Do I Need an Annual Report Notice to File My Annual Report with Wisconsin DFI?

LuAnn Peterson, SBWCP | 11.07.24

This year the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (“WDFI”) started sending annual report notices by email to the registered agent email address on record with them. To do so, WDFI began gathering registered agent email addresses in 2023 on filings of annual reports and articles to form new entities. 

Relying on receiving the annual ​“post card notice” in the mail as your reminder to file an annual report may no longer work. If you have not received an annual report notice email, you may want to check your spam filter for an email from WDFI or check to see if the email address reported to WDFI is still current. 

However, you don’t need the notice to file the annual report. In Wisconsin, annual reports generally are due with WDFI in the quarter of the entity’s registered effective date with WDFI. However, all foreign entities registered in Wisconsin must file an annual report in the first quarter. If you are in delinquent status or have received a Notice of Administrative Dissolution, those filing deadlines may vary.

Regardless of whether you have received the notice, you can file the report by searching for your entity’s name on record with WDFI. Once you have located your entity’s page, click on the File an Annual Report link. If the link does not let you proceed, it may be that:

• your annual report is not yet due. 
• your report may need to be filed by paper. For entities other than a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation, WDFI mails or emails the required form to the entity’s registered agent. If you have not received the form, you can call WDFI at 608−261−7577 to obtain the required annual report form and information on what filing fees are due.

If you do not timely file the annual report, DFI will change the entity to ​“delinquent” status and eventually will administratively dissolve it. This could result in personal liability for any acts taken by or on behalf of the entity after dissolution. Once administratively dissolved, you may be able to bring it back to active status later, but the costs may be higher (see our article on delinquent status). Setting up reminders on your calendar of when an entity’s annual report is due can be a good practice for managing your reporting with WDFI to remain in good standing.

If you have any questions, please reach out to one of the attorneys in Boardman Clark’s Business Practice Group.