This is a supplement to the training materials presented in the Affordable Alcohol Training Responsible Beverage Service Education Program and must be reviewed. 

Wisconsin’s Governing Liquor Authority

Wisconsin’s Governing Liquor Authority:

• The State of Wisconsin’s governing liquor authority is: Wisconsin Alcohol & Tobacco, Department of Revenue.
• The phone number for the Department of Revenue is: 608-266-2776.
• The website for the Department of Revenue is: www.revenue.wi.gov

• Wisconsin’s Legislature is the body responsible for enacting the state’s alcohol laws.
• All law enforcement officers have the right to inspect the premises of a licensee as well as review records during reasonable hours including all hours of operation. (Refusing inspections could cause the licensee’s license to be revoked or suspended.)

Wisconsin’s Liquor License and Alcohol Beverage Laws

Under Wisconsin State Law:

• Licensees must uphold all the liquor laws for the state of Wisconsin.
• Licensees must also be knowledgeable of and abide by any local ordinances as well.
• Licensees must operate with a valid, current seller’s permit at all times that is in the same name as the licensee.
• Licensees must frame and post their liquor license in a prominent location along with any other permits or licenses that they may hold.
• Licensees are required to have onsite supervision at all times during business hours.  (May be the licensee, an immediate family member who is an adult, the corporation agent, or the holder of a manager’s or operator’s or provisional operator’s license.)
• There are no restrictions on Happy Hours or other drink specials or promotions.
• Licensees may not re-fill any alcoholic containers and must deface the label when empty and either break the bottle before putting it in the trash or place it in the proper recycling container.
• Licensees may only purchase beverage alcohol from Wisconsin wholesalers.
• Licensees must keep up-to-date records of all alcohol purchases for a period of two years on the licensed premises.
• Should a licensee sell their business, they may transfer their sealed alcohol inventory to another retail licensee within the state.
• It is unlawful to provide, sell or serve alcohol to an intoxicated individual. (Penalty: possible fine of $100-$500.00 and/or imprisonment for up to 60 days.)

It is illegal for the following activities to occur at an unlicensed establishment (possible penalties could be a fine up to $10,000.00 and/or imprisonment for up to 9 months):

• Offering a “free” drink with the purchase of a meal.
• Offering a “free” bottle of wine with the purchase of something else.
• Charging a cover charge that offers alcohol mixers for a price but doesn’t charge for the alcohol itself.

The following is the service hours for alcoholic beverages in the state of Wisconsin:

• On-Premise Establishments may sell and service alcohol Monday – Friday from 6am to 2am and on Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 2:30am. There is no required closing time for New Year’s.
• Off-Premise and retail store licensees may sell wine and alcohol Monday – Sunday from 8am to 9pm and may sell beer Monday – Sunday from 8am to midnight.

The following pertains to closing hours:

• All customers must vacate the premises of the licensed establishment by the closing hour.
• Licensees and their employees may conduct normal business functions after the closing hour such as cleaning up, counting cash, etc. but anyone left on the premises must be present for those purposes.
• Licensees whose principal business is other than selling alcohol (examples are hotels, restaurants, bowling alleys, golf courses, etc.) may remain open after closing hours for the purposes of their principal business. However, they may not sell or allow consumption of alcohol after the closing hour.

Identification

Acceptable forms of identification in Wisconsin are:

• State Drivers License
• State ID Card

An individual could be fined anywhere from $300.00 to $1,250.00 or be imprisoned for 10 to 30 days for the following activities:

• Altering or duplicating an ID card. (Class 1 felony if done for money or other compensation.)
• Giving an ID card or other documentation to an underage person to use in order to claim they are of legal age.

It is unlawful for an underage person to engage in any of the following activities:

• Possess an official ID card that is not in their name or has been altered
• Alter or duplicate an official ID card.
• Apply for an official ID card and give false information.
• Possess a false ID card that shows they are of legal drinking age.
• Provide another underage person with a false ID or other documentation.

An underage person could face the following penalties for their first offense of committing one of the activities listed above:

• A fine in the range of  $300.00 to $1,250.00
• Suspension of their license.
• Mandatory participation in a supervised work program.
• Imprisonment for 10 to 30 days.
• Any combination of the above penalties.

Wisconsin’s Laws Regarding Age

Wisconsin’s laws regarding age:

• A person must be at least 21 years old to purchase and consume alcohol.
• It is illegal to serve alcohol to minors.
• Minors may not possess alcohol.
• An underage person may purchase and consume any beverage that contain less than 0.5% alcohol by volume as those drinks are classified as nonalcoholic beverages.
• An underage person may be served and possess alcohol in any licensed establishment if they are with a parent, legal guardian or spouse who is of legal drinking age.
• A minor who is 14 years of age or older may be employed at an establishment that is licensed for alcohol so long as they are not directly selling, serving, giving away or dispensing the alcohol and they are under the supervision of the licensee, an adult within the licensee’s family or a person with an operator’s license.  

The penalty for serving or selling alcohol to a minor is:

• First violation: fine up to $500.00.
• Second violation within 30 months: fine up to $500.00 and/or up to 1 month imprisonment.
• Third violation within 30 months: fine up to $1,000.00 and or up to 90 days imprisonment.
• Fourth violation or more within 30 months: fine up to $10,000.00 and/or up to 9 months imprisonment.      

Wisconsin’s Dram Shop Laws

Under Wisconsin’s alcohol laws:

• Both the licensee and the server could be held liable for serving or selling alcohol to a minor.
• Both the licensee and the server could be held liable for pressuring a person to drink alcohol or presenting an alcoholic drink as alcohol free.

Should the licensee or the server be charged with serving a minor, they may not be held liable and may have a defense under the following circumstances:

• The minor presented a false ID to them that they believed to be valid and that showed the minor as being of legal age.
• The minor appeared to be over 21years of age.

Wisconsin’s Cigarette and Tobacco Products Laws

Under Wisconsin’s laws:

• A license is required in order to offer, sell, possess with intent to sell or give away any tobacco products or cigarettes.
• Purchases for retail sales may only made from a manufacturer, distributor or jobber who holds a valid permit issued by the state of Wisconsin.
• Any retailer who purchases from an out of state provider must get a permit.

• Records of all purchases must be kept (and available for inspection) for a period of two years from the date of invoice on the licensed premises.
• All law enforcement officers have the right to inspect the premises of a licensee as well as review records during reasonable hours including all hours of operation. (Refusing inspections could result in a fine and/or imprisonment.)
• All cigarettes or tobacco products that are kept in violation of Wisconsin’s laws and any personal property that is used in connection is subject to seizure.
• It is unlawful to sell individual cigarettes.
• It is unlawful to sell or give cigarettes or other tobacco products to minors.

Wisconsin’s Video Gambling Laws

Under Wisconsin’s laws:

• It is unlawful for a Class A or Class B licensee to operate video gambling machines on their premises.
• It is a felony if a Class A licensee has any video gambling machines or if a Class B licensee has more than five machines. Should a licensee be caught with machines, they may be arrested either by a Special Agent of the Department of Revenue or a law enforcement officer in the local jurisdiction.
• In the situations where a Class B licensee has no more than 5 machines, only a Special Agent of the Department of Revenue who is a certified law enforcement officer may investigate and enforce video gambling violations. Penalties may include: seizure of the machines, seizure of any money in the machines, and a fine of $500 per machine for each incident.
• Local governments may also enact ordinances regulating video gambling machines.
• The Department of Revenue may conduct tax audits of Class B establishments as well as machine operators.
• All gross receipts received from these unlawful machines is subject to Wisconsin sales tax and any net income is subject to Wisconsin income or franchise tax. Additionally, the purchase of the machines is subject to Wisconsin sales and use tax.

Definitions:

As defined per the Wisconsin Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco Laws for Retailers, Department of Revenue, publication 302 - found at www.dor.state.wi.us/pubs/pb302.pdf.

Adult – A person who is 18 years of age or older.

Minor – A person who is under 18 years of age.

Legal Drinking Age – 21 years of age.

Underage Person – A person who is not of legal drinking age.

Beer – A fermented malt beverage containing .5% or more of alcohol by volume.

Intoxicating Liquor (Or Liquor) – All alcohol beverages (other than beer) containing .5% or more alcohol by volume, and all wines.

Alcohol Beverages – A statutory term which includes beer, wine, and liquor.

Principal Business - means the primary activity as determined by analyzing the amount of capital, labor, time, attention, and floor space devoted to each business activity and by analyzing the sources of net income and gross income. The name, appearance, and advertising of the entity may also be taken into consideration if they are given less weight.

Cigarette - any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance other than tobacco.

Tobacco Products - any form of tobacco prepared in such a manner as to be suitable for chewing or smoking, but does not include cigarettes.

ADDENDUM: WISCONSIN’S DRAM SHOP LAW

125.035 Civil liability exemption: furnishing alcohol beverages.

(1) In this section, person has the meaning given in s. 990.01 (26).

(2) A person is immune from civil liability arising out of the act of procuring alcohol beverages for or selling, dispensing or giving away alcohol beverages to another person.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the person procuring, selling, dispensing or giving away alcohol beverages causes their consumption by force or by representing that the beverages contain no alcohol.

(4)           (a) In this subsection, .provider means a person, including a licensee or permittee, who procures alcohol beverages for or sells, dispenses or gives away alcohol beverages to an underage person in violation of s. 125.07 (1) (a).

(b) Subsection (2) does not apply if the provider knew or should have known that the underage person was under the legal drinking age and if the alcohol beverages provided to the underage person were a substantial factor in causing injury to a 3rd party. In determining whether a provider knew or should have known that the underage person was under the legal drinking age, all relevant circumstances surrounding the procuring, selling, dispensing or giving away of the alcohol beverages may be considered, including any circumstance under subds. 1. to 4. In addition, sub.(2) does apply if all of the following occur:

1. The underage person falsely represents that he or she has attained the legal drinking age.

2. The underage person supports the representation with documentation that he or she has attained the legal drinking age.

3. The alcohol beverages are provided in good faith reliance on the underage person’s representation that he or she has attained the legal drinking age.

4. The appearance of the underage person is such that an ordinary and prudent person would believe that he or she had attained the legal drinking age.

(5) Subsection (2) does not apply to civil forfeiture actions for violation of any provision of this chapter or any local ordinance in conformity with any provision of this chapter.