Franchising

General Information

Wisconsin’s Department of Financial Institutions is proud to announce that it has developed and made available a new web-based application which will allow customers to file franchise registrations and amendments online. Wisconsin is the first state to develop an electronic filing system for franchise registrations and amendments.

In Wisconsin, franchise registrations and amendments are “effective upon receipt”. As such, your filing will become effective as soon as the online filing process is complete. The online filing process will typically take 10 to 15 minutes, and provides a simple way to upload the franchise disclosure document (in .pdf format)!

Using the online application not only gets your filing submitted more quickly than via the mail, but it will save you the costs associated with mailing the materials.

The new online application can be found at: https://www.wdfi.org/apps/franchiseefiling/

Also, please note that per statute, the State of Wisconsin no longer provides for registration “renewals”. Rather, a franchise must be re-registered each year, if a company wishes to continue to sell franchises in the state.

Re-registration is effectively the same as “renewal”, except that filers will get a new franchise registration number each year, instead of having one registration number that carries over year-to-year. The $400 fee for registration is the same as the former “renewal” fee. The $200 fee for filing an amendment to a registration remains the same as well.

We hope you enjoy the ease and convenience of using the new online application. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us or contact us by telephone at (608) 266-8557.