Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
Under the requirements of 2011 Wisconsin Act 209, any veteran who applies for a child care center license is exempt from the fee for a probationary and first regular license as long as the person submits a waiver eligibility number that s/he has obtained from the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).
The waiver may only be used if the license will be issued to an individual who is a resident of Wisconsin and a veteran who has been determined to be eligible for a waiver by the DVA. (A veteran who wishes to obtain a license in partnership with a non-veteran would not qualify for the waiver.) Once the veteran has been determined eligible, the DVA will issue that person an eligibility code. When the application for the initial license is submitted with the eligibility code, the BECR Regional Office must verify the validity of the code at the Veterans License Fee Waiver Program website.
For those applicants whose fee is waived with the issuance of the probationary license, the BECR Regional Office will track the expiration date of the probationary license to assure that the fee for the first regular two-year license is waived when it becomes due. The BECR Regional Office enters the center name and other identifying information (provider number, facility number, name of licensee, expiration date of the probationary license, type of license and the amount of the fee that is being waived) in the Excel spreadsheet titled "Veterans - manual tracking sheet.xls" located in the BECR shared drive (S:\DECE\BECR\All Staff\Veterans Bill). This spreadsheet is checked whenever a program is transitioning from a probationary license to the first regular two-year license. After the first regular two year license period is completed, regular licensing fees will apply. The BECR Regional Office must notify eligible centers that no license continuation fee is due when the probationary license period ends.
In these instances when the applicant is eligible for the initial license fee waiver for the probationary period, and the first regular two-year license period, the application is processed according to usual procedures, but the fee amount is not entered in the transaction module in WISCCRS. The eligibility code and a notation are entered in the general comments in WISCCRS indicating that the licensee is participating in the Veterans Licensure Fee Waiver Program.
Under the Veterans Licensure Fee Waiver Program, there will be only one initial license fee waiver allowed per applicant. Waivers may not be made for license renewals/continuations; they are for the initial license only. Note: A veteran that already holds a license, but has never received an initial license fee waiver, and submits an application to open another new location will qualify for the one-time fee waiver. An eligibility code from DVA is required.
This page last updated 08/2021.