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 24, 2026.
Dane County, Wisconsin, has about 588,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Dane County 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Dane County public records, Dane County arrest records, Dane County warrants, Dane County inmate search, Dane County criminal records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Dane County Goes
A ticket written by a deputy or a state trooper in Dane County goes to the Dane County Circuit Court; one written by city police goes to that city's municipal court where it has one. Either way the ticket is a court case, and the court's index is the record of it.
For Dane County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county 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 Dane County
The Dane County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Madison, Madison (town), Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Middleton, Verona and 15 more cities write the traffic tickets in Dane County.
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
Convictions are reported by the court to the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles, which keeps the driving record and decides on points and suspensions. Order the driving record from that agency, not from the court.
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 Dane County DUI).
Cities in Dane County
A ticket written inside a city goes to the Dane County Circuit Court, or to the city's municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Dane County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own traffic tickets guide opens there:
- Madison (285,300)
- Sun Prairie (39,253)
- Fitchburg (34,357)
- Middleton (22,566)
- Verona (16,825)
- Waunakee (16,363)
- DeForest (12,260)
- Oregon (11,895)
- Windsor (10,005)
- Cottage Grove (8,974)
- Monona (8,616)
- Mount Horeb (7,803)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Dane County?
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 Dane County?
The Dane County Circuit Court, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case.
Is this the official Dane County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.