Texting and distracted driving laws in Wisconsin

If a driver who was staring at a phone just plowed into you, or you are holding a ticket and want to know what it actually means, this page lays out what Wisconsin law says, word for word and number for number. The rules here are narrower than most people assume, and the gaps matter both for tickets and for injury claims.

What Wisconsin bans, and what it still allows

Wisconsin has a flat, statewide ban on texting behind the wheel. Under Wis. Stat. 346.89(3)(a), no driver may compose or send an electronic text message or email while operating a motor vehicle.¹ That applies to every driver, new or experienced, and it is a primary offense: an officer can pull you over and cite you for it with no other reason for the stop.²

There is also a broader inattentive driving law. Wis. Stat. 346.89(1) prohibits any activity, other than driving, that interferes or reasonably appears to interfere with your ability to drive safely.¹ That is the catch-all officers use for eating, grooming, reaching for something, or handling a phone in a way that is not strictly texting.

Here is the part that surprises people. Wisconsin has no general handheld ban for licensed adult drivers. If you hold a regular license, keeping a phone to your ear to talk, or tapping through a map or a playlist, is not by itself illegal under state law, as long as you are not texting and not driving inattentively.¹ Wisconsin is one of a shrinking number of states without a universal hands-free requirement.

That gap creates an odd enforcement line. Because a phone in the hand is legal for licensed adults but texting is not, an officer generally has to observe conduct that looks like texting rather than simply a phone in your hand. Drivers cited for texting sometimes see the charge treated as inattentive driving instead, which carries the same forfeiture range but a different entry on the record.¹³

The drivers who face stricter rules

Three groups are held to a tighter standard.

New drivers. Anyone holding a probationary license or an instruction permit may not use a cellular or wireless telephone at all while driving, except to report an emergency.¹ That restriction covers hands-free use too, not just holding the phone.² It is a real trap for teenagers who assume Bluetooth keeps them legal.

Work zones. Under Wis. Stat. 346.89(4m), added by 2015 Wisconsin Act 308, no one may use a handheld mobile phone while driving through a highway or utility work area, a railroad maintenance area, or an emergency response zone where workers are exposed to traffic. The exceptions are narrow: a voice-operated or hands-free device, or dialing 911 to report an emergency.⁴

Commercial drivers. Anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle is barred from handheld phone use behind the wheel except to report an emergency.¹

The exceptions written into the law

The texting ban is not absolute. Section 346.89(3)(b) carves out authorized emergency vehicle operators, devices that only transmit emergency alerts or vehicle-operation data, licensed amateur (ham) radio operators following proper procedure, and voice-operated or hands-free devices, so long as you use your hands only to activate or deactivate them.¹ Reporting an emergency is a defense across the board.

What a ticket actually costs

The fine depends on which subsection you break.

Texting or inattentive driving under 346.89(1) or (3)(a) carries a forfeiture of not less than $20 and not more than $400.³ Once mandatory court costs and surcharges are added on top of that base forfeiture, the real bill runs well above the $20 floor.

The new-driver and work-zone violations under 346.89(4), (4m), and (5) are penalized separately: $20 to $40 for a first offense, and $50 to $100 for a second or later conviction within a year.³ WisDOT has put the all-in cost of a work-zone handheld ticket at roughly $162.70 for a first offense and $200.50 for a second once court costs are folded in, though those totals shift with the Uniform Traffic Deposit Schedule.⁴

Money is not the whole penalty. An inattentive driving conviction adds four demerit points to your record, and a second or later offense doubles the points.² For a driver still in the graduated licensing system, a first phone violation extends the GDL restrictions by six months, and a permit holder has to wait six months from the violation date before becoming eligible for a probationary license.²

The hands-free law Wisconsin keeps not passing

Lawmakers have tried repeatedly to close the handheld gap, and the most recent attempt died this year. 2025 Senate Bill 935, introduced February 6, 2026 by Sen. Jesse James with bipartisan cosponsors, would have amended 346.89 to bar a phone in the hand for every driver rather than just new ones. It failed to pass on March 23, 2026 when the Senate adjourned under Senate Joint Resolution 1.⁵ Its Assembly companion, AB 975, met the same fate. So for now the rules above are still the law, and the narrower texting-only standard is what you are actually held to.

Why this matters after a crash

Wisconsin logs a lot of these wrecks. WisDOT tied distracted driving to more than 9,200 crashes in 2023, including 23 deaths.⁶ Almost two-thirds of the distracted drivers that year were older than 25, so this is not only a teen problem.⁶

If a distracted driver hit you, the phone ban does more than generate a ticket. A citation for texting or inattentive driving is concrete evidence that the other driver breached the duty of care, which sits at the center of a negligence claim. Wisconsin uses modified comparative negligence: under Wis. Stat. 895.045(1), you can recover as long as your share of the fault is not greater than the other driver's, and your damages drop by your own percentage.⁷ Found 20 percent at fault, you collect 80 percent. Cross 51 percent, and you collect nothing.

Timing is strict. You generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Wisconsin, and two years from the date of death in a wrongful death case, under Wis. Stat. 893.54.⁸ Miss those deadlines and the claim usually ends no matter how clear the other driver's fault was.

Two practical steps protect a claim. Get the official crash report, which records what the investigating officer found about distraction and fault; you can order a Wisconsin report through our Wisconsin crash reports page. And if your vehicle was damaged, keep in mind that a repaired car is usually worth less afterward than it was before the wreck; our Wisconsin diminished value guide covers that separate claim. When fault is contested or injuries are serious, you can compare local options through our legal directory.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 346.89 (Inattentive driving). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/346/XIII/89?view=section

2. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, DMV, Cell phones and texting. https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/teen-driver/teen-sfty/cell.aspx

3. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 346.95 (Penalty for violating traffic regulations). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/346.95

4. Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Work zone safety: mobile devices. https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/education/workzone/mobiledeviceswz/default.aspx

5. Wisconsin Legislature, 2025 Senate Bill 935 (history and status). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/sb935

6. Zero In Wisconsin (WisDOT), Buckle Up Phone Down. https://zeroinwisconsin.gov/buckle-up-phone-down/

7. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 895.045(1) (Contributory negligence). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/895/i/045?view=section

8. Wisconsin Legislature, Wis. Stat. § 893.54 (Injury to the person). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/893/v/54?view=section