343.15(4)(a) (a) The department may issue a license to a person who is under 18 years of age even though an adult sponsor has not signed the application for license if such person is in one of the classes specified in this paragraph or in a substantially similar class specified by the department by rule and if a certificate of insurance to the effect that such person is covered by a motor vehicle policy of liability insurance meeting the requirements of s. 344.33 has been filed with the department. Such policy may be canceled or terminated only after notice as provided in s. 344.34.

343.15(4)(a)1. 1. A person who does not have a living parent.

343.15(4)(a)2. 2. A person who does not reside with his or her parents and who is a full-time student or earning a living.

343.15(4)(a)3. 3. A person who is a ward of the state, county, or court and who has been placed in a foster home or in the care of a religious welfare service.

343.15(4)(a)4. 4. A person who is married and whose spouse is under 18 years of age.

343.15(4)(b) (b) A person who is not required to have an adult sponsor under par. (a) shall sign and verify on the application that he or she is enrolled in a school program or high school equivalency program and is not a habitual truant as defined in s. 118.16 (1) (a), has graduated from high school or been granted a declaration of high school graduation equivalency or is enrolled in a home-based private educational program, as defined in s. 115.001 (3g).

343.15(5) (5) When a citation for a moving traffic violation, under chs. 341 to 349 or under a local ordinance in conformity therewith, is issued to or a notice of revocation under s. 351.027 is sent to a person who is under 18 years of age and required to have a sponsor under this section, the issuing or filing agency shall, within 7 days, notify the person’s sponsor or parents of the violation or notice. When the secretary suspends or revokes the operating privilege of a person who is under 18 years of age and who possesses a license and who is required to have a sponsor under this section or when the secretary receives notice that a court has suspended or revoked the operating privilege of such a person, the secretary shall, within 14 days after the suspension or revocation or receipt of the notice of suspension or revocation by the court, respectively, notify the person’s sponsor or parents of the suspension or revocation.

343.15 History History: 1971 c. 45; 1971 c. 213 s. 5; 1971 c. 223; 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (a), (e); 1977 c. 273; 1979 c. 215, 333, 338, 355; 1985 a. 71; 1987 a. 355; 1989 a. 105, 244; 1993 a. 162, 363, 446, 491; 1995 a. 100; 2009 a. 28; 2015 a. 55, 202.

343.15 Annotation A Pierringer release of a minor did not bar the plaintiff’s action under sub. (2) against a sponsor. Swanigan v. State Farm Insurance Co., 99 Wis. 2d 179, 299 N.W.2d 234 (1980).

343.15 Annotation A Pierringer release of a minor barred an action for contribution by nonsettling defendants against a sponsor who was not joined in the action by the plaintiff. Jackson v. Ozaukee County, 111 Wis. 2d 462, 331 N.W.2d 338 (1983).

343.15 Annotation Sub. (2) does not violate the constitutional guarantees of due process or equal protection. Mikaelian v. Woyak, 121 Wis. 2d 581, 360 N.W.2d 706 (Ct. App. 1984).

343.15 Annotation Parent sponsors are liable under this section for punitive damages assessed against their child. Evidence of the sponsors’ wealth is not admissible for purposes of assessing punitive damages against an underage driver. Franz v. Brennan, 150 Wis. 2d 1, 440 N.W.2d 562 (1989).

343.15 Annotation The suspension of a minor’s license does not relieve the sponsoring adult from liability if after suspension of the license the minor, while operating without a license, causes injury. Relief from liability can only be had by applying for cancellation of the license under sub. (3). Johnson v. Schlitt, 211 Wis. 2d 832, 565 N.W.2d 305 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-1304.

343.15 Annotation The scope of parental liability under this section does not extend to a child’s conduct distinct from operating a vehicle. The child’s shooting of a gun from a car while driving was outside the ambit of the statute. Reyes v. Greatway Insurance Co., 227 Wis. 2d 357, 597 N.W.2d 687 (1999), 97-1587.

343.15 Annotation Parents are both liable under this statute when one signs as a sponsor. It is irrelevant that one withdrew as the sponsor when the other signed the documents to assume sponsorship. Beerbohm v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 2000 WI App 105, 235 Wis. 2d 182, 612 N.W.2d 338, 99-1784.

343.15 Annotation As sub. (2) (a) excludes joint legal custody under s. 767.001 (1s) from the meaning of custody under sub. (2) (b), custody in sub. (2) (b) can only mean the natural legal custody that married parents share. Because divorced parents do not share that type of custody, liability may not be imputed to the non-sponsoring parent under sub. (2) (b). LaCount v. Salkowski, 2002 WI App 287, 258 Wis. 2d 635, 654 N.W.2d 295, 02-0630.

343.16 343.16 Examination of applicants; reexamination of licensed persons.

343.16(1) (1) Required testing of knowledge and driving skills.

343.16(1)(a) (a) General.

343.16(1)(a)1. 1. Except when examination by an authorized 3rd-party tester is permitted under pars. (b) to (c), the department shall examine every applicant for an operator’s license, including applicants for license renewal as provided in sub. (3), and every applicant for authorization to operate a vehicle class or type for which the applicant does not hold currently valid authorization, other than an instruction permit.

343.16(1)(a)2. 2.

343.16(1)(a)2.a. a. Except as provided in sub. (2) (cm) and (e), the examinations of applicants for licenses authorizing operation of “Class A”, “Class B”, “Class C”, “Class D” or “Class M” vehicles shall include both a knowledge test and an actual demonstration in the form of a driving skills test of the applicant’s ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of a representative vehicle.

343.16(1)(a)2.b. b. In administering the knowledge test, the department shall attempt to accommodate any special needs of the applicant.

343.16(1)(a)2.c. c. Except as may be required by the department for an “H” or “S” endorsement, the knowledge test is not intended to be a test for literacy or English language proficiency. This subdivision does not prohibit the department from requiring an applicant to correctly read and understand highway signs.

343.16(1)(a)3. 3. The department shall not administer a driving skills test to a person applying for authorization to operate “Class M” vehicles who has failed 2 previous such skills tests unless the person has successfully completed a rider course approved by the department. The department may, by rule, exempt certain persons from the rider course requirement of this paragraph. The department may not require a person who is applying for authorization to operate “Class M” vehicles and who has successfully completed a rider course approved by the Wisconsin department of transportation motorcycle safety program to hold an instruction permit under s. 343.07 (4) prior to the department’s issuance of a license authorizing the operation of “Class M” vehicles. The department may not require a person applying for authorization to operate “Class M” vehicles who holds an instruction permit under s. 343.07 (4) to hold it for a minimum period of time before administering a driving skills test.

343.16(1)(a)4. 4.

343.16(1)(a)4.a. a. The driving skills of applicants for endorsements authorizing the operation of commercial motor vehicles equipped with air brakes, the transportation of passengers in commercial motor vehicles or the operation of school buses, as provided in s. 343.04 (2) (b), (bm), (d) or (e), shall be tested by an actual demonstration of driving skills.

343.16(1)(a)4.b. b. The department may endorse an applicant’s commercial driver license for transporting hazardous materials requiring placarding or any quantity of a material listed as a select agent or toxin under 42 CFR 73, subject to s. 343.125, or for the operation of tank vehicles or vehicles towing double or triple trailers, as described in s. 343.04 (2) (a), (c), or (f), based on successful completion of a knowledge test.

343.16(1)(a)4.c. c. The department or an authorized 3rd-party tester may not administer a driving skills test to any applicant for an initial commercial driver license, a commercial driver license upgrade, or an initial issuance of an “H” endorsement specified in s. 343.17 (3) (d) 1m., “P” endorsement specified in s. 343.17 (3) (d) 3., or “S” endorsement specified in s. 343.17 (3) (d) 4. who has not satisfied the entry-level training requirements contained in 49 CFR 380, subparts F and G.