Business Registers in Wisconsin: Department of Financial Institutions (CRIS)

Overview

Wisconsin is one of the few states where business registration doesn't run through a Secretary of State. It goes through the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), whose Division of Corporate and Consumer Services keeps the official record of entities formed or registered to do business in the state. Filings and searches go through CRIS (the Corporate Registration Information System), the DFI's free public database.

Corporations (for-profit and nonprofit), LLCs, LLPs, limited partnerships, cooperatives, and common law trusts all register with the DFI. Sole proprietorships don't register with the DFI, though they can file a trade name registration. General partnerships have the option to register but aren't required to.

Wisconsin has no state-level beneficial ownership register. At the federal level, the Corporate Transparency Act (2021) created a BOI registry run by FinCEN, but a March 2025 interim final rule lifted the obligation for all U.S. companies and U.S. persons. Only foreign reporting companies remain subject to it.

For KYB and AML work, the free CRIS search returns an entity's status, registered agent, and the names and addresses of its officers and directors as most recently reported. Shareholder and member ownership information is not disclosed to the DFI.

Official Registers

Department of Financial Institutions (CRIS)

The DFI maintains the official register of business entities through the Corporate Registration Information System (CRIS). It records domestic and foreign corporations, LLCs, LLPs, limited partnerships, cooperatives, and common law trusts.

Search and access. CRIS is free and needs no account. Search by entity name or DFI ID number. Each record shows the entity name, type, state of formation, ID number, current status, registered agent name and address, principal office, and transaction history. Corporations also list the names and addresses of officers and directors as reported in the most recent annual report.

Filings. Formation documents go in online or by mail. Articles of Incorporation for business corporations cost $100. Articles of Organization for LLCs cost $130 online or $170 by paper. Nonstock (nonprofit) corporations file Articles of Incorporation starting at $25. Online filing is available for most entity types and is recommended; filings submitted online are accepted immediately in most cases.

Certificates. Certificates of Status and certified copies of filed documents are available from the DFI for a fee. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee.

Updates. A filing goes live once the DFI examines and accepts it. The processing date and effective date are both visible in CRIS.

Registration and Publication Requirements

Business corporations

All domestic and foreign business corporations must register with the DFI. Every entity must maintain a registered agent at a physical Wisconsin address (not a PO box), and the entity cannot name itself as its own agent.

Annual report. Business corporations file an annual report with the DFI each year. Domestic entities file during the calendar quarter in which their incorporation anniversary falls: those incorporated in Q1 (January to March) are due by March 31; Q2 (April to June) by June 30; Q3 (July to September) by September 30; Q4 (October to December) by December 31. Foreign corporations are always due March 31. The fee is $25 online or $40 by paper. The report must list the names and addresses of all officers and directors.

Missing the deadline puts the entity in delinquent status. If the delinquency isn't cured, the DFI can move to administrative dissolution for domestic entities or revocation of the certificate of authority for foreign ones.

Financial statements. There is no public financial disclosure requirement. Shareholder ownership information is also not collected by the DFI.

LLCs

All domestic and foreign LLCs must register with the DFI and maintain a registered agent in Wisconsin.

Annual report. LLCs file an annual report on the same anniversary-quarter schedule as domestic corporations. The fee is $25 online or $40 by paper ($15 paper surcharge effective March 2024). Foreign LLCs are due March 31, at $65 online or $80 by paper. The report must list the registered agent, registered office, and the entity's principal office. Member and manager information is part of the entity's CRIS record.

Nonstock (nonprofit) corporations

Nonstock corporations file Articles of Incorporation with the DFI starting at $25. They file an annual report on the same anniversary-quarter schedule, at $25 online. Federal 501(c) status comes from the IRS; the state filing doesn't grant it.

LLPs

LLPs register with the DFI and file an annual report each year ($25). A registered agent in Wisconsin is required.

Limited partnerships

Limited partnerships have been subject to the annual report requirement since January 1, 2023 under Wisconsin's adoption of the Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act. The annual report fee is $25, due on the anniversary-quarter schedule. A registered agent is required.

Sole proprietors and general partnerships

Sole proprietors don't register with the DFI but can register a trade name. General partnerships can optionally register with the DFI; most don't. Neither entity type is required to file annual reports with the DFI.

Summary table

With Topograph

Topograph queries the Wisconsin DFI CRIS system to return structured company data for entities registered in the state.

Available Data

Company Profile

• DFI ID number
• Entity name
• Entity type and state of formation
• Current status
• Registered agent name and address
• Principal office address

Officers and Directors

• Names and addresses of officers and directors as most recently reported (for corporations)

Available Documents

Shareholder and member ownership details are not disclosed to the DFI and are not part of the public record. Financial statements aren't filed publicly in Wisconsin. Domestic companies are also exempt from federal BOI reporting following the March 2025 FinCEN rule.

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