List of Misdemeanors in Wisconsin by Class and Penalty

Wisconsin sorts misdemeanor classes and penalties into three lettered tiers plus a catch-all group of unclassified offenses. Class A tops out at a $10,000 fine and 9 months in jail. Class B caps at $1,000 and 90 days. Class C caps at $500 and 30 days. Unclassified misdemeanors carry whatever penalty the specific statute writes into the offense, so the ceiling varies. Every conviction, at every level, creates a permanent criminal record and triggers mandatory surcharges on top of the fine.¹

Class A Misdemeanors

Class A is the most serious misdemeanor tier, sitting just below the felony line. A judge can impose up to a $10,000 fine, up to 9 months in county jail, or both.¹ Probation is common instead of straight jail, but a probation violation lets the court impose the original sentence in full.

Charges you’ll routinely see at this level:

Battery: intentionally causing bodily harm to another person. If the injuries rise to “substantial bodily harm,” the offense becomes a Class I felony.²
Theft of property valued at $2,500 or less. Above that dollar figure the charge is a felony.³
Criminal damage to property, where the damage totals $2,500 or less. Exceed that and it’s a felony.⁴
Obstructing an officer: knowingly resisting or obstructing a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity.⁵

Class B Misdemeanors

Class B charges max out at a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.¹ These cover disruptive or harmful conduct that falls below the injury, financial loss, or property damage thresholds of Class A.

Disorderly conduct dominates this tier. The statute reaches a wide range of behavior, from loud public disturbances to conduct that tends to provoke a violent response. Prosecutors often use it to resolve incidents where the facts support a criminal charge but don’t cleanly fit a more specific offense. The lower dollar figure doesn’t make a Class B any less of a real conviction; it lands on background checks the same way a Class A does.

Class C Misdemeanors

Class C misdemeanors carry a $500 fine and 30 days in jail as their ceiling.¹ The legislature reserved this tier for low-level public order violations serious enough to prosecute criminally rather than cite civilly.

Vagrancy still sits here, covering conduct such as being able-bodied and without lawful means of support while refusing to seek work, public solicitation of crimes, and professional gambling.⁶ Certain minor trespass and illegal gambling offenses also fall in this class. Cases move faster at this level, and judges often resolve them with a fine or brief probation rather than jail. The conviction still shows up on background checks, and prior Class C convictions feed into repeat-offender enhancement rules for any future charge.

Unclassified Misdemeanors

Some Wisconsin misdemeanors sit outside the A, B, C system. Their penalties are written directly into the statute creating the offense, so the maximums vary from one charge to the next.

First-offense marijuana possession is a common example. Instead of following the standard tiers, it carries its own ceiling of a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.⁷ A second possession offense jumps straight to a Class I felony.

Operating while intoxicated is the source of a common misconception. A standard first-offense OWI in Wisconsin is a civil forfeiture, not a criminal misdemeanor, and does not produce a criminal record.⁸ The exception is a first OWI with a passenger under 16 in the vehicle, which is charged criminally. Second and subsequent OWI offenses are criminal, and several carry their own unclassified penalty schedules before eventually crossing into felony territory.

Other unclassified misdemeanors cover conservation, professional licensing, and environmental violations. If you’re facing an unclassified charge, the general sentencing chart won’t tell you what you’re looking at. Read the specific statute cited on the complaint.

What Actually Gets Added to the Fine

The number in the statute isn’t the number you’ll pay. Every misdemeanor conviction in Wisconsin triggers a mandatory $200 DNA analysis surcharge.⁹ Court costs stack on top of that. A “$500” Class C fine can approach four figures once the surcharges and costs are added.

Probation runs on its own schedule. For most misdemeanors, probation can last up to one year. Charges involving domestic abuse, firearms, or certain sexual offenses carry a probation range of six months to two years.¹⁰

Repeat Offender Enhancement

Wisconsin’s repeater statute can push a misdemeanor sentence well past the class ceiling. You’re classified as a repeat offender if you were convicted of three or more misdemeanors within the five years before the current offense. A single prior felony conviction in that window also triggers the enhancement.¹¹

With the enhancement, a Class A misdemeanor that normally maxes at 9 months can be increased to up to two years of imprisonment.¹¹ Time spent incarcerated on prior sentences does not count toward the five-year lookback, so the clock effectively pauses while you’re locked up.

Statute of Limitations

Prosecutors have three years to file misdemeanor charges. Once that window closes, the case can’t proceed regardless of the evidence.¹² A prosecution is considered commenced when a warrant or summons is issued, an indictment is found, or an information is filed, so the clock stops at whichever of those happens first. Felonies get a six-year window by comparison.

Expungement

Wisconsin’s expungement rules are narrower than most people expect. A court may order expungement only if you were under 25 at the time you committed the offense and the charge carried a maximum imprisonment of six years or less.¹³ All misdemeanors fall inside that six-year ceiling, so the age requirement is the real barrier.

The detail that traps people: the judge must order expungement at the time of sentencing. You cannot come back years later and request it. If the sentencing order doesn’t include expungement, the opportunity is gone. When a judge does grant it, the record is actually expunged only after you successfully complete your sentence, meaning no new convictions and, if you’re on probation, no revocations and full compliance with every condition.¹³

If you were 25 or older when the offense occurred, there is no general expungement path for misdemeanors under current Wisconsin law. That makes avoiding the conviction outright, whether through dismissal, a deferred prosecution agreement, or trial, much more important for older defendants.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

The formal penalty is often the smallest part of what a conviction costs. A few consequences frequently catch people off guard.

Federal Firearms Ban

A misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence permanently bars you from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. The ban applies regardless of the misdemeanor class and regardless of whether the state sentence included any jail time.¹⁴ It reaches any offense involving the use or attempted use of force against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, or someone who shared a household. Wisconsin battery and disorderly conduct charges from domestic incidents commonly fall inside that federal definition even though neither offense has “domestic violence” in its name.

Immigration Consequences

For non-citizens, a misdemeanor conviction can trigger deportation proceedings or make you inadmissible for re-entry. Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction” that’s broader than most people assume, and it includes guilty pleas and cases where adjudication was deferred but some form of punishment was imposed.¹⁵ Offenses involving drugs, dishonesty, or violence are the most likely to cause problems, but the analysis is fact-specific. If you aren’t a U.S. citizen and are facing any misdemeanor charge, treat it as an immigration matter from day one.

Employment and Background Checks

Wisconsin misdemeanor convictions show up on standard background checks, and employers in many industries factor them into hiring decisions. Federal guidelines require employers to evaluate criminal records on an individualized basis, weighing the nature of the offense, the time since conviction, and the connection to the specific job. A blanket policy of rejecting every applicant with a misdemeanor can violate federal anti-discrimination law. In practice, though, the conviction appears, forces a conversation, and puts you at a disadvantage compared with a clean-record applicant.

1
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.51 – Classification of Misdemeanors
2
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 940.19 – Battery, Aggravated Battery
3
Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Jury Instructions Criminal 1441 – Theft
4
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 943.01 – Criminal Damage to Property
5
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 946.41 – Obstructing an Officer
6
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 947.02 – Vagrancy
7
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 961.41(3g)(e) – Possession of Tetrahydrocannabinols
8
Wisconsin State Legislature. An Overview of Wisconsin OWI Law
9
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.046 – Deoxyribonucleic Acid Analysis Surcharge
10
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.09 – Probation
11
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.62 – Increased Penalty for Habitual Criminality
12
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 939.74 – Time Limitations on Prosecutions
13
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Code 973.015 – Special Disposition
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
15
USCIS. Adjudicative Factors