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Initial Credential Fee Waived Once, Then 10% Thereafter

Wisconsin waives the fee on a veteran’s first professional or occupational credential, and charges 10 percent of the standard fee on a later one. Renewal and examination fees are not covered.

Verified August 22, 2026

What this benefit is

Wisconsin waives the fee on a veteran’s first professional or occupational credential, and charges 10 percent of the standard fee on a later one. Renewal and examination fees are not covered.

What it's worth: The initial credential fee, waived once

  • Shown as a range and kept out of your annual total, because Wisconsin sets credential fees profession by profession — there is no single figure to quote.
  • The waiver covers credentials issued to individuals. It does not cover renewal fees and it does not cover examination fees, which are often the larger cost.
  • If you have used the waiver before and are otherwise eligible, the second credential costs 10 percent of the standard fee rather than nothing.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in the U.S. armed forces.
  • The discharge was honorable, or general under honorable conditions.
  • Your home is in Wisconsin.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: With the initial credential application
  1. 1Confirm you meet the three gates before applying: Wisconsin residency, an INITIAL credential, and no previous waiver under this programme.
  2. 2Reserve component service counts on its own terms — at least one year served under honorable conditions in a reserve component or the National Guard, or a discharge from one under honorable or general-under-honorable conditions.
  3. 3Ask DSPS to evaluate your service under Wis. Stat. §440.075 at the same time: education, training or experience related to the profession can be assessed for equivalency and may satisfy initial credential requirements outright.
  4. 4If you hold a credential in another jurisdiction — or you are the spouse of a servicemember — ask about the reciprocal credential under Wis. Stat. §440.09 instead, which is a different route with its own form.
  5. 5If you are deployed, your credential does not expire while you are away and runs for a further 180 days after discharge from active duty under Wis. Stat. §321.60. Tell DSPS rather than letting it lapse quietly.
File with
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, with your credential application
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
The waiver applies once to an initial credential; renewals are charged as normal.
Worth knowingThe 10 percent figure is the part nobody mentions. A veteran who used the waiver years ago on one credential and is now qualifying in a second field is not back to full price — §45.44(3m) puts them at a tenth of it.
CorrectionThis is not a licensing shortcut. The waiver removes a fee; it does not remove an examination, an education requirement or a renewal fee. The provision that can remove a requirement is §440.075, the equivalency evaluation, and it is a separate ask.
Known gapDSPS credentials a large share of Wisconsin professions but not all of them — teaching credentials, for one, run through a different department with its own fee waiver programme, which we have not read.

Sources

Why only one source type: DSPS issues the credentials and states each provision and its statutory citation on its own page. The Wisconsin Legislature’s statute host and the Department of Veterans Affairs site were both unreachable from here, so we cite the issuing department alone.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.