Which business structures each therapy license may use, where to file and what it costs, the taxes to expect, and the order to do it in. Every fee shows the date we checked it.
For all four licenses, we confirmed: LLC and Professional corporation. A sole proprietorship works in every state and needs no company filing.
From state law and board rules as we last read them, not advice for your situation. “Yes” means we confirmed it. When we could not, the card says to confirm with your board.
Licensing board: Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board (MPSW), DSPS
Join the waitlist for your counseling practiceLicensing board: Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board (MPSW), DSPS
Join the waitlist for your marriage and family therapy practiceLicensing board: Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board (MPSW), DSPS
Join the waitlist for your social work practiceLicensing board: Psychology Examining Board, DSPS
Join the waitlist for your psychology practiceCounselors: Wisconsin has no professional LLC. An LLC may have any lawful purpose, and an LLC in a business governed by another chapter may organize under chapter 183 only if that chapter does not prohibit it (s. 183.0108(2)); chapter 183 has no professional-services provisions. Chapter 457 of the statutes (counselors, marriage and family therapists and social workers) and the MPSW board rules (Wis. Admin. Code chs. MPSW 1 to 20) contain no provision on practicing through an LLC, so an ordinary LLC is available. The professional corporation equivalent is a service corporation (ch. 180, subch. XIX): the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board is a health care professional board under s. 180.1901(1m)(f), all shareholders, directors and officers must hold the same license or be health care professionals (ss. 180.1903(1), 180.1911(1)), and each health care professional shareholder who practices without physician supervision must carry malpractice insurance in the amounts set under s. 655.23(4) (s. 180.1903(4)).
Marriage and family therapists, Social workers: Wisconsin has no professional LLC. An LLC may have any lawful purpose, and an LLC in a business governed by another chapter may organize under chapter 183 only if that chapter does not prohibit it (s. 183.0108(2)); chapter 183 has no professional-services provisions. Chapter 457 of the statutes and the MPSW board rules (Wis. Admin. Code chs. MPSW 1 to 20) contain no provision on practicing through an LLC, so an ordinary LLC is available. The professional corporation equivalent is a service corporation (ch. 180, subch. XIX): the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board is a health care professional board under s. 180.1901(1m)(f), all shareholders, directors and officers must hold the same license or be health care professionals (ss. 180.1903(1), 180.1911(1)), and each health care professional shareholder who practices without physician supervision must carry malpractice insurance in the amounts set under s. 655.23(4) (s. 180.1903(4)).
Psychologists: Wisconsin has no professional LLC. An LLC may have any lawful purpose, and an LLC in a business governed by another chapter may organize under chapter 183 only if that chapter does not prohibit it (s. 183.0108(2)); chapter 183 has no professional-services provisions. Chapter 455 of the statutes (psychology) and the Psychology Examining Board rules (Wis. Admin. Code chs. Psy 1 to 5) contain no provision on practicing through an LLC, so an ordinary LLC is available. The professional corporation equivalent is a service corporation (ch. 180, subch. XIX): the Psychology Examining Board is a health care professional board under s. 180.1901(1m)(e), all shareholders, directors and officers must hold the same license or be health care professionals (ss. 180.1903(1), 180.1911(1)), and each health care professional shareholder who practices without physician supervision must carry malpractice insurance in the amounts set under s. 655.23(4) (s. 180.1903(4)).
$130 online (s. 183.0122(2)(a)1 and the DFI fee table); $170 on paper. The online form is linked from the DFI File Online page: https://dfi.wi.gov/Pages/BusinessServices/BusinessEntities/FileOnline.aspx
$100 business corporation incorporation fee, paper or online (DFI fee table); a service corporation is a business corporation under ch. 180, and DFI lists no separate service corporation fee. Use the business corporation articles and state service corporation status. Shareholders must all be licensed in the same field or be health care professionals (s. 180.1911), and health care professional shareholders must carry malpractice insurance (s. 180.1903(4)).
This is an estimate, added up from the fees on this page: the state filing fee, the first annual report or yearly state fee, and any flat minimum tax our data names. It leaves out board application fees, a registered agent company, expedited filing, newspaper notices, name reservations, local licenses and income tax. The state sets the real amounts.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $130 |
| First annual report or yearly state fee | $25 |
| Estimated state costs in year one | $155 |
Does not include state taxes unless a flat minimum is listed above.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| State filing fee | $100 |
| First annual report or yearly state fee | $25 |
| Estimated state costs in year one | $125 |
Does not include state taxes unless a flat minimum is listed above.
Check with the state tax agency which state taxes apply to your business type before you file. Its official pages are linked below.
State tax information More tax information
City and county: Wisconsin cities and villages may require a home occupation permit or zoning approval. Check with the municipal clerk where the practice is located. Ask your city or county whether a local business license or home occupation permit applies to a practice like yours.
Ask an accountant before you choose how the company is taxed. This page does not tell you which tax treatment to pick.
The order below follows the rules we found for Wisconsin. A board approval or a newspaper notice changes where a task falls, so a different state may order these differently.
Your Wisconsin licensing board can add its own rules to the state's business law. Read them for your license before you file anything.
Check that no one in the state already has the name, and follow the state's name rules for professional practices.
The state requires a registered agent with a street address in the state. That can be you, if you have a street address in the state, or a registered agent company.
Use the form and fee for the structure you chose, listed above.
It is free. Apply only on irs.gov, after the state approves your filing.
You may already have one. Get a second, organization number only if your practice is a company that bills under its own name.
Bring your state filing, EIN letter and ID. Keeping practice money in its own account keeps your records clean.
Ask your city or county whether a local business license or home occupation permit applies to a practice like yours.
Put your yearly report and any state taxes on your calendar so your company stays in good standing.
SyncedUp builds your fees, paperwork, booking and website from a few answers, then runs the practice with you. We fill in Wisconsin for you. Everything on this page stays free to read.
Join the waitlistRegistration is paused. Joining the waitlist does not create an account or reserve a plan.
Last checked: Oct 18, 2026. We change this date only when someone re-checks the facts, never when the page is rebuilt.
We checked these facts against the official sources listed below, including the state filing office and the licensing boards.
See a mistake? Email us a correction. Please do not include any client or personal information.
