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Wisconsin's business register is kept by the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services. The lookup is Search Corporate Records, known as CRIS, the Corporate Registration Information System. It is free and holds over 704,000 active and inactive entities. You can search names of entities or of registered agents, and there is a separate Name Availability tab. People still search for a "Wisconsin secretary of state business search". DFI is where those records actually live.
How to run a Wisconsin LLC and corporation search at DFI
The basic box takes a name. The Advanced Search gives you three ways to match words:
- with the exact phrase
- using all of the words
- that start with these words
You then choose whether to look in names of entities or names of registered agents. Filters cover entity status (in existence, no longer in existence, or both), current names, old names or both, entity type and a registration date range. The old names filter helps when a company has renamed itself.
Each record carries a DFI Entity ID. DFI warns that this is not the same as the FEIN, the federal tax number. Entity types also have two-digit codes. A domestic LLC is 12 and a foreign LLC is 13. The registered agent lookup guide explains what an agent search can tell you.
What a Wisconsin record shows, and what it leaves out
A record gives the legal name, the effective date of initial registration, entity type, registered agent and office, the DFI Entity ID, the filing history and the principal office where the law requires one. It also shows the current status and a year indicator for the most recently filed annual report.
DFI is just as clear about what it does not hold: FEINs, domestic LLC member names, phone numbers, sole proprietors, trade names and trademarks. Entities do not have to tell DFI who owns them. Corporations list officers and directors on their annual report, and LLC reports name at least one member or manager. You can order copies of those reports. See our business owner lookup guide.
Status shows as a code. The ones you will meet most:
- INC or ORG: formed and in existence
- DLQ: Delinquent, not current with annual report filings
- IGS: Restored to Good Standing after being DLQ or IBS
- ADS: Administratively Dissolved, an involuntary dissolution
- DIS: Dissolved by filing
- RCA: a foreign entity's registration revoked or terminated
DFI adds that a status is not an assessment of the entity's financial condition, stability or business practices. Our business entity status guide covers what these mean in practice.
Wisconsin LLC name rules
Under Wis. Stat. 183.0112, an LLC name must contain "limited liability company" or "limited company", or the abbreviation "LLC" or "LC". Variations that differ only in capital letters or punctuation are allowed. "Limited" may be shortened to "Ltd." and "company" to "Co." The name must be distinguishable on the records of the department from existing entities, registered names and reserved names. A corporation needs corporation, incorporated, company or limited, or corp., inc., co. or ltd., under Wis. Stat. 180.0401.
DFI staff will run a name search by phone, but the results are tentative because the pool of names changes daily. No name should be treated as available until your filing is accepted. Our guide on checking LLC name availability has more on testing a name first.
Reserving a name on Form 1 costs $15 for an LLC or business corporation and $10 for a limited partnership or nonstock corporation. Under Wis. Stat. 183.0113 the name is reserved for 120 days, and the reservation can be renewed.
Annual reports and keeping Wisconsin status
A Wisconsin LLC files an annual report in each year after it was formed, during the calendar quarter of its formation anniversary. Quarter end is the deadline: March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31. The fee is $25 online. Paper adds a $15 surcharge, so it costs $40. Foreign LLCs file by March 31 each year, at $80 on paper.
A missed report turns the record to DLQ. Delinquency is cured by filing the current report and paying the back annual report fees. Entities that go several years without filing can be administratively dissolved. A foreign entity that has not filed within four months of March 31 can have its registration revoked.
Proof of status is a Certificate of Status, ordered from DFI. Our certificate of good standing guide compares other states.
The DFI fee page lists $130 to form an LLC online and $170 on paper. A business corporation costs $100 and a nonstock corporation $35. Expedited service is $100 per transaction for next business day handling. At the Madison counter you can pay $250 for four hours or $500 for one hour.
Bulk data from DFI
DFI sells the full corporate database on Form 51 for $40 per file, sent through ShareFile one time, weekly or monthly. A monthly file of new formations costs $5 and comes as .txt and .xlsx. The master file does not include officer or director information.
Starting a company here? Read our guide on how to start an LLC in Wisconsin and the Wisconsin registered agent rules.
Also see our guides to the Wisconsin DBA and Wisconsin business license.