Start a Free LLC in Wisconsin

Per the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, as of September 2026, Wisconsin charges $170 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Annual Report costs $40 every year. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year Wisconsin registered agent service, so year one costs $269.

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions does not publish a standard processing time. Expedited filing is available for $100 extra, processed by the close of business the next business day; in-person expedite at the Madison office costs $250 for 4-hour service or $500 for 1-hour service. Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in Wisconsin, choose an available name, appoint a Wisconsin registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions for $170. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file online through DFI's business entity filing system, or by mail to Milwaukee. The Articles of Organization costs $170.

In Wisconsin you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form 502) with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $170.

Yes. Expedited filing is available for $100 extra, processed by the close of business the next business day; in-person expedite at the Madison office costs $250 for 4-hour service or $500 for 1-hour service. The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions does not publish a standard processing time.

Use the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions's free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your Wisconsin LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviation "LLC" or "LC," and must be distinguishable from other names on the Department's records.

Your Wisconsin LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company," or the abbreviation "LLC" or "LC," and must be distinguishable from other names on the Department's records. The rules are set by the Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law, Wis. Stat. Chapter 183.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $15 with Form 1; the reservation lasts 120 days and cannot be renewed. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every Wisconsin LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must be a Wisconsin resident (an individual or an existing entity) with a registered office at an actual Wisconsin street address, not a P.O. box or mailbox service, and the LLC cannot name itself as its own agent.

Yes. A member, manager or other Wisconsin resident can serve as the LLC's registered agent, as long as it is not the LLC itself. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent must be a Wisconsin resident (an individual or an existing entity) with a registered office at an actual Wisconsin street address, not a P.O. box or mailbox service, and the LLC cannot name itself as its own agent. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in Wisconsin.

File the Statement of Change of Registered Agent/Office with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. The fee is $25.

Serving as your own Wisconsin registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's Wisconsin registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

Yes. Wisconsin LLCs must file the Annual Report every year. The state fee is $40.

The Annual Report is due by the end of the calendar quarter your LLC was formed in, March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31, every year. Your first one is due by the end of that same quarter in the calendar year after your LLC is formed. It is filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

Per the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, as of September 2026, the Annual Report state fee is $40. It is due by the end of the calendar quarter your LLC was formed in, March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31, every year. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

There is no separate published late fee, but an entity that does not file becomes "delinquent" and risks administrative dissolution if the delinquency is not cured by filing the report and paying any back fees. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

A default Wisconsin LLC pays no franchise tax. Only an LLC that elects to be taxed federally as a corporation owes Wisconsin's flat 7.9% corporate franchise/income tax, plus the economic development surcharge if it has at least $4 million in gross receipts.

Wisconsin taxes individuals on a bracketed scale of roughly 3.5% to 7.65%, so a default LLC's profits pass through and are taxed once on the members' state returns. An LLC that elects federal corporate tax treatment instead pays the state's flat 7.9% corporate franchise/income tax. Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

If you sell taxable goods or services, register for a Seller's Permit with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue through My Tax Account.

Before you hire, register with the Department of Workforce Development for unemployment insurance and with the Department of Revenue for state withholding tax. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: Wisconsin regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Business Services.

Wisconsin does not require an operating agreement, and it is never filed with the state. State law lets members adopt one, written or otherwise, to govern the LLC's internal affairs. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every Wisconsin LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in Wisconsin or be a U.S. citizen to form a Wisconsin LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Wisconsin. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. Wisconsin allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

Yes. A 2022 rewrite of Wisconsin's LLC law added series provisions, letting one LLC establish internal series of members, managers or interests with separately limited liability.

No. Wisconsin has no professional LLC (PLLC) option; licensed professionals typically form a regular LLC or a service corporation instead.

No. Wisconsin does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Certificate of Status from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions for $10. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in Wisconsin by filing the Foreign Registration Statement (Certificate of Registration) with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. The fee is $100, and the LLC needs a Wisconsin registered agent. A foreign LLC's annual report is always due by March 31 each year, regardless of the month it originally registered in Wisconsin.

File the Articles of Amendment with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions for $40. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Articles of Dissolution with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions for $35. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a tradename with the Department of Financial Institutions' Trademark unit before doing business under a name other than your LLC's legal name. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. Wisconsin taxes individuals on a bracketed scale of roughly 3.5% to 7.65%, so a default LLC's profits pass through and are taxed once on the members' state returns. An LLC that elects federal corporate tax treatment instead pays the state's flat 7.9% corporate franchise/income tax.

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In Wisconsin it costs $170 to form and the Annual Report is $40 every year.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A Wisconsin LLC costs $170 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in Wisconsin. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in Wisconsin for $100 and keep a Wisconsin registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year Wisconsin registered agent service. The state still charges its $170 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $170 state fee: Wisconsin LLC formation in year one, a Wisconsin registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Annual Report every year. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Corporate & Consumer Services, handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at PO Box 93348, Milwaukee, WI 53293-0348 (physical/priority mail: 4822 Madison Yards Way, 4th Floor, North Tower, Madison, WI 53705).

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Articles of Organization, your EIN and your operating agreement.