffic violations charged under local ordinance. This procedure ensures uniform base deposits for all Wisconsin state and county traffic citations:

50% of the base deposit goes to the county where the citation was issued.
50% of the base deposit goes to the state common school fund.
For traffic citations issued for municipal traffic violations, 100% of the base deposit is distributed to the municipality that issued the citation for a municipal traffic violation.

Court support services fee
A $68 court support services fee goes to the state to offset county court costs.

Court cost
A $25 court cost fee goes partially to the state and partially to the county where the citation was issued to fund overall justice system costs.

Crime lab and drug assessment fee
A $7 fee on all violations that have a penalty assessment, except safety belt violations, goes to the state to fund crime laboratory activities.