Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Madison, Wisconsin, in Dane County, has about 285,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Madison is a court case in the Dane County Circuit Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles. This guide says which court takes the ticket, who writes them and where the driving record lives.
This guide covers where tickets go, who writes them, the driving record and common questions.
Related guides: Madison public records, Dane County traffic tickets, Madison arrest records, Madison warrants, Madison inmate search, Madison criminal records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Madison Goes
Tickets in Madison are split by who wrote them: the Dane County Circuit Court for deputies and troopers, the municipal courts for city officers in the cities that run one. A paid ticket, a dismissal and a trial all end up in that court's records.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at da.danecounty.gov/Court-Process/Records-and-Fines (page title: Records and Fines | The Dane County District Attorney's Office), phone (608) 266-4311, 215 S. Hamilton St. #1000 Madison WI 53703-3285, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
Who Writes the Tickets in Madison
The Dane County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Madison (filed by the FBI as Madison Police Department) write the traffic tickets in and around Madison.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Dane County: the University of Wisconsin at Madison (campus police); the Capitol Police (state agency).
The Edgerton Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Dane County, so its arrests are not broken out for Dane County here.
The Driving Record and the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles, which adds each conviction the court reports and handles suspensions; the court does not issue driving records.
Paying a ticket is a conviction, reported to the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles like any other; contesting it means a plea of not guilty entered with the court by the date on the ticket.
An OWI is a criminal charge rather than a ticket, with its own license case before the Division of Motor Vehicles (see Madison DUI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Madison?
With the Dane County Circuit Court, whose page SearchSystems verified is at da.danecounty.gov, phone (608) 266-4311; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in Wisconsin?
The Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Madison?
The Dane County Circuit Court, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case.
Is this the official Madison website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.