Wedding Planner Permit Requirements in Milwaukee, WI

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees, operate as an LLC/corporation, or file certain business tax returns. Free from the IRS. Sole proprietors with no employees may use their SSN instead.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. Wisconsin Seller's Permit

   Required of every individual, partnership, corporation or other organization with a Wisconsin sales location making retail sales of taxable products or taxable services, with limited exceptions for wholesalers, manufacturers and certain marketplace sellers. Services are taxable only if they appear on DOR Publication 201's list - admissions and access to recreational facilities, landscaping, laundry and dry cleaning, and similar - so professional services such as accounting, consulting or insurance generally do not trigger it. The permit is obtained through Business Tax Registration, which also opens your withholding and use tax accounts.

   Official government source

   $20 one-time Business Tax Registration fee, then $10 to renew every two years - it is not free. The $20 is the same regardless of how many locations need a seller's permit.·Register online through My Tax Account. DOR does not publish a guaranteed processing time - contact [email protected] or 608-266-2776 to check status.

   $20 one-time Business Tax Registration fee, then $10 to renew every two years - it is not free. The $20 is the same regardless of how many locations need a seller's permit.

   Register online through My Tax Account. DOR does not publish a guaranteed processing time - contact [email protected] or 608-266-2776 to check status.

2. General Liability Insurance - a venue requirement, not a Wisconsin one

   Wisconsin does not license wedding or event planners and does not require them to carry liability insurance: neither wedding planner nor event planner appears anywhere in DSPS's A-Z list of professions the department licenses. The requirement comes from venues and clients. Most Wisconsin venues will not let a vendor work on site without a certificate of insurance naming the venue as an additional insured, and the venue's contract - not the state - sets the limit. Read each venue's vendor packet rather than assuming one figure covers them all.

   Official government source

   No state-set price. General liability is quoted by private carriers on your revenue, event count and the limits your venues demand; Wisconsin publishes no schedule, so get quotes at the specific limit rather than relying on a range.·Before your first on-site event - venues typically want the certificate at contract signing, weeks ahead of the date.

   No state-set price. General liability is quoted by private carriers on your revenue, event count and the limits your venues demand; Wisconsin publishes no schedule, so get quotes at the specific limit rather than relying on a range.

   Before your first on-site event - venues typically want the certificate at contract signing, weeks ahead of the date.

1. No general business license in Milwaukee

   Milwaukee has no general business license. The City Clerk's License Division publishes the complete list of licenses and permits it administers, and every entry is a specific regulated activity (alcohol, cigarette and tobacco, food dealer, massage establishment, secondhand dealer, home improvement contractor, public entertainment premises, snow plowing, weights and measures and the like). Wedding and event planning is not on that list, so no city business license applies to a wedding planner. A Certificate of Occupancy from the Department of Neighborhood Services is still required for any commercial space, and events held on public property need separate event approvals.

   Official government source

   $0 - no general business license exists.·Not applicable - there is no city license to apply for.

   $0 - no general business license exists.

   Not applicable - there is no city license to apply for.

2. Trade Name Recording (Wis. Stat. 134.17) - narrow, credit-related only

   Wisconsin has no general requirement to file a DBA/fictitious business name before operating or accepting payments under a trade name. Wis. Stat. 134.17 requires recording a name with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds only if the name purports to be a corporate name and is used with intent to obtain credit. Most sole proprietors and LLCs operating under a trade name have no separate state or county filing obligation beyond that narrow case.

   Official government source

   No filing and no fee in the ordinary case. If the narrow 134.17 case applies, the Register of Deeds charges the standard recording fee set by Wis. Stat. 59.43(2)(ag).·Not applicable in the ordinary case.

   No filing and no fee in the ordinary case. If the narrow 134.17 case applies, the Register of Deeds charges the standard recording fee set by Wis. Stat. 59.43(2)(ag).

   Not applicable in the ordinary case.

Official Sources

• City of Milwaukee — Business Licensing
• Wisconsin Secretary of State
• IRS — Apply for EIN

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