A fourth OWI in Wisconsin is a Class H felony. Conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 60 days behind bars, a maximum of six years in state prison, fines from $600 to $10,000 before enhancements, and a driver’s license revocation of at least two years. It also leaves you with a permanent felony record that reaches firearms rights, voting, insurance, international travel, and employment.
How Wisconsin Counts Your Priors
Wisconsin uses a lifetime counting rule for fourth and subsequent OWI offenses. Every OWI conviction, administrative license suspension, and alcohol-related revocation on your record counts, no matter how old.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 346.65 – Penalties for Violating Sections 346.62, 346.63, and 346.64 A conviction from 25 years ago counts the same as one from last year. Second offenses use a 10-year lookback; a fourth has none. Where a single stop produced both a conviction and a separate administrative suspension, those are treated as one incident.
Jail and Prison Time
Sixty days is the floor. Six years is the ceiling for any Class H felony.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OWI and Related Alcohol and Drug Offense Penalties Sentences of a year or less are usually served in county jail; longer sentences go to state prison.
Wisconsin felonies use bifurcated sentencing. The judge divides the total sentence into a confinement period and up to three years of extended supervision.3Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.01 – Bifurcated Sentence of Imprisonment and Extended Supervision Extended supervision works like parole: you live in the community under Department of Corrections conditions, and a violation can send you back for the balance of the sentence. A four-year sentence might mean two years confined, two years supervised.
Fines and Enhancements
The base fine range is $600 to $10,000.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OWI and Related Alcohol and Drug Offense Penalties On top of that, the court imposes a $535 driver improvement surcharge plus court costs.4Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 346.655 – Driver Improvement Surcharge
A high blood alcohol concentration multiplies the fine, though not the jail time:
- BAC of 0.17 to 0.199 doubles the minimum and maximum fines.
- BAC of 0.20 to 0.249 triples them.
- BAC of 0.25 or higher quadruples them.
At the top end, a $10,000 fine becomes $40,000.1Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 346.65 – Penalties for Violating Sections 346.62, 346.63, and 346.64
If a child under 16 was in the vehicle, both the fine range and the incarceration range double. The maximum prison exposure goes from six years to twelve, and the mandatory minimum goes from 60 days to 120.5Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 343.30 – Revocation of Licenses After Certain Convictions
License Revocation and Getting Back on the Road
The court must revoke your license for two to three years, extended by the number of days you spend incarcerated.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OWI and Related Alcohol and Drug Offense Penalties A three-year revocation stacked on a six-month jail term means three and a half years without a license. The clock starts at conviction.
Lifetime Revocation
If your fourth offense falls within 15 years of the previous one, the Department of Transportation permanently revokes your license.6Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 343.31 – Revocation, Suspension, and Disqualification for Certain Offenses This administrative revocation sits on top of the court order and blocks any occupational license during its term. After 10 years you may apply for reinstatement, but the DOT is not required to grant it.7Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Lifetime Revocation
Occupational License
On a standard two-to-three-year revocation, you become eligible to apply for an occupational license after 45 days, provided you have completed your alcohol assessment and are following the resulting driver safety plan.5Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 343.30 – Revocation of Licenses After Certain Convictions The license restricts when and where you can drive, typically covering work, school, treatment, and essential errands. If you have three OWI convictions within five years, the DOT will deny the license outright, and you must petition the circuit court in your county of residence for approval.8Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Occupational License
Ignition Interlock and Vehicle Consequences
Once your license is reinstated, every vehicle you own must have an ignition interlock device for one to three years.2Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OWI and Related Alcohol and Drug Offense Penalties You blow into it to start the engine, and it requests periodic retests while you drive. Installation and monthly calibration run roughly $60 to $100 per month, at your expense.
The state can also seek vehicle immobilization, seizure, or forfeiture for a fourth offense. Forfeiture transfers permanent ownership of the vehicle to the government. Registration plates on every vehicle in your name can be confiscated for one year. None of this is automatic, but prosecutors do use these tools.
Assessment and the 0.02 Lifetime Limit
Within 72 hours of conviction, you must contact your county’s approved assessment facility to schedule an alcohol and drug assessment.9Wisconsin Department of Transportation. OWI Assessment and Driver Safety Plan A certified counselor evaluates your history and writes a driver safety plan, which may involve outpatient counseling, inpatient treatment, or ongoing monitoring. Completing the assessment is a prerequisite for occupational license eligibility, and noncompliance can extend your revocation.10Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Intoxicated Driver Program
Once you have three or more OWI-related convictions, suspensions, or revocations on your record, your legal alcohol limit drops permanently to 0.02. This is the Prohibited Alcohol Concentration, and it applies for the rest of your life.11Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 340.01 – Words and Phrases Defined A single beer can put many people over that threshold. Any future stop that registers at 0.02 exposes you to a fresh OWI charge.
Life With a Felony Record
The court-ordered penalties end. The felony record does not.
Firearms
Wisconsin makes possession of a firearm by any convicted felon a Class G felony.12Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 941.29 – Possession of a Firearm Federal law separately bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Together these amount to a permanent ban. Restoration requires a governor’s pardon that expressly authorizes firearm possession, or federal relief from disabilities. Both are rare.
Voting
You lose the right to vote for the full duration of your sentence, including probation, parole, or extended supervision. Voting rights are restored automatically once you are off paper.
Expungement
Wisconsin’s expungement statute allows certain felonies to be cleared if the person was under 25 at the time of the offense. Even where age is not the barrier, a Class H felony cannot be expunged if you already have a prior felony.14Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.015 – Special Disposition The statute also excludes DOT driving records. Even if a court expunged the criminal conviction, the OWI would stay on your driving record permanently. In practice, the conviction is with you for life.
Insurance and Ongoing Costs
Wisconsin requires proof of financial responsibility (an SR-22 certificate) before your license can be reinstated. You must carry it for three years of continuous coverage, and a lapse restarts the clock. Premiums after a felony OWI often double or triple for years. Between the interlock rental, SR-22 filing, assessment and treatment costs, and court-imposed fines, the total financial impact of a fourth OWI regularly runs into the tens of thousands of dollars.
International Travel
Canada treats impaired driving as a serious criminal offense and routinely denies entry to people with DUI or OWI convictions. A Wisconsin felony OWI makes you inadmissible at the border.15U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Entering Canada and the United States With DUI Offenses Criminal rehabilitation is a permanent fix, but only after you have completed your entire sentence, including extended supervision, and waited an additional five years. A temporary resident permit can cover a specific trip but requires a compelling reason, not leisure. Multiple convictions make both applications harder to get approved. Domestically, CBP lists driving under the influence among grounds for denying or revoking Global Entry and similar trusted traveler memberships.16U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Eligibility for Global Entry
Employment and Professional Licensing
Professional licensing boards in healthcare, education, finance, and law run background checks and can deny or revoke a license based on a felony conviction. Employers in nearly every industry run criminal background checks, and a Class H felony shows up on any standard search. Wisconsin has no broad “ban the box” law for private employers, so the conviction can filter you out before you reach an interview.