Wisconsin PEO Laws: Registration, Bonding and Payroll Requirements
Wisconsin registers PEOs with the Department of Financial Institutions under ch. 202, renewed annually (June 1-July 31 online), requiring net working capital of $100,000 or a surety bond. SUI: Schedule D, $14,000 wage base, new employer 3.05% (construction 2.50%). Payrolling is prohibited (Wis. Stat. 108.067). Minimum wage $7.25.
| PEO registration or licensing required | Yes — professional employer organizations must register with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions under Chapter 202, Subchapter III (registrations renewed annually; small operations use Form 2858). source (opens in new window) |
|---|---|
| Regulating agency | Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Corporate and Consumer Services — Chapter 202, Wis. Stats.; UI tax administered by the Department of Workforce Development. source (opens in new window) |
| Bond or security requirement | Net working capital of at least $100,000 or, as an alternative, a surety bond in a comparable amount approved by DFI (Form CRED2843); audited financial statements support the filing. source (opens in new window) |
| Registration renewal cycle | Annual — DFI online renewal open June 1 through July 31, with a late-charge window through September 30; registrations expire automatically at the end of the renewal period. source (opens in new window) |
| SUI taxable wage base | $14,000 (2026) source (opens in new window) |
| New-employer SUI rate | 3.05% total for new employers with payroll under $500,000 (2.50% basic + 0.55% solvency; construction 2.50%); 3.25% total at $500,000+ payroll source (opens in new window) |
| State workers' comp fund | False source (opens in new window) |
| State paid leave mandate | No state paid family, medical, or sick leave mandate — the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (103.10) provides unpaid, job-protected leave, and 103.10(1m) preempts local paid-leave ordinances. source (opens in new window) |
| State minimum wage | $7.25 per hour (federal) source (opens in new window) |
| PEO SUI reporting basis | A PEO is the employer for SUI purposes: the PEO must register, report wages, and pay contributions; "payrolling" (reporting client employees as PEO employees on behalf of a client) is prohibited under Wis. Stat. 108.067, with exceptions only for temp-help agencies, PEOs, and common paymasters. source (opens in new window) |
Sources
- WI DFI — PEO registration FAQ (ch. 202 subch. III) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DFI — Renewal FAQ (annual renewals June 1–“Sept 30) — verified 2026-08-12
- Harbor Compliance — Wisconsin PEO (Form 2840/2858; $75 initial; $107 renewal; July 31) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DFI — Renewal FAQ (annual; online June 1–“July 31; late window) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DWD — 2026 Schedule D, taxable wage base $14,000 — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DWD — 2026 new employer rates (3.05% / construction 2.50%; 3.25% at $500k+) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI OCI — Guide to WC Insurance ('the State of Wisconsin does not offer or provide WC coverage'; WCRB pool) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DWD — WFMLA provides unpaid leave only — verified 2026-08-12
- US DOL — State minimum wage laws (Wisconsin: $7.25 federal) — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DWD — Payrolling prohibited (Wis. Stat. 108.067); PEO/temp/common paymaster exceptions — verified 2026-08-12
- WI DWD — 2026 Schedule D rates — verified 2026-08-12
- Wis. Stat. 108.067 — Payrolling prohibited; exceptions — verified 2026-08-12
What we know about Wisconsin
Wisconsin regulates professional employer organizations through the Department of Financial Institutions rather than through a labor or insurance department. Chapter 202 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Subchapter III, governs the registration of professional employer organizations and professional employer groups, and the DFI's Charitable and Professional Organizations section administers registrations, with Form 2840 used for standard registration and Form 2858 available for the small-operations license. The financial-responsibility standard is a net working capital of at least $100,000, which a PEO may satisfy instead with a surety bond in a comparable amount that DFI approves, filed as Form CRED2843. Renewals are annual: DFI's renewal FAQ explains that renewals take place each year from June 1 through September 30, that the online renewal period runs June 1 through July 31, that a late charge is added for renewals filed August 1 through September 30, and that a registration that is not renewed expires automatically at the end of the renewal period. Third-party compliance resources echo the same cycle, noting that initial registrations filed on or after June 1 do not need renewal until the following calendar year and that the DFI renewal deadline for PEOs is July 31 each year, with a $107 renewal fee and a $75 initial fee. On the unemployment insurance side, Wisconsin's 2026 tax year operates on Schedule D under Wis. Stat. 108.18, with a taxable wage base of $14,000 — the first $14,000 in wages paid to each employee in the calendar year — and new employer rates of 3.05 percent total for employers with payroll under $500,000, comprising a 2.50 percent basic rate plus a 0.55 percent solvency rate, and 3.25 percent for employers with payroll of $500,000 or more; new construction employers are assigned 2.50 percent under the $500,000 threshold. Wisconsin is strict about how PEOs report unemployment wages: DWD's payrolling guide states flatly that payrolling is prohibited, and Wis. Stat. 108.067 defines payrolling as the reporting of client employees as the PEO's own employees for state unemployment tax purposes where the PEO is merely acting on the client's behalf. The prohibition has limited exceptions: temp-help agencies, professional employer organizations, and common paymasters may report covered workers as their employees, which means a true co-employer PEO with its own SUI account is permitted to report wages, while a payroll-only arrangement is not. Wisconsin has no paid family or medical leave mandate and no paid sick leave law: the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act, Wis. Stat. 103.10, provides unpaid, job-protected leave of up to six weeks for birth or adoption, two weeks for a serious health condition of the employee, and two weeks for care of a family member, and the statute expressly preempts local leave ordinances. The minimum wage is the federal $7.25. Workers' compensation is written in a competitive private market of roughly 300 to 400 licensed insurers, and the OCI explains that the state itself does not offer workers' comp coverage; employers who cannot obtain voluntary coverage turn to the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau pool.
Nearby states
All 50 states · How we verify this data
Related tools: Wisconsin PEO FAQs · estimate what a PEO costs for employees in Wisconsin · get matched with providers that can operate here · download the full 50-state dataset
Find PEOs registered in this state
Registration status changes what a provider can legally do for you here. Tell us your situation and we will shortlist providers that can operate in your states.
You choose which providers may contact you before anything is sent.