Wisconsin Code § 943.13

Trespass to land
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(1e) In this section:
(aL) “Carry” has the meaning given in s. 175.60 (1) (ag).
(ar) “Dwelling unit” means a structure or that part of a structure which is used or intended to be used as a home, residence or
sleeping place by one person or by 2 or more persons maintaining
a common household, to the exclusion of all others.
(az) “Implied consent” means conduct or words or both that
imply that an owner or occupant of land has given consent to another person to enter the land.
(b) “Inholding” means a parcel of land that is private property
and that is surrounded completely by land owned by the United
States, by this state or by a local governmental unit or any combination of the United States, this state and a local governmental
unit.
(bm) “Licensee” means a licensee, as defined in s. 175.60 (1)
(d), or an out-of-state licensee, as defined in s. 175.60 (1) (g).
(c) “Local governmental unit” means a political subdivision
of this state, a special purpose district in this state, an instrumentality or corporation of the political subdivision or special purpose district or a combination or subunit of any of the foregoing.
(cm) “Nonresidential building” includes a nursing home as
defined in s. 50.01 (3), a community-based residential facility as
defined in s. 50.01 (1g), a residential care apartment complex as
defined in s. 50.01 (6d), an adult family home as defined in s.
50.01 (1), and a hospice as defined in s. 50.90 (1).
(cr) “Open land” means land that meets all of the following
criteria:
1. The land is not occupied by a structure or improvement
being used or occupied as a dwelling unit.
2. The land is not part of the curtilage, or is not lying in the
immediate vicinity, of a structure or improvement being used or
occupied as a dwelling unit.
3. The land is not occupied by a public building.
4. The land is not occupied by a place of employment.
(cv) “Out-of-state licensee” has the meaning given in s.
175.60 (1) (g).
(d) “Place of employment” has the meaning given in s. 101.01
(11).
(e) “Private property” means real property that is not owned
by the United States, this state or a local governmental unit.
(h) “Special event” means an event that is open to the public,
is for a duration of not more than 3 weeks, and either has designated entrances to and from the event that are locked when the
event is closed or requires an admission.
(1m) Whoever does any of the following is subject to a Class
B forfeiture:
(a) Enters any enclosed, cultivated or undeveloped land of another, other than open land specified in par. (e) or (f), without the
express or implied consent of the owner or occupant.
(am) Enters any land of another that is occupied by a structure
used for agricultural purposes without the express or implied
consent of the owner or occupant.
(b) Enters or remains on any land of another after having been
notified by the owner or occupant not to enter or remain on the
premises. This paragraph does not apply to a licensee or out-ofstate licensee if the owner’s or occupant’s intent is to prevent the
licensee or out-of-state licensee from carrying a firearm on the
owner’s or occupant’s land.
(c) 1. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains at a residence that the actor does not own or occupy after the owner of the
residence, if he or she has not leased it to another person, or the
occupant of the residence has notified the actor not to enter or remain at the residence while carrying a firearm or with that type of
firearm. In this subdivision, “residence,” with respect to a singlefamily residence, includes the residence building and the parcel
of land upon which the residence building is located, and “residence,” with respect to a residence that is not a single-family residence, does not include any common area of the building in
which the residence is located or any common areas of the rest of
the parcel of land upon which the residence building is located.
1m. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains in a common area in a building, or on the grounds of a building, that is a
residence that is not a single-family residence if the actor does not
own the residence or does not occupy any part of the residence, if
the owner of the residence has notified the actor not to enter or remain in the common area or on the grounds while carrying a
firearm or with that type of firearm. This subdivision does not
apply to a part of the grounds of the building if that part is used
for parking and the firearm is in a vehicle driven or parked in that
part.
2. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains in any part of
a nonresidential building, grounds of a nonresidential building, or
land that the actor does not own or occupy after the owner of the
building, grounds, or land, if that part of the building, grounds, or
land has not been leased to another person, or the occupant of that
part of the building, grounds, or land has notified the actor not to
enter or remain in that part of the building, grounds, or land while
carrying a firearm or with that type of firearm. This subdivision
does not apply to a part of a building, grounds, or land occupied
by the state or by a local governmental unit, to a privately or publicly owned building on the grounds of a university or college, or
to the grounds of or land owned or occupied by a university or
college, or, if the firearm is in a vehicle driven or parked in the
parking facility, to any part of a building, grounds, or land used as
a parking facility.
3. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains at a special
event if the organizers of the special event have notified the actor
not to enter or remain at the special event while carrying a
firearm or with that type of firearm. This subdivision does not
apply, if the firearm is in a vehicle driven or parked in the parking
facility, to any part of the special event grounds or building used
as a parking facility.
4. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains in any part of
a building that is owned, occupied, or controlled by the state or
any local governmental unit, excluding any building or portion of
a building under s. 175.60 (16) (a) , if the state or local governmental unit has notified the actor not to enter or remain in the
building while carrying a firearm or with that type of firearm.
This subdivision does not apply to a person who leases residential
or business premises in the building or, if the firearm is in a vehicle driven or parked in the parking facility, to any part of the
building used as a parking facility.
5. While carrying a firearm, enters or remains in any privately or publicly owned building on the grounds of a university
or college, if the university or college has notified the actor not to
enter or remain in the building while carrying a firearm or with
that type of firearm. This subdivision does not apply to a person
who leases residential or business premises in the building or, if
the firearm is in a vehicle driven or parked in the parking facility,
to any part of the building used as a parking facility.

(e) Enters or remains on open land that is an inholding of another after having been notified by the owner or occupant not to
enter or remain on the land.
(f) Enters undeveloped private land from an abutting parcel of
land that is owned by the United States, this state or a local governmental unit, or remains on such land, after having been notified by the owner or occupant not to enter or remain on the land.
(g) Enters or remains on the premises of a campground after
having been notified not to enter or remain on the premises or after having been notified that the owner or operator has withdrawn
consent for the person to enter or remain on the premises. A law
enforcement officer may, at the request of the owner or operator,
assist the owner or operator in removing from the premises a person who violates this paragraph. In this paragraph, “campground” means a campground or camping resort licensed under s.
97.67 but does not include a campground under s. 27.01 (10).
(1s) In determining whether a person has implied consent to
enter the land of another a trier of fact shall consider all of the circumstances existing at the time the person entered the land, including all of the following:
(a) Whether the owner or occupant acquiesced to previous entries by the person or by other persons under similar
circumstances.
(b) The customary use, if any, of the land by other persons.
(c) Whether the owner or occupant represented to the public
that the land may be entered for particular purposes.
(d) The general arrangement or design of any improvements
or structures on the land.
(2) (am) A person has received notice from the owner, operator, or occupant within the meaning of sub. (1m) (b), (e), (f), or
(g) if he or she has been notified personally, either orally or in
writing, or if the land is posted. Land is considered to be posted
under this paragraph under either of the following procedures:
1. If a sign at least 11 inches square is placed in at least 2 conspicuous places for every 40 acres to be protected. The sign must
provide an appropriate notice and the name of the person giving
the notice followed by the word “owner” if the person giving the
notice is the holder of legal title to the land and by the word “occupant” if the person giving the notice is not the holder of legal title but is a lawful occupant of the land. Proof that appropriate
signs as provided in this subdivision were erected or in existence
upon the premises to be protected prior to the event complained
of shall be prima facie proof that the premises to be protected
were posted as provided in this subdivision.
2. If markings at least one foot long, including in a contrasting color the phrase “private land” and the name of the owner, are
made in at least 2 conspicuous places for every 40 acres to be
protected.
(bm) 1. In this paragraph, “sign” means a sign that states a restriction imposed under subd. 2. that is at least 5 inches by 7
inches.
2. a. For the purposes of sub. (1m) (c) 1m., an owner of a
residence that is not a single-family residence has notified an individual not to enter or remain in a part of that building, or on the
grounds of that building, while carrying a firearm or with a particular type of firearm if the owner has posted a sign that is located in a prominent place near all of the entrances to the part of
the building to which the restriction applies or near all probable
access points to the grounds to which the restriction applies and
any individual entering the building or the grounds can be reasonably expected to see the sign.
am. For the purposes of sub. (1m) (c) 2., 4., and 5., an owner
or occupant of a part of a nonresidential building, the state or a local governmental unit, or a university or a college has notified an
individual not to enter or remain in a part of the building while
carrying a firearm or with a particular type of firearm if the
owner, occupant, state, local governmental unit, university, or
college has posted a sign that is located in a prominent place near
all of the entrances to the part of the building to which the restriction applies and any individual entering the building can be reasonably expected to see the sign.
b. For the purposes of sub. (1m) (c) 2., an owner or occupant
of the grounds of a nonresidential building or of land has notified
an individual not to enter or remain on the grounds or land while
carrying a firearm or with a particular type of firearm if the
owner or occupant has posted a sign that is located in a prominent
place near all probable access points to the grounds or land to
which the restriction applies and any individual entering the
grounds or land can be reasonably expected to see the sign.
c. For the purposes of sub. (1m) (c) 3., the organizers of the
special event have notified an individual not to enter or remain at
the special event while carrying a firearm or with a particular
type of firearm if the organizers have posted a sign that is located
in a prominent place near all of the entrances to the special event
and any individual attending the special event can be reasonably
expected to see the sign.
(3) Whoever erects on the land of another signs which are the
same as or similar to those described in sub. (2) (am) without obtaining the express consent of the lawful occupant of or holder of
legal title to such land is subject to a Class C forfeiture.
(3m) An owner or occupant may give express consent to enter or remain on the land for a specified purpose or subject to
specified conditions and it is a violation of sub. (1m) (a) or (am)
for a person who received that consent to enter or remain on the
land for another purpose or contrary to the specified conditions.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a representative of a
labor union from conferring with any employee provided such
conference is conducted in the living quarters of the employee
and with the consent of the employee occupants.
(4m) (am) This section does not apply to any of the
following:
1. A person entering the land, other than the residence or
other buildings or the curtilage of the residence or other buildings, of another for the purpose of removing a wild animal as authorized under s. 29.885 (2), (3) or (4).
2. A hunter entering land that is required to be open for hunting under s. 29.885 (4m) or 29.889 (7m).
3. A person entering or remaining on any exposed shore area
of a stream as authorized under s. 30.134.
4. An assessor and an assessor’s staff entering the land, other
than a building, agricultural land or pasture, or a livestock confinement area, of another if all of the following apply:
a. The assessor or the assessor’s staff enters the land in order
to make an assessment on behalf of the state or a political
subdivision.
b. The assessor or assessor’s staff enters the land on a weekday during daylight hours, or at another time as agreed upon with
the land owner.
c. The assessor or assessor’s staff spends no more than one
hour on the land.
d. The assessor or assessor’s staff does not open doors, enter
through open doors, or look into windows of structures on the
land.
e. The assessor or the assessor’s staff leaves in a prominent
place on the principal building on the land, or on the land if there
is not a principal building, a notice informing the owner or occupant that the assessor or the assessor’s staff entered the land and
giving information on how to contact the assessor.
f. The assessor or the assessor’s staff has not personally re-

ceived a notice from the owner or occupant, either orally or in
writing, not to enter or remain on the premises.
(bm) Subsection (1m) (c) 2. and 4. does not apply to a law enforcement officer employed in this state by a public agency to
whom s. 941.23 (1) (g) 2. to 5. and (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies, to a tactical emergency medical services professional certified under s.
165.85 (3) acting in the line of duty, to a qualified out-of-state law
enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (g), to whom s.
941.23 (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies, or to a former officer, as defined in
s. 941.23 (1) (c), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (c) 1. to 7. applies if the
law enforcement officer, the tactical emergency medical services
professional, the qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer,
or the former officer is in or on the grounds of a school, as defined in s. 948.61 (1) (b).
(5) Any authorized occupant of employer-provided housing
shall have the right to decide who may enter, confer and visit with
the occupant in the housing area the occupant occupies.

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