GC Laws — Wisconsin contractor-law checklist preview (free)
Sources reviewed 2026-09-30. Public summaries remain free on gclaws.com.

[ ] Licensing
      - Section 101.654 requires annual financial-responsibility certification and applicable education before obtaining a covered building permit. An owner who resides or will reside in the dwelling and applies to work on it is excepted by subsection (1)(b).
      - DSPS’s current Dwelling Contractor application requires either an authorized surety bond of at least $25,000 or general liability insurance of at least $250,000 per occurrence.
      - Section 101.654(2)-(2m) permits the restricted bond alternative from $5,000 to below $25,000 only with an agreement not to perform dwelling work whose estimated completion cost exceeds that bond. It also requires applicable workers’ compensation and unemployment compliance.

[ ] Mechanic's liens
      - Section 779.02 ordinarily requires a prime contractor using subcontractors/suppliers to put the statutory notice in the written owner contract, or serve it within ten days after first work if no written contract exists. A covered non-prime claimant serves its preliminary notice within 60 days after first furnishing.
      - Section 779.02(1) exempts specified claims from that preliminary notice, including employed laborers/mechanics, certain direct owner contracts, wholly residential improvements providing more than four family units, and partly or wholly nonresidential improvements. Those exceptions do not eliminate Section 779.06 requirements.
      - Section 779.06 requires serving the owner with notice of intent at least 30 days before timely filing, filing the claim with the circuit-court clerk for the property’s county within six months after last furnishing, and serving the filed claim on the owner within 30 days after filing.
      - Section 779.06 requires the enforcement action and filing of summons and complaint within two years after the lien claim is filed.

[ ] Retainage
      - Section 16.855(19)(a) caps ordinary retainage at 5% of the estimate until 50% completion. After 50%, no additional retainage is allowed unless the department certifies unsatisfactory progress; total retainage then cannot exceed 10% of the value of completed work.
      - At substantial completion, Section 16.855(19)(a) requires payment of retained amounts less the value of corrective or unfinished work. Subsection (19)(b) applies corresponding 5%, 50%-completion, and 10% rules to the subcontracts specified in subsection (14)(e).
      - Section 16.855(19)(b) requires the general prime contractor’s payments under that paragraph within seven calendar days after receipt from the department or Board of Regents. Subsection (19)(c) excludes contracts awarded under Section 16.858.

[ ] Prompt payment
      - Section 16.528(2) ordinarily treats payment on current covered state orders/contracts as timely by the later of the proper invoice’s specified date or 30 days after the later of invoice receipt and receipt/acceptance of goods or services. The late-interest calculation begins on day 31 under the statute’s conditions.
      - Section 16.528(2m) requires prime contractors to pay subcontractors for satisfactory work within seven days after receiving the agency payment and imposes late interest from day eight; the payment and interest rules pass to lower tiers. A properly notified good-faith dispute is excepted.
      - Section 779.135(3) voids a construction term making owner payment a condition precedent to the prime contractor paying a subcontractor, supplier, or service provider. It expressly allows terms that delay payment until the prime receives payment.

[ ] Prevailing wage
      - The Department of Administration states that 2017 Wisconsin Act 59 repealed state prevailing-wage requirements for state building projects advertised after September 23, 2017. Its notice expressly distinguishes this from the earlier changes under 2015 Act 55.
      - WisDOT states that state prevailing-wage requirements no longer apply to state-funded highway projects advertised for bid after September 23, 2017; projects advertised before the repeal are unaffected. The repeal does not remove applicable federal Davis-Bacon requirements.

[ ] Davis-Bacon (federal)
      - Under 40 U.S.C. section 3142, covered contracts require payment to laborers and mechanics employed directly on the site of the work at least weekly, at rates no lower than the applicable prevailing wage determination. The required compensation includes the basic hourly rate and required fringe benefits, which may be provided through qualifying benefits or cash as the statute permits.
      - Qualifying apprentices may receive a lower registered-program rate only when the applicable registration and program conditions are met. The Department of Labor’s apprenticeship rules govern those exceptions.
      - The Department of Labor determines the prevailing rates for the work classifications and locality. Contractors and subcontractors must use the wage determination applicable to their covered contract.
      - Federal assistance alone does not establish coverage: many, but not all, construction-assistance statutes include Davis-Bacon requirements. Identify the funding program and its governing Related Act.
      - SAM.gov publishes Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Search by the wage-determination number or the Davis-Bacon public-buildings-or-works category, and match the decision to the contract, locality, and work classification.

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