Vehicle Sold / Transferred Defense Under Wis. Stat. §342.15
Wis. Stat. §342.15 governs vehicle title transfer. The seller's liability ends upon proper completion of the title transfer endorsement and notification to DMV. If a citation is issued to the registered owner but the vehicle had been sold prior, the seller can demonstrate transfer with a bill of sale and the endorsed title. Under Wis. Stat. §342.15(4), a seller who has properly transferred the vehicle is not liable for subsequent traffic violations. The buyer's failure to register does not retransfer liability.
Legal basis
Wis. Stat. §§342.15, 342.16; §346.485 (parking liability of registered owner)
Sample appeal wording
[DATE] Re: Citation #[NUMBER] — Vehicle [PLATE] I was not the registered owner of the cited vehicle on [VIOLATION_DATE]. I sold the vehicle to [BUYER] on [SALE_DATE]. Documentation: 1. Bill of sale dated [DATE] (Exhibit A) 2. Endorsed title transfer (Exhibit B) 3. [DMV transfer confirmation, if available] 4. Buyer contact: [NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE] Under Wis. Stat. §342.15, my ownership ended upon transfer. Under §346.485, the citation must issue to the registered owner at the time of violation — that was the buyer. I request dismissal. [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- Wis. Stat. §342.15 (docs.legis.wisconsin.gov)
- Wis. Stat. §346.485
- Wisconsin DMV title transfer procedures