Assault vs Battery in Wisconsin: Battery Charges and Penalties

Wisconsin's criminal code does not have a general crime called assault; its offense is battery. Wis. Stat. 940.60 makes battery (causing bodily harm with intent to cause bodily harm, without consent) a Class A misdemeanor, substantial battery a Class I felony, and aggravated battery a Class H or Class E felony, and Wis. Stat. 940.61 to 940.66 raise the grade for listed victims and offenders. These sections are new numbers: 2025 Wis. Act 24 revised and recodified Wisconsin's battery statutes. For other states, see our guide to assault and battery laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-13. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Wisconsin's battery statutes in Wis. Stat. 940.51 to 940.66 as recodified by 2025 Wis. Act 24, strangulation and suffocation (940.235), mayhem (940.21), first- and second-degree reckless injury (940.23(1)(a) and (2)(a)), threatening to cause bodily harm (947.016), disorderly conduct (947.01), the definitions, penalty classes and penalty enhancers in chapter 939, and the civil filing period in 893.57. It does not cover self-defense (see Wisconsin self-defense laws), restraining orders and injunctions (see Wisconsin restraining order laws), sexual assault, federal assault crimes (see the assault and battery hub) or local ordinances.

Assault vs. battery in Wisconsin

Wisconsin builds its injury offenses around battery. In chapter 940, the word assault appears only in the sexual assault provisions (940.225); there is no general offense of assault. The base battery offense is Wis. Stat. 940.60(1):

"Whoever causes bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another without the consent of the person so harmed is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor."

Three elements stand out: bodily harm must actually result, the act must be done with intent to cause bodily harm, and the person harmed must not have consented. Conduct that other states call assault, such as a threat that causes no bodily harm, is not battery in Wisconsin. Statutes that can reach it include disorderly conduct (947.01) and, for certain listed victims, threatening to cause bodily harm (947.016), both described below.

The 2025 recodification (2025 Wis. Act 24)

2025 Wis. Act 24 was enacted on August 8, 2025 and published on August 9, 2025, "relating to: recodification of battery statutes and providing a penalty." The official chapter 940 text carries this note: "2025 Wis. Act 24 revised and recodified the battery statutes under this chapter." The battery offenses now sit in a subchapter that runs from 940.51 (definitions) through 940.66. Older references to Wisconsin battery law, including court annotations, use the pre-2025 section numbers; the chapter's own note says those annotations "relate to battery statutes in effect prior to their recodification by 2025 Wis. Act 24."

Wisconsin battery charges and penalties at a glance

The penalty ranges come from Wisconsin's class sections. Wis. Stat. 939.51(3) sets misdemeanor penalties: for a Class A misdemeanor, "a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 9 months, or both," and for a Class B misdemeanor, a fine up to $1,000 or up to 90 days, or both. Wis. Stat. 939.50(3) sets felony penalties, including up to 40 years and $100,000 for Class C, 25 years and $100,000 for Class D, 15 years and $50,000 for Class E, 12 years and 6 months and $25,000 for Class F, 10 years and $25,000 for Class G, 6 years and $10,000 for Class H, and 3 years and 6 months and $10,000 for Class I.

For felonies, the maximum is the total sentence. Wis. Stat. 973.01 requires a bifurcated sentence, a term of confinement in prison followed by extended supervision, whenever a court sentences a person to the state prisons for a felony committed on or after December 31, 1999. The confinement part is capped by class: no more than 10 years for a Class E felony, 3 years for a Class H felony, and one year and 6 months for a Class I felony. All of these figures are statutory maximums, not predictions of a sentence in a particular case.

These are the ranges for the offense itself; Wis. Stat. 939.62 and 939.619 set higher maximums and mandatory terms for some repeat convictions, and other chapter 939 enhancers can raise them too, described below.

When is battery a felony in Wisconsin?

Basic battery is a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony when the harm, the intent, the victim or the offender's status raises the grade:

• Substantial bodily harm (940.60(2)): "Whoever causes substantial bodily harm to another by an act done with intent to cause bodily harm to that person or another is guilty of a Class I felony." Class I is the lowest felony class among the battery offenses.
• Great bodily harm (940.60(3)): causing great bodily harm with intent to cause bodily harm is a Class H felony; causing great bodily harm "with intent to cause great bodily harm" is a Class E felony; and intentionally causing bodily harm "by conduct that creates a substantial risk of great bodily harm" is a Class H felony.
• Protected victims and offenders (940.61, 940.62, 940.66): battery causing only bodily harm can be a Class I or Class H felony depending on who was harmed and who caused the harm (see below).
• Repeat domestic abuse (939.621): a domestic abuse repeater's maximum can increase by up to 2 years, and the increase changes a misdemeanor to a felony (who counts as a repeater is explained below).
• Hate-crime enhancer (939.645): if the person intentionally selected the victim in whole or in part because of the actor's belief or perception about the victim's race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, a Class A misdemeanor battery becomes a felony with a maximum of 2 years and a $10,000 fine, and a felony maximum may be increased by up to 5 years and $5,000.
• Dangerous weapon (939.63): committing a crime while possessing, using or threatening to use a dangerous weapon lets the court increase the maximum by up to 6 months for a misdemeanor and by up to 3, 4 or 5 years for a felony, depending on the felony's maximum. The increase does not apply when the weapon is an essential element of the crime charged.
• School zone (939.632): for listed violent crimes, including battery, substantial battery, aggravated battery under 940.60(3)(a) or (b), strangulation and mayhem, committed in a school zone (on or within 1,000 feet of school premises, or in certain school-bus settings), the maximum increases by 5 years for a felony and 3 months for a misdemeanor.

Repeat offenders. Under Wis. Stat. 939.62(1) and (2), a court may increase the maximum for a repeater, generally a person convicted of a felony, or of misdemeanors on 3 separate occasions, during the 5 years before the crime: a maximum of one year or less may rise to 2 years, and a longer maximum by up to 2 years for misdemeanor priors or up to 4 or 6 years for a felony prior. Under 939.619, a person with a prior conviction for a serious violent crime (or a crime punishable by life imprisonment) who is then convicted of a serious violent crime, which includes aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm (940.60(3)(b)) and mayhem (940.21), must receive a term of initial confinement of at least 5 years, and the court may not order probation. Under 939.62(2m), a person convicted of a listed serious felony, including 940.60(3)(b), 940.65(3)(b), 940.66(2)(a) or (c) and mayhem, after serious-felony convictions on 2 or more separate occasions (at least one of the earlier convictions coming before the date of another earlier violation) is a persistent repeater and must be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or extended supervision.

Recklessly causing great bodily harm, without intent, is a separate chapter 940 crime: second-degree reckless injury under 940.23(2)(a), a Class F felony, or first-degree reckless injury under 940.23(1)(a), a Class D felony, when it happens "under circumstances which show utter disregard for human life." Mayhem (940.21) applies to whoever, "with intent to disable or disfigure another, cuts or mutilates the tongue, eye, ear, nose, lip, limb or other bodily member of another," a Class C felony.

Bodily harm, substantial bodily harm and dangerous weapons

Wis. Stat. 939.22 supplies the definitions used across chapters 939 to 948 and 951, "unless the context of a specific section manifestly requires a different construction":

• Bodily harm (939.22(4)): "physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition."
• Substantial bodily harm (939.22(38)): "bodily injury that causes a laceration that requires stitches, staples, or a tissue adhesive; any fracture of a bone; a broken nose; a burn; a petechia; a temporary loss of consciousness, sight or hearing; a concussion; or a loss or fracture of a tooth."
• Great bodily harm (939.22(14)): "bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury."

Wisconsin's definition of a dangerous weapon (939.22(10)), which the 939.63 enhancer uses, is broader than a firearm. It covers "any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or great bodily harm; any ligature or other instrumentality used on the throat, neck, nose, or mouth of another person to impede, partially or completely, breathing or circulation of blood; any electric weapon, as defined in s. 941.295 (1c) (a); or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm."

Battery to a police officer, health care worker, teacher or other protected person

Wis. Stat. 940.62 raises battery causing bodily harm (with intent to cause bodily harm and without consent) to a felony for listed victims. The groups below are among those the section covers, and each paragraph sets its own knowledge and official-capacity conditions.

Class H felony (940.62(2)). The listed victims include:

• Court and legal-system participants (940.62(2)(a)): "the person or family member of any current or former judge, prosecutor, law enforcement officer, guardian ad litem, corporation counsel, advocate, attorney, witness, or grand or petit juror, or a person sharing a common domicile with a witness," when, at the time of the act, the person knows or has reason to know the victim's status and "the act is in response to any action taken in an official capacity or in a legal proceeding." Under 940.51(15), "law enforcement officer" includes a person who formerly was one.
• Firefighters and commission wardens (940.62(2)(d)): a firefighter or commission warden "acting in an official capacity, who the person knows or has reason to know is a firefighter or commission warden."
• Health care providers and staff (940.62(2)(e)): a health care provider, a person who works in a health care facility, or a family member of either, when the person "knows or should have known" the victim's status (including a person who formerly worked in a health care facility) and the act "is in response to an action by the health care provider acting in his or her capacity as a health care provider, to an action occurring at the health care facility, or to an action by an official, employee, or agent of the health care facility acting in his or her official capacity." Under 940.51(12), a health care facility includes a hospital, a clinic (a location with the primary purpose of providing outpatient diagnosis, treatment or management of health conditions) and a licensed pharmacy, among other facilities. Under 940.51(13), a health care provider includes, among others, health care providers as defined in specified paragraphs of 146.81(1), licensed radiographers and limited X-ray machine operators, and ambulance drivers.
• Other listed officials (940.62(2)(b) and (c)): probation, extended supervision, parole, community supervision and aftercare agents, and officials, employees and agents of the departments of revenue, safety and professional services, and workforce development, or a family member of any of them, under the knowledge and official-action conditions in those paragraphs.

Class I felony (940.62(1)). The listed victims are:

• a public officer, when the bodily harm is caused "in order to influence the action of such officer or as a result of any action taken within an official capacity" (940.62(1)(a));
• certain employees of counties, cities, villages or towns (940.62(1)(b));
• an election official, election registration official, county clerk or municipal clerk acting in an official capacity, if the person knows or has reason to know the victim's status (940.62(1)(c));
• a technical college district or school district officer or employee acting in that capacity, if the person knows or has reason to know the victim's status (940.62(1)(d)); and
• an operator, driver or passenger of a public transit vehicle, when the bodily harm occurs while the victim is one, among the other circumstances the paragraph lists (940.62(1)(e)).

Battery by people in custody or under an injunction (940.61). A prisoner confined to a state prison, jail or other detention facility who "intentionally causes the bodily harm or a soft tissue injury to an officer, employee, visitor, or another inmate" commits a Class H felony (940.61(2)(a)). So does a person placed in a facility under 980.04 or 980.065 who intentionally causes the bodily harm "to an officer, employee, agent, visitor, or other resident of the facility" (940.61(2)(b)). Battery by a person subject to an injunction under 813.12 or 813.125, or a tribal injunction filed under 813.128(3g), that causes bodily harm to the petitioner who sought the injunction is a Class I felony (940.61(1)).

Threats against listed victims (947.016). Created by 2025 Wis. Act 24, this section makes it a Class H felony to threaten "to cause bodily harm to another without the consent of the person threatened" when one of its listed conditions is met. One condition covers threats to the person or family member of a current or former judge, prosecutor, law enforcement officer, guardian ad litem, corporation counsel, advocate, attorney, witness or juror, "knowing the person's status as an individual involved with a court or legal system, because of or in response to any action taken by the person in an official capacity or in a legal proceeding."

Elder persons, adults at risk and unborn children

Battery to an elder person or an adult at risk (940.66). An elder person is anyone "60 years of age or older" (940.51(6)). Intentionally causing great bodily harm to an elder person or an adult at risk is a Class C felony; intentionally causing bodily harm is a Class H felony; and intentionally causing bodily harm "under circumstances or conditions that are likely to produce great bodily harm" is a Class F felony. Recklessly causing great bodily harm is a Class E felony, recklessly causing bodily harm is a Class I felony, and recklessly causing bodily harm under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm is a Class H felony. The section applies to an elder person victim "irrespective of whether the defendant had actual knowledge of the victim's age," but to an adult-at-risk victim "only if the defendant had actual knowledge that the victim is an adult at risk" (940.66(4)).

Separately, the general enhancer in Wis. Stat. 939.623(2) allows a higher maximum when the crime victim is an elder person or an adult at risk and imprisonment may be imposed: a maximum of one year or less may be increased to not more than 2 years; a maximum of more than one year but not more than 10 years may be increased by not more than 4 years; and a maximum of more than 10 years may be increased by not more than 6 years.

Battery to an unborn child (940.65). These offenses follow the structure of 940.60: battery to an unborn child is a Class A misdemeanor, substantial battery to an unborn child is a Class I felony, and aggravated battery to an unborn child is a Class H felony, or a Class E felony with intent to cause great bodily harm.

Domestic abuse and strangulation

The battery offenses in 940.60 to 940.66 do not include a separately named domestic battery crime. Domestic abuse instead works through a definition and a penalty enhancer:

• Definition (968.075(1)(a)): "Domestic abuse" means listed conduct "engaged in by an adult person against his or her spouse or former spouse, against an adult with whom the person resides or formerly resided or against an adult with whom the person has a child in common," including "intentional infliction of physical pain, physical injury or illness," "intentional impairment of physical condition," and "a physical act that may cause the other person reasonably to fear imminent engagement in the conduct described."
• Repeater enhancer (939.621(2)): if a person commits an act of domestic abuse as defined in 968.075(1)(a) and the act is a crime, "the maximum term of imprisonment for that crime may be increased by not more than 2 years if the person is a domestic abuse repeater." The section adds: "The penalty increase under this section changes the status of a misdemeanor to a felony." Under 939.621(1), a domestic abuse repeater is a person who commits the act of domestic abuse within 72 hours after an arrest for a domestic abuse incident, or who, in the 10 years before the crime, was convicted on 2 or more separate occasions of crimes for which a court imposed or waived the domestic abuse surcharge (or comparable out-of-state crimes).

Strangulation and suffocation (940.235) applies to anyone, not only family members: "Whoever intentionally impedes the normal breathing or circulation of blood by applying pressure on the throat or neck or by blocking the nose or mouth of another person is guilty of a Class H felony." The statute does not require an injury. It becomes a Class G felony "if the actor has a previous conviction under this section or a previous conviction for a violent crime, as defined in s. 939.632 (1) (e) 1."

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), separately makes it unlawful for a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm or ammunition in or affecting commerce; the assault and battery hub explains that rule. For domestic abuse and harassment injunctions, see Wisconsin restraining order laws.

Threats and fights without injury

Because Wisconsin battery requires bodily harm, a threat or a scuffle that causes no bodily harm (which includes physical pain) is not battery. Disorderly conduct, Wis. Stat. 947.01(1), applies to "whoever, in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance." It is a Class B misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days, or both. Threats of bodily harm against the victims listed in 947.016 are a Class H felony, as described above.

Civil lawsuits for assault and battery in Wisconsin

A criminal battery case and a civil lawsuit are separate. The state prosecutes the crime; a person who was hurt may sue for money damages, and the civil statute uses both words. Wis. Stat. 893.57 provides: "An action to recover damages for libel, slander, assault, battery, invasion of privacy, false imprisonment or other intentional tort to the person shall be commenced within 3 years after the cause of action accrues or be barred." Other sections change the deadline in some cases: under 893.16, a person who was under 18 when the claim arose may sue within 2 years after turning 18 (this does not shorten a longer period), and under 893.587 an action for injury caused by an act that would violate listed child sexual assault statutes may be brought until the injured person reaches 35. For other filing deadlines, see the Wisconsin statute of limitations guide.

Related legal issues

• Self-defense. Whether force was privileged is a separate body of law; see Wisconsin self-defense laws.
• Injunctions. See Wisconsin restraining order laws.
• Clearing a record. Whether a battery conviction can be expunged is covered in Wisconsin expungement laws.

Related pages

• Assault and battery laws by state
• Wisconsin self-defense laws
• Wisconsin restraining order laws
• Wisconsin expungement laws
• Wisconsin statute of limitations
• Minnesota assault and battery laws
• Illinois assault and battery laws

This article provides general legal information about Wisconsin battery law, not legal advice. Laws change and their application depends on specific facts. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin.

Last updated: 2026-10-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between assault and battery in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's criminal code has a battery offense but no general offense called assault; chapter 940 uses the word assault only for sexual assault (940.225). Battery under Wis. Stat. 940.60 requires causing bodily harm with intent to cause bodily harm, and threats that cause no bodily harm fall under other statutes such as disorderly conduct (947.01) or, for listed victims, threatening to cause bodily harm (947.016).

Is battery a felony in Wisconsin?

Basic battery under 940.60(1) is a Class A misdemeanor. Substantial battery is a Class I felony, aggravated battery is a Class H or Class E felony, and battery to listed victims such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, health care workers and school employees is a Class I or Class H felony under 940.62 when that section's knowledge and official-capacity conditions are met. Enhancers such as the hate-crime provision (939.645) and the domestic abuse repeater rule (939.621) can also make a misdemeanor battery a felony.

What is the penalty for misdemeanor battery in Wisconsin?

Battery under Wis. Stat. 940.60(1) is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to 9 months, or both (939.51(3)(a)). A domestic abuse repeater (a person who reoffends within 72 hours of a domestic abuse arrest, or has 2 or more qualifying domestic abuse convictions in the prior 10 years) can face up to 2 more years, which makes the offense a felony (939.621).

What is substantial battery in Wisconsin?

Causing substantial bodily harm with intent to cause bodily harm is a Class I felony under 940.60(2). Substantial bodily harm is defined by a list that includes a laceration requiring stitches, staples or tissue adhesive, a bone fracture, a broken nose, a burn, a concussion and a lost or fractured tooth (939.22(38)).

What happens if you hit a police officer in Wisconsin?

Battery causing bodily harm to a current or former law enforcement officer, or a family member, is a Class H felony (up to 6 years and a $10,000 fine) when the person knows or has reason to know the victim's status and the act is in response to action taken in an official capacity or in a legal proceeding (940.62(2)(a)).

Is battery to a nurse or health care worker a felony in Wisconsin?

Yes, when the conditions of 940.62(2)(e) are met: the person knows or should have known the victim is a health care provider, works or formerly worked in a health care facility, or is a family member of one, and the act responds to an action by the provider or at the facility. It is a Class H felony.

Is battery to a teacher a felony in Wisconsin?

Battery causing bodily harm to a school district or technical college district officer or employee acting in that capacity is a Class I felony under 940.62(1)(d), if the person knows or has reason to know the victim's status.

Is choking someone a felony in Wisconsin?

Yes. Intentionally impeding normal breathing or blood circulation by pressure on the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth, is strangulation and suffocation, a Class H felony under 940.235(1). It is a Class G felony with a prior conviction under that section or for a violent crime as defined in 939.632(1)(e)1.

How long do you have to sue for battery in Wisconsin?

Wis. Stat. 893.57 requires an action to recover damages for assault, battery or another intentional tort to the person to be commenced within 3 years after the cause of action accrues. Exceptions include 893.16 (a person injured before 18 may sue within 2 years after turning 18) and 893.587 (claims for listed child sexual assault offenses until the injured person turns 35).