Forming an LLC in Wisconsin

What it costs the state

• Articles of Organization (Form 502): $130 online, $170 on paper. Online filings are usually accepted on receipt (DFI fees).
• Optional expedite: $100 for the next business day; in person in Madison, $250 for four hours or $500 for one hour. Corpus doesn’t offer expedited filing in Wisconsin.
• Annual report: $25 online, $40 on paper, every year starting the year after you form.
• EIN: free from the IRS once the LLC exists (IRS).

Student entrepreneurs: DFI waives the $130 fee when every member, and every organizer who won’t be a member, is at least 18 and enrolled at a Wisconsin post-secondary school. The waiver uses paper Form 502SE with an affidavit; filing online charges the $130, and it isn’t refundable (DFI).

The steps, in order

1. Pick a name. It must contain “limited liability company,” “limited company,” “LLC” or “LC,” and be distinguishable from names already on file with DFI. Words like “LLC” or “Corporation” don’t count toward telling two names apart (Wis. Stat. § 183.0112).
2. Name a registered agent in Wisconsin. Every Wisconsin LLC must keep a registered agent and a registered office in the state, and the agent must have agreed to serve. The agent can be a person who lives in Wisconsin, or a business entity that is allowed to do business here. Either way, the agent’s business office has to be the registered office: a real Wisconsin street address, not just a P.O. box, mailbox service or answering service. The agent also needs an email address and a place of business or activity in Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. § 183.0115). Lawsuits and state notices are delivered to the agent, so pick someone who will reliably receive them and pass them on.
3. File Articles of Organization with DFI. Form 502 (PDF) states that the company is organized under chapter 183, its name, the principal office’s street and mailing addresses, the registered agent’s name, addresses and email, each organizer’s name and address, and a delayed effective date if you want one. The LLC exists once the articles take effect (Wis. Stat. § 183.0201). Everything in the filing becomes public, including the addresses, so decide which addresses to use before you file. A registered-agent service doesn’t take the principal-office or organizer addresses off the filing.
4. Write an operating agreement. It isn’t filed with the state, and Wisconsin recognizes one that is oral, implied or written, including for a one-person LLC (Wis. Stat. § 183.0102(13)). Put it in writing anyway: it is what a bank, a partner or a court will ask to see. An LLC is member-managed unless a written operating agreement says it is manager-managed (Wis. Stat. § 183.0407(1)), so to choose manager-managed status, put that choice in a written operating agreement.
5. Get an EIN. Apply free at irs.gov once the LLC is formed. Banks usually ask for it to open a business account, and you need one to hire employees.
6. Register for Wisconsin taxes and licenses that apply. Depending on what you sell and whether you hire, you may need a seller’s permit (DOR) or a withholding tax account (DOR). Your industry or city may also require licenses or permits.

Every year after: the annual report

Starting the calendar year after you form, file an annual report with DFI during the calendar quarter that contains your formation anniversary. It lists the company name, the registered agent’s street address, name and email, the principal office address, and at least one member (or one manager, if manager-managed) (Wis. Stat. § 183.0212).

If you miss it: DFI can start administrative dissolution if the annual report isn’t on file within one year after it is due, or if the LLC goes at least a year without a Wisconsin registered agent. DFI first sends written notice to the registered agent. You then have 60 days from when the notice takes effect to fix each problem or show DFI it doesn’t exist (Wis. Stat. § 183.0708). A notice takes effect when you receive it, when DFI emails it, or five days after DFI mails it, whichever comes first (Wis. Stat. § 183.0103(5)). If a notice can’t be delivered, DFI sends it to the principal office and then posts it on its website.

What the LLC protects

The company’s debts belong to the company. Being a member or manager doesn’t make you personally liable for them, and skipping formalities like meetings or minutes isn’t a reason to hold you liable (Wis. Stat. § 183.0304). This protection doesn’t cover your own negligence: Wisconsin courts hold an LLC member personally liable for their own negligent acts, like any other employee (Garrett v. Ocean View Swimming Pool Services, LLC, 2025 WI App 12).

Two ways to file

• Yourself: file Form 502 online through DFI for $130 and name a registered agent. You can be your own agent only if you live in Wisconsin and your business office is the registered office.
• Through Corpus: answer a few questions (name, what the business does, mailing address, owners), and Corpus prepares the filing, reviews it before it goes to the state, and includes the first year of registered-agent service. The Wisconsin page shows the current price, what the registered agent costs after the first year, and the state’s verified fees. Annual-report fees are paid to DFI separately.

Sources

• Wisconsin DFI — corporation and LLC fees
• Wisconsin DFI — Form 502, Articles of Organization (PDF)
• Wisconsin DFI — student entrepreneur fee waiver
• Wisconsin DOR — seller's permits
• Wisconsin DOR — withholding tax
• IRS — Get an employer identification number
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0102 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0103 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0112 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0115 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0201 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0212 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0304 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0407 — official text on Corpus
• Wis. Stat. § 183.0708 — official text on Corpus