Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
Certification agencies must comply with the Department's Records Retention/Disposition (RDA) requirements by retaining certification records for six (6) years after closure of a certified program. Certification records may not be destroyed earlier than specified by the RDA and are not required to be retained longer than the specified period unless there is a pending audit or unresolved issue / legal action associated with a specific record.
In accordance with Wis. Stat. 16.61(2)(b) for state authorities and Wis. Stat. 19.32(2) for local authorities, a record is defined as papers, reports, photographs, electronic transmissions, databases, videos, machine-readable materials, and any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or department’s business activities and serve as evidence of the department’s functions, policies, decisions, procedures, obligations and/or operations.
Closed, for the purpose of records retention, includes any of the following:
Revoked certification
Denial / refusal to renew certification
Voluntary closure or withdrew certification
Non-renewal
Applicants that do not complete the application/certification process
Examples of 6-year retention requirements:
An applicant is granted certification on 2/1/14 and due to renew on 1/31/16 but chooses not to renew his/her certification. The operator record shall be retained until 1/31/22.
An operator’s certification is revoked on 6/10/11. The operator appeals the revocation. The appeal decision issued on 7/6/11, rules in favor of the certification agency. The operator record shall be retained until 7/6/17.
An applicant’s application for certification is denied on 4/17/10 but the applicant does not appeal the denial. The record shall be retained until 4/17/16.
Note: Effective 9/1/21 after initial certification is granted certification agencies must monitor for compliance with the requirements for continuing education, CPR, and well-water and pet vaccinations, if applicable. This means that the certification agency may need to complete a “desk review” to ensure information is verified by the date due. If during the BRO certification review the information is not current, this may result in an agency non-compliance/finding and the information will need to be gathered and updated as a part of the Agency Review Correction Plan.
Effective February 2025, applicants for certification may submit an online application using the Child Care Provider Portal. Information submitted as part of the online application, including uploaded documents must also comply with the 6-year retention period. The online application may be uploaded as a PDF for certification agencies to preserve/retain as a historical public record. Uploading the PDF may be helpful should there be an administrative appeal hearing, litigation of audit of the provider record. See the CCPP User Guide: Online Licensing/Certification Application for instructions on how to upload the online application.
1.1.1 Which Documents are Required to be Uploaded in WISCCRS?
This page last updated 01/2025.