PAC Charge Consequences Without SR-22 Filing
You received a PAC charge—Possession of Alcohol by a Minor under Wisconsin Statute 125.07(4)—and your license was suspended or you're facing administrative penalties. Your insurance company dropped you, or your premium doubled at renewal, and now you're shopping carriers who all seem to quote you like you got an OWI. The structural confusion: PAC charges trigger license sanctions under Wisconsin law, but they do not trigger SR-22 filing requirements. Most national carriers underwrite PAC the same as first-offense OWI because their pricing algorithms don't distinguish administrative alcohol violations from criminal impaired-driving convictions.
That underwriting choice costs you money. The difference between a carrier that underwrites PAC as a minor administrative violation and one that treats it as DUI-equivalent can be $60–$110 per month on identical coverage. Wisconsin law recognizes the distinction—Wis. Stat. § 125.07(4) is a civil forfeiture, not a criminal OWI under § 346.63—but insurance pricing models often collapse them. Finding the cheapest post-PAC insurance means identifying which carriers actually separate the two in underwriting and which don't bother.
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Get Your Free QuoteWisconsin PAC Forfeiture
$500
First-offense PAC in Wisconsin carries a civil forfeiture of $263.50 to $500 plus court costs. It is not a criminal conviction and does not carry jail time, but the DMV may still suspend or restrict your license depending on your age and prior record.
Wis. Stat. § 125.07(4)(b)
What PAC Actually Triggers at Wisconsin DMV
PAC is prosecuted as a civil forfeiture, not a criminal charge. You pay a fine, but you do not go to jail and you do not receive a criminal record. The DMV, however, still treats PAC as a license sanction trigger for drivers under 21. If you are under 21 and convicted of PAC, Wisconsin law mandates a license suspension: 30 days for first offense, 90 days for second offense within 12 months. Drivers 21 and older do not face automatic suspension for PAC—only the forfeiture.
Because PAC does not involve actual impaired operation of a vehicle, it does not trigger the SR-22 financial responsibility filing requirement that follows OWI convictions. You do not need to carry SR-22 after a PAC charge. You do not need high-risk SR-22 insurance. The suspension, when it occurs, is administrative—tied to age and alcohol possession, not driving behavior. Reinstatement requires paying the $60 DMV fee and serving the suspension period. No proof-of-insurance filing is required beyond standard Wisconsin coverage minimums.
The structural trap: even though Wisconsin law does not require SR-22, many carriers' underwriting systems flag PAC charges the same way they flag OWI. The algorithm sees 'alcohol violation' and applies DUI-tier pricing. That's where comparison-shopping carriers who separate the two becomes critical.
PAC does not require SR-22 filing in Wisconsin, but most national carriers underwrite it as DUI-equivalent anyway—comparison-shopping the distinction is where savings live.
Which Carriers Separate PAC from OWI in Underwriting
Carriers writing non-standard and high-risk auto in Wisconsin—Dairyland, Bristol West, Progressive's non-standard tier, The General—often separate PAC from OWI in their pricing models because they underwrite significant volumes of post-violation drivers and have granular rating tiers. Dairyland explicitly underwrites alcohol-related administrative violations separately from criminal OWI convictions. Bristol West's Wisconsin book includes PAC-specific pricing. These carriers quote $85–$140/month for minimum liability after PAC, compared to $155–$240/month for first-offense OWI on identical coverage.
Standard-tier carriers—State Farm, Allstate, American Family—typically do not separate PAC from OWI in underwriting. Their systems flag both as alcohol violations and apply the same surcharge. If you had clean coverage with a preferred carrier before the PAC charge, expect non-renewal or a premium increase of 60–110% at renewal. Shopping non-standard carriers immediately after the charge produces better outcomes than waiting for your current carrier to re-rate you.
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Monthly Premium Range Post-PAC in Wisconsin
Minimum liability coverage—Wisconsin's $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 statutory minimums plus uninsured motorist—costs $85–$140/month after a PAC charge with carriers who underwrite it separately from OWI. That range reflects clean prior record, single driver, and no property damage claims in the past three years. Add collision and comprehensive for a financed vehicle and the range moves to $155–$220/month.
Drivers under 21 face higher base rates regardless of the PAC charge because age is Wisconsin's most powerful underwriting variable. A 19-year-old driver with a PAC charge pays approximately $190–$270/month for the same minimum liability coverage a 25-year-old pays $85–$140 for. The PAC surcharge stacks on top of the age surcharge—there is no avoiding that. But choosing a carrier that underwrites PAC as a civil forfeiture rather than a DUI still cuts $50–$90/month off the quote a standard carrier would produce.
Second PAC charges within three years move you into true high-risk territory. Carriers read repeat alcohol violations as pattern behavior, and pricing jumps to $240–$350/month for minimum liability. At that point you're paying near-OWI rates because the volume of violations, not the type, drives the underwriting decision.
PAC Violation Lookback Period
3 years
Wisconsin carriers underwrite PAC charges for three years from the conviction date. After three years the violation falls off your motor vehicle record for insurance pricing purposes, though it remains visible on your DMV driving record permanently.
Wisconsin DOT driver record retention policy
Comparison-Shopping Strategy After PAC
Request quotes from at least four carriers: one standard-tier carrier you already know (State Farm, Allstate, American Family), two non-standard carriers writing Wisconsin high-risk (Dairyland, Bristol West), and Progressive. Progressive straddles both standard and non-standard underwriting and often produces competitive quotes on PAC because their algorithm separates civil alcohol violations from criminal OWI more granularly than pure standard carriers do.
When requesting quotes, clarify the charge: 'Possession of Alcohol by a Minor under Wisconsin Statute 125.07(4), civil forfeiture, no OWI, no impaired driving.' Many online quote tools do not distinguish PAC from OWI in their dropdown menus—if the form only offers 'alcohol-related violation' or 'DUI/DWI,' call the carrier directly and clarify before the quote runs. The underwriter needs to code it correctly or the quote will reflect DUI pricing.
Avoid multi-carrier aggregator tools for post-violation shopping. Aggregators sell your information to 8–12 carriers simultaneously, and most of those carriers will underwrite PAC as OWI without clarification. You'll receive a flood of high quotes and no transparency into how each carrier coded the charge. Call carriers directly or use their native online quote tools where you control the input.
Get Quotes from Carriers Who Underwrite PAC Separately
The path forward: identify which carriers write post-PAC coverage in Wisconsin at separated pricing, request quotes from at least three, and bind the policy that prices the charge accurately. Dairyland, Bristol West, and Progressive's non-standard tier are your starting points—all three write significant non-standard volume in Wisconsin and all three separate civil alcohol violations from OWI in underwriting. If you're under 21 and facing a 30- or 90-day suspension, bind coverage before the suspension begins so the policy is active during the suspension period. Some carriers will not write new policies for drivers with active suspensions; others will but charge higher rates. Writing the policy before suspension avoids that pricing trap.