About the Veterans Professional/Occupational Licensure Fee Waiver Program
Wisconsin Act 209, signed into law on April 4, 2012 and effective July 1, 2012, created a program which requires that the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) establish and maintain a program under which 13 State Agencies will grant fee waivers to qualified veterans when issuing initial licenses.
Under the Veterans Professional/Occupational Licensure Fee Waiver Program, there will be only one initial license fee waiver allowed per applicant. Waivers may not be made for license renewals; they are for one initial license only.
Eligibility for Program
Eligibility is determined by the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, as follows:
(3) ELIGIBILITY. For the purpose of being eligible for a license fee waiver under the program established under sub. (2), an applicant shall be applying for an initial license, shall not have received a previous fee waiver under the program for any type of license, and shall be all of the following:
(a) An individual.
(b) A resident of this state.
(c) A veteran, as defined in s. 45.01 (12) (a) to (f), or one of the following:
1. A member of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or of the national guard, as defined in 32 USC 101 (3), who has served under honorable conditions for at least one year beginning on the member's date of enlistment in a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or in the national guard.
2. A person who was discharged from a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces or from the national guard, as defined in 32 USC 101 (3), if that discharge was an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions.
Getting Started
Step 1 - Apply for Eligibility Code
Eligibility applications for a Veterans Professional/Occupational Licensure Fee Waiver are made through WDVA, either online or by submitting a paper form.
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Register with the WDVA and apply online (preferred method) at
MyWisVets.com to receive faster results.
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Submit paper form WDVA 2230, Eligibility Application – Professional/Occupational Licensure Fee Waiver, either the fillable
Word version or the non-fillable
PDF version. The veteran should submit the completed application to the address at the top of the form, ATTN: Eligibility Section.
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Once program eligibility has been established, WDVA will notify the veteran and provide them with the eligibility code.
Step 2 - What to do with Eligibility Code
Redeem your eligibility code at one of the following agencies when you apply for your initial Professional or Occupational license.
Each licensing agency has guidelines and procedures in place regarding licenses they issue. For details about their procedures, click on the agency name below to go to their website.
Click Here for a list of Licenses covered under this program
Frequently Asked Questions
This section is meant to help clarify several of the questions surrounding the implementation of the program.
Q: If a Licensing Agency has both an application fee and a license fee listed as one fee – are both waived?
A: Yes. In this case both are waived.
Q: If a Licensing Agency has separate application fee and a licensing fee – are both waived?
A: It is up to the discretion of the agency and it’s own interpretation as to how Act 209 language may affect its internal policies in this regard.
Q: What is a resident for the purposes of this program?
A: For the purposes of the Veterans License Fee Waiver Program a resident is registered to vote in Wisconsin and has domicile in Wisconsin at the time of eligibility application
Q: My License Application was not approved and I used my fee waiver, can my eligibility code be reused?
A: No. Since you used the benefit and derived something of value from the State, the benefit is considered ‘used’.