Author: A. Ant, CADC-II, Licensing & Accreditation Expert
Disclaimer: This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, or licensing advice. Requirements change frequently. Consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.
A Wisconsin substance use or outpatient mental health certificate has no expiration date printed on it, and that changes what “reinstatement” means here. In Memo 24-001, dated January 18, 2024, the Department of Health Services, Division of Quality Assurance (DQA) told providers that “Certificates will be issued with no expiration date” and that annual renewal applications were finished. In their place came a biennial summary report with staffing information and a fee, while on-site surveys continue every two years. Its reach runs across six chapters: DHS 34, 35, 36, 61, 63 and 75. So a Wisconsin program rarely loses its certification to the calendar. It loses it by missing the biennial filing, by an enforcement action, or by changing hands. Wisconsin’s word for these approvals is certification, and we use it below.
How a Non-Expiring Certificate Still Lapses
This section summarizes Memo 24-001 and the rule sections it rests on. The consequences we draw for DHS 75 programs are labeled as our reading.
For substance use programs, DHS 75.05 says a certification “is valid until suspended or revoked by the department, except for opioid treatment programs.” DHS 75.06(1) then sets the upkeep: “Every 24 months, on a date determined by the department, the service shall submit the biennial forms provided by the department, and shall submit payment of the certification continuation fees.” The fee is grounded in s. 51.04, which still says DHS “shall annually charge a fee for each certification,” and in s. 51.45(8)(a). We could not find a current dollar figure in rule or on DQA’s pages, so check the amount in the DQA Provider Portal when your biennial notice arrives.
Outpatient mental health clinics have the plainest lapse rule. DHS 35.08(3)(b) says a clinic certification “remains valid until it is suspended or terminated by the department,” and then lists what makes it invalid, including “non-submission of the biennial report or non-payment of biennial fees.” DHS 75 has no sentence quite that blunt. Our reading is that the result for a substance use program is much the same in practice. DHS 75.05 names unpaid fees as a ground for denial, and s. 51.45(8)(d) removes a facility from the list of approved treatment facilities if it fails to provide required data. If a biennial deadline has slipped, write to DHSDQAMentalHealthAODA@dhs.wisconsin.gov, the address the memo gives for biennial report questions, before DQA writes to you.
Surveys and the Plan of Correction
DQA can inspect a DHS 75 service announced or unannounced, to check compliance, follow up a complaint or look into a client death (DHS 75.09(1)). Deaths reach DQA through the reporting rule in DHS 75.10: within 24 hours for a death the service has reason to believe is tied to physical restraint, psychotropic medication or suicide, and within 3 working days when the fatal incident or accident happened “at the service location.” A substantiated abuse, neglect or misappropriation finding goes in within 7 calendar days. Any of those reports can bring a surveyor.
When a survey finds a violation, DQA issues a statement of deficiency and the service has 10 business days to return a plan of correction, or less if clients could be harmed (DHS 75.09(2)). The rule is direct about skipping that step: “Failure to submit an approved plan of correction shall be grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation.” In our experience the plans that close a finding quickly name who changed what, by which date, and how a supervisor confirmed it stuck. A plan that only restates the rule seldom closes anything.
Suspension, Revocation and the Appeal Window
DHS 75.05 lets DQA suspend or revoke for the reasons in ss. 51.032 and 51.45(8)(a) or for noncompliance, and s. 51.45(8)(e) allows DHS, “after notice and hearing,” to “suspend, revoke, limit, or restrict an approval, or refuse to grant an approval.” A circuit court can also restrain violations (s. 51.45(8)(f)). The appeal window is short. A DHS 75 service has 10 days from the notice to file a written request with the Department of Administration’s Division of Hearings and Appeals (DHS 75.09(3)), and a timely appeal stays the revocation, suspension or non-renewal until the hearing is decided, unless DHS finds in writing that patient health, safety or welfare calls for immediate effect. Outpatient mental health clinics run on a slower clock.
| Step | DHS 75 substance use service | DHS 35 outpatient mental health clinic |
|---|---|---|
| Plan of correction due | 10 business days, shorter if clients could be harmed (75.09(2)) | 30 days from the notice of deficiency, unless DQA sets another date (35.11) |
| Appeal deadline (Division of Hearings and Appeals) | Request due 10 days after the notice date (75.09(3)) | Request due 30 days after the notice date (35.11) |
| Effect of a timely appeal | Action stayed unless DHS finds in writing that immediate effect is needed | Action stayed unless the certification was summarily suspended |
| Fines in the rule | None found in 75.09 or s. 51.45(8) | None found in 35.11 |
We found no waiting period in DHS 75 that bars a former certificate holder from reapplying after a revocation. That absence is not the same as a clean slate, as the next section explains.
Applying Again After a Revocation
Wisconsin’s rules don’t describe a reinstatement procedure for a revoked certification. Our reading is that the route back is a new initial application through the DHS DQA Provider Portal, and that DQA will read the old file closely. DHS 75.05 allows denial of an applicant that is not fit and qualified. The fit-and-qualified standard in DHS 75.30 sits in the residential subchapter, but its text speaks of any “applicant.” It looks at compliance history “with Wisconsin or any other state’s licensing requirements,” at “The applicant’s arrest history and criminal records,” and at “financial stability, including outstanding debts or amounts due to the department.” Pay any old balance before you file. A record of the corrections made since the revocation, with dates, answers the compliance question better than a narrative letter does.
Selling the program won’t carry a certification to a buyer either. DHS 35.10 says a clinic certification “may not be transferred or assigned, including by change of ownership or control,” so a new owner applies fresh. On the substance use side, DHS 75.05 limits a certification to the persons named in the application unless the change-of-ownership process in DHS 75.07 is followed, and DQA’s portal handles a DHS 75 change of ownership as its own filing. The new owner starts its own file. The application steps for each level are in Wisconsin Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Treatment Licensing and Wisconsin Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment Licensing.
The DHS 75 Rewrite Waiting in the Legislature
Anyone rebuilding a policy manual in Wisconsin right now should know which rule text applies. The package to watch is Clearinghouse Rule CR 25-054, which would revise chapter DHS 75 together with four other DHS chapters. The Assembly sent it to its Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care on March 13, 2026, and committees in both houses asked to meet with DHS that April. The Legislature’s page shows no adoption or effective date, and DHS’s own rules page, last revised September 9, 2026, still lists it as “Legislative review.” EmR2511, the emergency rule that ran alongside it, is now listed by the Legislature as expired. A second, wider rewrite of DHS 75 is at an earlier stage, with its statement of scope (SS 017-26) signed off by the Governor on March 18, 2026. Until one of these is adopted, we treat the October 1, 2022 chapter, plus the CR 23-067 amendment effective May 1, 2025, as the text in force. Write corrections against that text, and recheck it before any survey.
Counselor credentials changed too. Under the counselor rule overhaul that took effect June 1, 2026 (CR 25-095, chs. SPS 160 to 168), continuing education is 30 hours per 2-year credential period. The DSPS continuing education page still mentions 40 hours, but the rule is what governs, so we track 30 and keep each counselor’s certificates in the personnel file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Wisconsin substance use certifications expire?
No. Since DQA Memo 24-001 in January 2024, certificates are issued with no expiration date, and DHS 75.05 says a certification is valid until suspended or revoked, except for opioid treatment programs. Programs file biennial forms and pay continuation fees every 24 months under DHS 75.06.
What is the deadline to appeal a DQA action against a DHS 75 program?
Ten days from the notice, by written request to the Department of Administration’s Division of Hearings and Appeals under DHS 75.09(3). Outpatient mental health clinics under DHS 35 have 30 days.
Can a revoked Wisconsin certification be reinstated?
We found no reinstatement procedure in DHS 75. Our reading is that a former holder reapplies through the DQA Provider Portal as a new applicant, and DQA weighs compliance history, criminal records and amounts owed to the department under the fit-and-qualified standard.
Missed a biennial filing or holding a statement of deficiency from DQA? We can talk it over.
Sources
- Wisconsin DHS, DQA Memo 24-001 (January 18, 2024): Non-expiring certificates, biennial report and surveys (PDF) (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin DHS, DQA: Substance Use Treatment Programs: Certification (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin DHS, DQA: DQA Provider Portal (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Admin. Code DHS 75.06 via Cornell LII (verbatim mirror): Biennial forms and continuation fees (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Admin. Code DHS 75 via Cornell LII (verbatim mirror): 75.05, 75.09, 75.10, 75.30 (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Admin. Code DHS 35.08 (official preview site): Clinic certification validity (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Admin. Code DHS 35 via Cornell LII (verbatim mirror): 35.10, 35.11 (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Stat. 51.45(8): Approval of treatment facilities, inspections and sanctions (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wis. Stat. 51.04: Treatment facility certification fee (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin Legislature: Clearinghouse Rule CR 25-054 history (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin Legislature: Expired emergency rules (EmR2511) (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin DHS: Administrative rules in progress (CR 25-054, SS 017-26) (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin Legislature: CR 23-067, effective May 1, 2025 (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin DSPS: CR 25-095 adopted order, chs. SPS 160 to 168, SPS 168.01 continuing education (PDF) (checked October 12, 2026)
- Wisconsin DSPS: Substance Abuse Counselor continuing education page (checked October 12, 2026)
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