Storm contractor rules in Wisconsin: the 15 percent price rule and the home improvement practices code
Wisconsin's price rule for emergencies is section 100.305 of the Statutes with a 15 percent test in chapter ATCP 106 of the Administrative Code, and its home improvement contract rules are in chapter ATCP 110. This page restates them as the Wisconsin Legislature publishes them, read on October 9, 2026.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute or rule text. None of it names tree work, and the sections read say nothing about a state licence for it.
The sources in one table
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Statute 100.305(2) | A seller may not sell or offer household-use goods or services at unreasonably excessive prices once the governor has certified, by executive order, a period of abnormal economic disruption in the state or part of it. Consumer goods or services are those used primarily for personal, family or household purposes |
| Statute 100.305(1)(b) | "Emergency" includes a tornado, flood, fire, storm or other destructive act of nature, a disruption of energy supplies, hostile action, and a strike or civil disorder |
| Statute 100.305(4m) | The department, or the Department of Justice after consulting it, may issue a warning notice specifying what the seller must do, or bring an action for a civil forfeiture of up to US$10,000 or an injunction, or both |
| ATCP 106.02 | In an emergency area during the emergency period, the rule bars a consumer good or service price more than 15 percent above the highest price the seller charged like customers in the relevant trade area in the 60 days before the emergency declaration. A sale is exempt if the seller has and relies on accurate information that the price does not exceed cost plus normal markup, is required by law, or was exempted by the declaration |
| ATCP 106.01 and 106.03 | Normal markup is the percentage the seller regularly used in the 60 days before the declaration. The department may require a seller to give price information in writing within 10 days of its notice |
| ATCP 110.01 | Home improvement means remodeling, altering, repairing, painting or modernizing residential or non-commercial property or making additions, and includes landscaping, driveways, fences and other repairs or improvements. It excludes new residences and major renovation of an existing structure. A seller is a person in the business of making or selling home improvements |
| ATCP 110.05 | A home improvement contract must be in writing if it needs any payment before the seller finishes, or if the seller started it by face-to-face solicitation away from the seller's regular place of business, mail or telephone solicitation, or handbills or circulars delivered to homes. The written contract must be signed by all parties and set out all material terms, including the seller's name and address and a description of the work |
Price rule
Wisconsin has two layers. The statute sets the standard, "unreasonably excessive", and tells the department to write rules for formulas. The department's rule then supplies a number: 15 percent above the seller's highest price in the 60 days before the declaration, unless cost plus normal markup explains the price. The trigger is an executive order by the governor, and the rule uses the emergency period named in it. The Statutes use the words "consumer goods or services", which covers services bought for household use. The rule does not name contractors.
Home improvement contracts
The home improvement definition lists landscaping among its examples. The sections read do not say whether removing or trimming a tree is home improvement. A job that falls inside the definition and needs a payment up front, or that the seller began by solicitation of the kinds ATCP 110.05 lists, needs a written contract under ATCP 110.05. How those rules apply to a storm job is a question for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.
Sources
- Wisconsin Legislature, Statutes section 100.305, Prohibited selling practices during periods of abnormal economic disruption, read October 9, 2026
- Wisconsin Legislature, Administrative Code chapter ATCP 106, Price Gouging, read October 9, 2026
- Wisconsin Legislature, Administrative Code ATCP 110.01, Home improvement definitions, read October 9, 2026
- Wisconsin Legislature, Administrative Code ATCP 110.05, Home improvement contract requirements, read October 9, 2026