Business licenses and permits in Wisconsin

What applies everywhere in Wisconsin

13 requirements are set by Wisconsin itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.

Sources

Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

1. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — business entity feesWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
2. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions — annual report due date and the consequence of delinquencyWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
3. Wisconsin form 5-I — annual report instructions, the paper surcharge and the quarterly due-date tableWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
4. Wisconsin form CORP2 — Articles of Incorporation, stating the $100 filing feeWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
5. Wisconsin form CORP502 — Articles of Organization, stating the $170 filing feeWisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
6. Wisconsin DATCP — motor vehicle repair, describing the conduct rules and telling consumers to check complaints rather than a licenseWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
7. Wisconsin DATCP — the A to Z list of every license, permit and registration the department issuesWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
8. Wisconsin DATCP — certified food protection manager requirement and exemptionsWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
9. Wisconsin Department of Children and Families — child care licensing feesWisconsin Department of Children and Families · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
10. Wisconsin DSPS form 1397 — instructions for cosmetology establishment licensure, stating the $11 feeWisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
11. Wisconsin DSPS — credential fees and renewal dates (business and health credentials)Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
12. Wisconsin DSPS — cosmetology establishment, the renewal date and when a license is requiredWisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
13. Wisconsin DSPS form 3096 — dwelling contractor certification, with the financial responsibility requirementsWisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
14. Wisconsin One Stop Business Portal — the three registrations the state says most new businesses needState of Wisconsin · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
15. Wisconsin DATCP — restaurants and catering, confirming licenses are issued by the department or its agent health departmentsWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
16. Wisconsin DATCP — retail food establishment fee scheduleWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
17. Public Health Madison and Dane County — food license fees effective 4 May 2026Public Health Madison and Dane County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
18. Oneida County Public Health Department — food and lodging licensing as a DATCP agentOneida County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
19. Wisconsin Department of Revenue — business tax registration fee and two-year renewalWisconsin Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Which Wisconsin city are you opening in?

• Brown County, WIBrown County, Wisconsin, seat Green Bay, licenses retail food establishments (serving meals, not serving meals, mobile and transient), micro markets, public swimming pools and tattoo and body-piercing establishments through Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division, acting as the State's agent under County Code ch. 37. Section 37.02 extends the chapter to "all areas, except cities which have opted out of the countywide public health system, in Brown county". The Wisconsin DHS directory lists two local health departments for the county, Brown County Health & Human Services and the DePere Department of Public Health, and the City of De Pere's application directs applicants to the City of De Pere Health Department under De Pere Municipal Code ch. 106; a business inside the City of De Pere is licensed there, so the county health records apply outside De Pere. Under Wis. Stat. §97.41(5) and §97.615(2)(e) each agent license fee includes the State fee. County fees are set in the annual budget (County Code §§37.07, 11.09, 22.61, 30.03); the figures here are from the "Rates and Fees" appendix of the 2026 Adopted Budget, adopted by the County Board on October 29, 2025, and the 2027 Proposed Budget, published October 1, 2026, proposes changes to the health fees. The Planning and Land Services Zoning office issues sanitary (POWTS) permits under ch. 11, which the county's Zoning Ordinances page says "covers all municipalites in Brown County where public sewer is not available", and shoreland permits under ch. 22, which that page says "applies to all unincorporated areas in Brown County and, by contract, the village of Bellevue". The County Clerk issues emergency alarm user permits for the villages and towns named on its alarm permit page and licenses alarm businesses under ch. 30. The Highway Department permits work in, access onto and building near County Trunk Highways. Retail alcohol licenses are municipal: Wis. Stat. §125.26(1) lets every municipal governing body issue Class B beer licenses, §125.51(1)(a) does the same for retail liquor licenses, and §125.02(11) defines a municipality as a city, village or town. The county's Municipalities page lists 2 cities (De Pere and Green Bay), 10 villages (Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Bellevue, Denmark, Greenleaf, Hobart, Howard, Pulaski, Suamico and Wrightstown) and 13 towns (Eaton, Glenmore, Green Bay, Holland, Humboldt, Lawrence, Ledgeview, Morrison, New Denmark, Pittsfield, Rockland, Scott and Wrightstown); each runs its own licensing and permits, which stack on the county records here. The population figure of 273909 is the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.16 published records
• Racine County, WIRacine County, Wisconsin (county seat Racine) regulates businesses through three county offices with different reach. The Racine County Public Health Division, part of the Human Services Department, is under County Code § 21-7(a) 'the local health department for all of Racine County, except the City of Racine'; it succeeded the Central Racine County Health Department on January 1, 2022 (Ordinance 2021-71, enacted November 23, 2021) and, under County Code § 21-13, licenses retail food establishments, public pools and tattoo and body-piercing establishments as the State's agent. The City of Racine runs its own health department (the City of Racine Public Health Department, listed separately by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services), so a business inside the City of Racine applies there and the Racine County Public Health Division fees listed for Racine County do not apply to it. Development Services administers the Racine County Zoning Ordinance; its page lists the 'Municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Racine County Zoning Ordinance' as the Town of Burlington, Town of Dover, Town of Norway and Town of Waterford, so county zoning, sign, home occupation, conditional use and occupancy permits apply only in those four towns. County staff also provide planning and zoning services to the Village of Yorkville under the Village's own zoning code and fee schedule, which are Village requirements and are not listed among the Racine County requirements. Development Services also issues sanitary (private onsite wastewater) permits in all areas of the county not served by a public sewer (County Code § 19-28), and Public Works issues access permits for driveways onto county trunk highways (County Code § 16-146). The Wisconsin Department of Health Services lists the municipalities the county Division serves as Caledonia, Dover, Mt. Pleasant, North Bay, Norway, Raymond, Rochester, Sturtevant, Union Grove, Yorkville, the Town and Village of Waterford, the Town and City of Burlington, Elmwood Park and Wind Point; together with the City of Racine, each sets its own local licenses and permits, which stack on the Racine County requirements. Alcohol licenses are issued by the municipal governing body of each city, village and town under Wis. Stat. §§ 125.26(1) and 125.51(1)(a) (§ 125.02(11) defines 'municipality' as a city, village or town). The population figure of 198,651 is the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024.15 published records
• Dane County, WIDane County, Wisconsin (county seat Madison) licenses food establishments, public pools and tattoo and body-piercing establishments countywide through Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC), a joint city-county health department that 2025 RES-366 describes as "an agent for the State of Wisconsin to license and inspect retail food establishments, lodging facilities, public swimming pools, ... body art". PHMDC's food page states that "All Dane County food establishments must be licensed and inspected each year", and its tattoo page says the same of all Dane County tattoo and body piercing facilities, so these licenses apply in every city, village and town, the City of Madison included; for events on the UW-Madison campus, PHMDC directs vendors to UW Environmental Health & Safety. Applications and fees are processed by the City of Madison Clerk's Office on PHMDC's behalf. PHMDC also issues septic (POWTS) sanitary permits under Ord. ch. 46, which applies to "all lands and waters within Dane County", and well location permits under Ord. ch. 45. County zoning under Ord. ch. 10 applies only in towns whose town board adopted it under Wis. Stat. 59.69(5) (Ord. 10.003(1)(a)); in those towns the Planning & Development Zoning Division issues zoning, conditional use and sign permits under the Ch. 12 fee ordinance. The Land & Water Resources Department issues erosion control and stormwater permits in the towns; its 'Where to Apply for Permits' sheet sends applicants in every city and village to the city or village office. The Highway and Transportation Department issues access permits onto county trunk highways (Ord. ch. 79). Alcohol licenses are issued by the municipal governing body: Wis. Stat. 125.02(9) defines a license as an authorization "issued by a municipal governing body", 125.02(11) defines a municipality as a city, village or town, and 125.26(1) lets every municipal governing body issue Class B licenses; county Ord. ch. 39 (Alcohol Beverage Control) covers underage and prohibited conduct. The County Clerk's 2025-2026 Official Directory lists 8 cities (Edgerton, Dane County portion; Fitchburg; Madison; Middleton; Monona; Stoughton; Sun Prairie; Verona), 20 villages (Belleville, Black Earth, Blue Mounds, Brooklyn, Cambridge, Cottage Grove, Cross Plains, Dane, Deerfield, DeForest, Maple Bluff, Marshall, Mazomanie, McFarland, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Rockdale, Shorewood Hills, Waunakee, Windsor) and 32 towns; each runs its own local licensing, building permits and, for cities and villages, zoning, all of which stack on the county records here. The population figure of 588347 is the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.14 published records
• Waukesha County, WIWaukesha County, Wisconsin, seat Waukesha, licenses retail food establishments (fixed, mobile, service base and transient) and public swimming pools countywide through the Department of Parks and Land Use, Environmental Health Division, acting as the agent of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection under Enrolled Ordinance 173-093; the DHS directory lists one local health department for the county, and under Wis. Stat. §97.41(5) and §97.615(2)(e) each license fee includes the State fee. Those health licenses apply inside the cities too: the county's inspector coverage sheet assigns staff to all seven cities (Brookfield, Delafield, Muskego, New Berlin, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee and Waukesha). Health fees are set by the Division within the limits of the annual county budget (County Code §14-413(a)). The county's Planning and Zoning Division zones only a defined area; its FAQ says: "The County's jurisdictional area includes all of the Village of Lac La Belle and the Town of Ottawa, and includes Town of Oconomowoc (islands), as well as the Shoreland and/or Floodland areas (1,000 feet from a lake or pond and/or 300 feet from any other navigable body of water - streams, ditches, etc., or the floodplain whichever is greater) of the Towns of Brookfield, Delafield, Eagle, Genesee, Merton and Mukwonago. The County's zoning jurisdiction does not include cities or villages." The Land Resources Division issues stormwater permits on unincorporated land unless a town adopts its own compliant ordinance (§14-331(a)). Retail alcohol licenses are municipal: Wis. Stat. §125.51(1)(a) lets every municipal governing body issue Class A and Class B liquor and Class C wine licenses, and §125.26(1) does the same for Class B beer licenses. County Code §14-576(a) refers to "building permits issued by a city, village or town". The county's 2024 Municipal Directory lists 7 cities, 22 villages and 8 towns; each runs its own licensing and building permits, and outside the county zoning area its own zoning, all of which stack on the county records here. The population figure of 417029 is the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.13 published records
• Green Bay, WIThe City's own 2026 Fee Schedule lists its Chapter 10 (Businesses) licenses — ambulances, auto salvage, billiard tables, cigarettes, junk and secondhand dealers, pawnbrokers, residential building contractors, taxicabs and others — and lists no general business license; licensing is activity-specific. Brown County Health and Human Services runs food-service permitting for Green Bay.11 published records
• Milwaukee, WINo blanket business license — over 100 activity-specific categories instead. The City Clerk's License Division, not the Health Department, issues the Food Dealer License. The Certificate of Occupancy fee has a genuine three-way conflict across official city sources; the most recently-dated codified ordinance figure is used here. city.milwaukee.gov blocked direct fetch on every page; every fact was retrieved through a read-proxy.11 published records
• Madison, WIThe City's Opening a Business in Madison page states that the City does not have a generic business license; licensing is activity-specific, like Milwaukee's. Public Health Madison & Dane County, a joint city-county agency, runs food-service permitting. The sign permit's per-square-foot fee is published on the City's own Zoning Fees page: $1.75/sq ft for most new and ground signs, $2.50/sq ft for advertising signs, $50 minimum.8 published records
• Milwaukee County, WIMilwaukee County, Wisconsin, seat Milwaukee, is in the words of the county's About Us page "one of the few fully-incorporated counties in the United States and includes 19 municipalities". The Wisconsin Department of Administration's Final Estimates for Minor Civil Divisions (1/1/2026) list them as 10 cities (Cudahy, Franklin, Glendale, Greenfield, Milwaukee, Oak Creek, St. Francis, South Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and West Allis) and 9 villages (Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, Greendale, Hales Corners, River Hills, Shorewood, West Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay), with no town. Under Wis. Stat. §59.69(5)(c) a county zoning ordinance "shall not be effective in any town until it has been approved by the town board"; with every parcel inside a city or village, zoning and building permits come from the municipality. Under Wis. Stat. §251.02(2)(a), in a county of 750,000 or more each city or village provides its own local health services, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services directory lists 10 local health departments serving the county's 19 municipalities (the Southwest Suburban Health Department serves West Allis, Greenfield and West Milwaukee; the North Shore Health Department serves Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, Glendale, River Hills, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay); food, pool and similar health licenses are issued by those departments. Retail alcohol licenses are issued by the municipal governing body under Wis. Stat. §§125.26(1) and 125.51(1)(a), and §125.02(11) defines a municipality as a city, village or town. Weights and measures enforcement is a duty of each city or village of more than 5,000 people under Wis. Stat. §98.04(1) and §98.01(3). Child care centres are licensed by the State under Wis. Stat. §48.65(1), and §48.651(2) assigns certification of child care providers in a county of 750,000 or more to the State department. The county's own business-facing records are the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation Public Way Permit for county trunk highways, the Milwaukee County Parks Vendor Permit and the Milwaukee County Parks Right-of-Entry Permit for projects on park property. Each of the 19 cities and villages runs its own business licensing, health licensing, alcohol licensing, zoning and building permits, all of which stack on the county records here. The population figure of 924740 is the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.4 published records

Is there a single Wisconsin business license?

Who issues permits in Wisconsin?

• Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate and Consumer ServicesEntity formation · Annual reports4 permits
• Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food and Recreational SafetyRetail food establishment licensing · Agent health department contracts · Food manager certification requirements2 permits
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Division of Industry ServicesDwelling contractor certification · Trade licensing2 permits
• Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Bureau of Consumer ProtectionMotor vehicle repair conduct rules · Consumer complaints1 permit
• Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Bureau of Early Care RegulationChild care centre licensing · Family child care licensing1 permit
• Wisconsin Department of RevenueSeller's permits · Business tax registration1 permit
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Barbering and Cosmetology Examining BoardCosmetology establishment licensing · Barbering establishment licensing1 permit
• Wisconsin Veterinary Examining BoardVeterinarian licensing · Veterinary technician licensing1 permit

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