Current through August 26, 2024
(1) LICENSE
REQUIRED. Except as provided under s. ATCP 75.063, no person may operate a
retail food establishment without a valid license issued by the department or
its agent. Issuance of a retail food establishment license shall be done in
accordance with all of the following:
(a)
Each retail food establishment shall have a separate license.
(b) The current retail food establishment
license issued by the department or its agent shall be posted in a place
visible to the general public. A license may not be altered or
defaced.
(c) A retail food
establishment license is not transferable between persons or establishments.
Note: An agent, as defined in s.
ATCP 75.04(4), has authority under s.
97.615(2) (d), Stats., to establish and collect fees
for licenses issued by the agent. The operator of a retail food establishment
licensed by an agent should contact the agent for its license fee
schedule.
(2)
LICENSE DURATION AND RENEWAL.
(a) Each
license issued under this subchapter expires on June 30, except that a license
initially issued during the period beginning on April 1 and ending on June 30
expires on June 30 of the following year, except when any of the following
conditions exist:
1. The agent of a city of
the 1st class may issue to a retail food establishment the license required
under sub. (1) at any time during the year. A license issued under this
subdivision shall expire one year from the date of its issuance.
2. The license holder may request an
extension to the term of a license, issued under par. (a) by the agent of a
city of the 1st class, for the purpose of aligning the annual term of any other
license or permit issued to that retail food establishment with the annual term
of a license to be issued to that retail food establishment under subd. 1. The
agent may require the license holder that receives an extension under this
subdivision to pay a prorated fee in an amount determined by dividing the
license fee imposed under s.
97.41(4),
Stats., by 12 and multiplying the quotient by the number of months by which the
license issued under par. (a) is extended under this
subdivision.
(b) Each
license shall be renewed annually as provided in sub. (3).
(c) Transient retail food establishment
licenses shall be valid for a period not to exceed 14 days in conjunction with
a specific special event.
(3) LICENSE APPLICATION AND RENEWAL.
(a)
Initial license. A
person applying for a retail food establishment license shall apply on a form
provided by the department or its agent. The applicant shall fully complete the
application form and send it with all applicable fees required under this
section and any previous fees due to the department.
Note: To obtain a copy of the retail food
establishment license application form, or to determine which agent to contact
for an application form, call (608) 224-4923 or send an email to
datcpdfslicensing@wi.gov.
(b)
License renewal. To
renew the license of a retail food establishment, the license holder shall pay
the fee, specified under Table
ATCP 75.08 B, to the
department before the license expires, along with any previous fees due to the
department. If the license holder does not make the payment to renew the
license of a retail food establishment to the department before the license
expiration date, the late fee specified under Table
ATCP 75.08 B shall be
paid in addition to the license fee.
Note: Contact the department at (608) 224-4720
for questions regarding a retail food establishment license renewal or to
determine which agent to contact.
(c)
Refusal of license issuance or
renewal. The department or its agent may refuse to issue or renew a
license to operate a retail food establishment under any of the following
circumstances:
1. The department or its agent
has not conducted a pre-licensing inspection of a new retail food
establishment.
2. The license
holder has not corrected a violation for which the department or agent has
issued a written health or safety related order at the retail food
establishment.
3. The license
holder has not paid all applicable fees under s.
ATCP 75.08, including
the permit fee, pre-licensing fee, reinspection fee, or other applicable
fees.
4. The license holder or
applicant has modified, repaired, or maintained the retail food establishment
in a manner that does not comply with ch. ATCP 75 Appendix.
5. The license holder or applicant has
violated ch. 97, Stats., ch. ATCP 75, or any order, ordinance, or regulation
created by a village, city, county, or local board of health having
jurisdiction, provided such violation is related to the operation of the retail
food establishment.
(4) ACTION ON LICENSE APPLICATION. Within 30
business days after the department or its agent receives a complete license
application, the department or its agent shall do one of the following:
(a) Grant the application.
(b) Deny the application. If the department
or its agent denies the application it shall give the applicant written notice
specifying the reasons for the denial.
(5) PRE-LICENSING INSPECTION.
(ag) Except as specified in par. (am), (b),
or (c), the department or its agent may not issue a license for a new retail
food establishment until it conducts a pre-licensing inspection of the new
retail food establishment for compliance with this chapter and all fees in
Table
ATCP 75.08 B have
been paid, including any applicable pre-licensing fee.
(am) A pre-licensing inspection may not be
conducted for a transient retail food establishment, vending machine, or
vending machine operator.
(b) A
pre-licensing inspection may not be conducted and a pre-licensing fee may not
be charged under any of the following conditions:
1. An individual license holder transfers
ownership of the retail food establishment to an immediate family member, as
defined in s.
97.605(4) (a) 2, Stats.
2. A retail food establishment remains at the
location for which the license was issued and at least one individual who had
an ownership interest in the sole proprietorship or business entity to which
the license was issued retains an ownership interest in the newly formed sole
proprietorship or business entity that will be the license holder.
3. A mobile retail food establishment license
holder transfers from an agent issued license to a State-issued
license.
(c) Initial
inspection of micro-market. The department or its agent may issue a license for
a new retail food establishment that is a micro-market before it inspects the
new retail food establishment that is a micro-market for compliance with this
chapter. Before one year after the date that the department or its agent issues
a license for a new retail food establishment that is a micro-market, it shall
inspect the new retail food establishment for compliance with this
chapter.
(6) CONDITIONAL
LICENSE. Except as provided in s.
93.135,
Stats., the department may condition the initial issuance, renewal, or
continued validity of a license issued under this section upon the requirement
that the license holder correct a violation of this chapter and ch. ATCP 75
Appendix, s.
97.605,
Stats., or ordinances adopted under s.
97.615(2) (g), Stats., within a period of time
specified by the department or its agent. If the condition is not met within
the specified time or after an extension of time as approved by the department
or its agent, the license is void. No person may operate a retail food
establishment after a license has been voided under this paragraph, and any
person who does so shall be subject to the penalties under ss.
97.72 and
97.73, Stats. A
license holder, whose license is voided under this paragraph, may appeal the
decision under s. ATCP 75.14 or 75.16. The license holder may reapply for a new
license when they have met requirements under this chapter.
(7) VOIDED LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO PAY FEES.
If an applicant or license holder fails to pay all applicable fees, late fees,
and processing charges under s.
ATCP 75.08(3) within 15 days after the
applicant or owner receives notice of an insufficiency or within 45 days after
the expiration of the license, whichever occurs first, the license is void. A
license holder, whose license is voided under this subsection, may appeal the
decision under s. ATCP 75.14 or 75.16. In an appeal concerning a voided license
under this subsection, the burden of proof is on the license applicant or
holder to show that all applicable fees, late fees, and processing charges have
been paid. During any appeal process concerning a payment dispute, operation of
the retail food establishment is deemed to be operation without a license and
is subject to the fees under s.
ATCP 75.08(3)
(e) in addition to the fees otherwise due,
unless the applicant or license holder meets its burden of proof under this
subsection.
(8) LICENSE HOLDER
QUALIFICATIONS. To qualify for a license, an applicant shall do all of the
following:
(a) Be an owner of the retail food
establishment or an officer of the legal entity owning the retail food
establishment.
(b) Comply with the
requirements of this chapter.
(c)
Allow authorized representatives of the department or its agent access to the
retail food establishment and provide required information to those authorized
representatives.
(d) Pay the
applicable license fees at the time the application is submitted.
