Out-of-State Providers Accepting Wisconsin Shares

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If you are a child care provider located outside of Wisconsin and are interested in caring for a child that is eligible for Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy, you must follow the instructions below.

Out-of-State Provider Portal Fact Sheet (DCF-P-5540)

Step 1: Submit Required Forms

You must submit the following items to the Wisconsin Bureau of Early Care Regulation (BECR) before an authorization can be written to your child care program (see step 2).

  • A copy of the current/active license/certificate from your state.*
  • A completed W9 form that lists your Tax ID and Type.
  • A completed Wisconsin Shares Participation Contract:  English  -  Spanish
  • Your birthdate.
  • Wisconsin county that child(ren) live in.
  • Ages of children served by your program and the hours of operation.
  • Date the children from Wisconsin began attending your care program (if newly enrolled within last three months).

*Federal background check requirements are the responsibility of the state in which the program/provider is located.

Step 2 - Send Required Forms and Materials to the Bureau of Early Care Regulation (BECR)

The materials can be sent electronically to DCFCertificationSpecialist@wisconsin.gov (preferred), or faxed to 608-283-7477.

Although mailing is not recommended as it will slow down the time it takes to process, materials may be mailed to:
Bureau of Early Care Regulation Central Office
201 W. Washington Ave., 4th Floor
PO Box 8916
Madison, WI 53708-8916

Once all of the required materials are received and entered into the licensing database by BECR, you will receive an email with additional information and instructions. If you do not receive an email within five (5) business days after submission of the completed materials to BECR, you may call 608-422-6027 to check on the status of your application.

Step 3 - Complete the FIS Provider Agreement

Once all of the required materials are received by BECR and entered into the licensing database, a Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) provider letter is generated with the provider's FIS ID, and a FIS Provider Agreement will be sent to you.
You may also complete the Provider Agreement online.

All child care providers are required to have completed an agreement with FIS. 
FIS is Wisconsin’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card vendor.

The FIS Provider Agreement must:

  • Include your FIS provider ID.
  • Include your Tax Identification Number (TIN). Annual 1099K tax documents will be sent to you (the provider) from FIS instead of from the State of Wisconsin.
  • Include your checking account number. Wisconsin Shares payments from parents are made by Electronic Funds Transfer directly into the provider’s checking account.

You can contact FIS Merchant Services at 800-894-0050 for assistance with the FIS Provider Agreement process from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. FIS can take up to a week to review and approve the FIS Provider contract.

Step 4 - Contact the Child Care Coordinator and Submit Private Prices

View the Child Care Coordinator Listing by County/Tribe and find the contact information for the child care coordinator for the county where the child resides, and submit your child care prices to the coordinator. Once your prices are entered into the system, the child care coordinator will work with the parent to write an authorization to your child care location.

Once these steps are completed, you will be able to have Wisconsin Shares authorizations written to your program.

Learn more about the MyWIChildCare EBT card.

Ongoing Eligibility to Care for Children Receiving Wisconsin Shares

To continue ongoing eligibility, the Bureau of Early Care Regulation will contact you to submit a new license or certification three (3) months prior to your current license/certification expiration date. The Bureau of YoungStar will also contact you to submit a new Wisconsin Shares Contract three (3) months prior to your current contract expiration date.

You will have a 30-calendar day grace period following your Wisconsin Shares Contract or license/certification expiration date to submit updated regulatory information or a new contract. A notification letter will be sent to the Wisconsin family when you are in your grace period. Wisconsin Shares authorizations to your location will end if a new Wisconsin Shares Contract or updated license/certification verification is not received by the last day of the grace period month. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Wisconsin child care coordinator for the county where the child you are caring for resides in. View the Child Care Coordinator Listing by County/Tribe to find the coordinator's contact information.