Wisconsin: business records and regulators
Where to look a business up in Wisconsin, where to search the UCC filings against it, and the offices that regulate banks, lenders and securities there.
Each link opens the state's own site in a new tab, so what you type there goes to that site, not to us. Some state searches charge a fee or ask you to make an account. Privacy
Wisconsin records and regulators
Business search
Look a business up in the state's register of businesses.
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions: Business Entity Search (opens in a new tab)
In Wisconsin, business registrations and UCC filings are kept by the Department of Financial Institutions.
UCC search
Find the UCC filings against a business: the financing statements lenders file to record a lien on its assets, such as a blanket lien.
Banking and lending regulator
Oversees the banks the state charters. Check its site for the lender and broker licenses the state requires.
Securities regulator
The state office for securities offerings, brokers and investment advisers.
Find a lender in Wisconsin
Official lists of the lenders that work in Wisconsin. Each opens on its own site, filtered to Wisconsin where the list allows it.
SBA 504 lenders (Certified Development Companies) (opens in a new tab)
The nonprofit lenders that make SBA 504 loans for property and big equipment, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA microloan lenders (opens in a new tab)
Nonprofit lenders that make SBA microloans of up to $50,000, from the SBA's own list, filtered to the state.
SBA Lender Match (opens in a new tab)
The SBA's own matching tool: you answer a few questions about your business on its site, and two business days later it gives you a list of the lenders interested; some may contact you. It is not a loan application. What you type goes to the SBA and those lenders, not to us.
Certified CDFIs (community lenders) (opens in a new tab)
The CDFI Fund's list of every certified community development financial institution (CDFI): loan funds, banks and credit unions. Download the list and sort it by the State column.
The FDIC's BankFind: search for the banks with offices in the state.
Credit unions (opens in a new tab)
The NCUA's credit union locator. Credit unions lend to their members, so check who can join.
Before you sign with any lender, check it is licensed: see the banking and lending regulator above, and Check a lender or platform. A few national lenders and platforms are named, with how they were chosen, in the provider directory.
State rules for Wisconsin on our route pages
- Business line of credit: Wisconsin's limit of 12% a year does not apply to loans to corporations or LLCs, or to loans of $150,000 or more unless they are secured on the one- to four-family home the borrower lives in. Wisconsin's licensed lender license is needed to make consumer loans above 18% a year, not business loans. (Wisconsin Statutes 138.05: maximum rate; corporations (subsections 5 and 7); Wisconsin Statutes 138.09: licensed lenders (subsection 1g: business and consumer loan defined); Wisconsin Statutes 421.301: definitions (subsection 17: customer))
- Equipment loans and finance agreements: Wisconsin's limit of 12% a year does not apply to loans to corporations or LLCs, or to loans of $150,000 or more unless they are secured on the one- to four-family home the borrower lives in. Wisconsin's licensed lender license is needed to make consumer loans above 18% a year, not business loans. (Wisconsin Statutes 138.05: maximum rate; corporations (subsections 5 and 7); Wisconsin Statutes 138.09: licensed lenders (subsection 1g: business and consumer loan defined); Wisconsin Statutes 421.301: definitions (subsection 17: customer))
- Online business loans: Wisconsin's limit of 12% a year does not apply to loans to corporations or LLCs, or to loans of $150,000 or more unless they are secured on the one- to four-family home the borrower lives in. Wisconsin's licensed lender license is needed to make consumer loans above 18% a year, not business loans. (Wisconsin Statutes 138.05: maximum rate; corporations (subsections 5 and 7); Wisconsin Statutes 138.09: licensed lenders (subsection 1g: business and consumer loan defined); Wisconsin Statutes 421.301: definitions (subsection 17: customer))