1. (1) License category assignment.

   1. (a) Criteria.

      1. 1. Except for a retail food establishment serving only prepackaged foods or meals, a transient retail food establishment, a vending machine, a micro market, or a mobile retail food establishment base with no food preparation, the department or its agent shall assign a retail food establishment to a license category by evaluating the complexity of the retail food establishment based on the criteria specified in Table A in this section.
      2. 2. The department or its agent shall assign a retail food establishment, whose point value is not greater than 2.5, to the simple license category.
      3. 3. The department or its agent shall assign a retail food establishment, whose point value is more than 2.5, but not greater than 4.5, to the moderate license category.
      4. 4. The department or its agent shall assign a retail food establishment, whose point value is 4.5 or more, to the complex license category.

      5. 5. If the department or its agent orders a retail food establishment closed, or it has caused a foodborne illness outbreak, the department or its agent shall immediately assign the retail food establishment to the complex category for the current and following licensing year. If no further outbreaks or closures occur, the department or its agent may reduce the license to the appropriate license category assignment.

         Note: The cause of a foodborne illness outbreak is determined using standard epidemiological practices.

   2. (b) Point values for determining factors for assigning a retail food establishment’s license category.

      Table A

      - See PDF for table

      * If only “condiments” or other non-meal, ready-to-eat, non-TCS foods are offered or displayed for customer self-service, that display does not qualify as a salad or food bar, such as, but not limited to, pickles, onions, non-TCS dessert topping, relishes, garnishes, and bakery items.

      ** Smoking, curing, using food additives or components for preservation rather than flavor, reduced oxygen packaging, operating a molluscan shellfish life-support system, custom processing, sprouting seeds or beans, or any other method as determined by the department to require a variance.

   3. (c) Request for different license category assignment. The license holder may ask the department or its agent to reconsider the retail food establishment’s license category assignment within 30 days of the category assignment.

      Note: To request reconsideration of license category assignment, contact the Bureau of Food and Recreational Businesses at 608-224-4700 or send your written request to the Bureau of Food and Recreational businesses at P.O. Box 8911 Madison, WI 53708-8911. For an agent reconsideration, please contact the agent health department.

2. (2) Fee schedule. An applicant to the department for a retail food establishment license shall pay an annual license fee as indicated in Table B:

   - See PDF for table

   - See PDF for table

   Note: A person applying for an annual retail food establishment license may be required to pay, in addition to the license fee listed in Table B, a weights and measures inspection fee under s. ATCP 92.12.

3. (3) Types of fees.

   1. (a) Pre-licensing inspection fee. The applicant shall pay to the department the applicable pre-licensing inspection fee listed in Table B before a license is issued to a new retail food establishment under s. ATCP 75.06.

   2. (b) License fee.

      1. 1. Except as specified in subd. 2., the applicant shall pay an annual license fee to the department, as listed in Table B, for each retail food establishment that the applicant applies for a license to operate under s. ATCP 75.06. The department or its agent shall base the annual license fee on the point values assigned to the retail food establishment under Table A.
      2. 2. Table A does not apply to a retail food establishment serving prepackaged meals or a retail food establishment - not serving meals with only prepackaged foods, a transient retail food establishment, a mobile retail food establishment base with no food service or processing activities, a vending machine and vending machine operator, or a micro market. Fees for these retail food establishments are listed separately in Table B.
   3. (c) Late fee. If the license holder does not pay the fee for a license renewal before the expiration date of the license, the license holder shall pay to the department the applicable late fee, as indicated in Table B, in addition to the renewal license fee.
   4. (d) Reinspection fee. If the department reinspects a retail food establishment because the department has found a violation of ch. 97, Stats., this chapter, or its appendix during the preceding inspection, the department shall charge the license holder the reinspection fee specified in Table B. A reinspection fee is payable when the reinspection is completed, and is due upon written demand from the department. The department may issue a demand for payment when it issues a license renewal application to the license holder. If an additional reinspection is required to correct violations of ch. 97, Stats., this chapter, or its Appendix, the department shall assess an additional reinspection fee as listed in Table B.

   5. (e) Operating without a license fee. Any license holder found to be operating a retail food establishment without a license shall pay to the department the applicable fee indicated in Table B for their designated license category. For any license holder found to be operating a vending machine without a license, the license holder shall pay to the department 3 times the annual vending machine license fee listed in Table B, in addition to all applicable fees.

      Note: Anyone operating a retail food establishment without a license is also subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 under s. 97.72, Stats.

   6. (f) Fees for special condition inspections. For each inspection or consultation activity that is not directly related to the department’s licensing responsibilities, the department may charge the requestor $175.

   7. (g) Fee for operating without a certified food protection manager. The department shall charge the license holder $150 for operating without a certified food manager as defined in s. ATCP 75.04 (7).

      Note: Certified food manager requirements may be found in Chapter 12 of ch. ATCP 75 Appendix.

4. (4) Method of payment. If the applicant or license holder pays for a retail food establishment license by check or other draft drawn upon an account containing insufficient funds, the applicant or license holder shall, within 15 days after receipt of notice from the department of the insufficiency, pay all applicable fees and the financial institution’s processing charges by cashier’s check or other certified draft, or money order.

History

History: CR 17-074: cr. Register July 2020 No. 775, eff. 10-25-20; correction in the numbering of (4) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register July 2020 No. 775.