Wisconsin became the first state in the country to enact private-listing restrictions when Governor Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 — enacted as 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 — in December 2025. The law takes effect January 1, 2027. The private-listing provision operates on a one-business-day trigger — public marketing must follow within one business day of any private showing or marketing, unless the seller has signed written direction to withhold the listing. Act 69 is bundled with broader real-estate reform that also changes inter-firm compensation rules and listing-firm obligations.
Updated June 4, 2026
The short version. Effective January 1, 2027, Wisconsin listing firms must publicly market 1-4 unit residential properties within one business day of any private showing or marketing to anyone outside the listing firm — unless the seller has signed written direction to withhold the listing from public marketing. The opt-out path is available with seller direction. Enforcement runs through the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board. Beyond the private-listing provision, Act 69 also restructures inter-firm compensation and creates new listing-firm obligations — brokers should review the entire bill, not just the private-listing piece. The LSDR is the deliberation record that pairs with the Act 69 written direction when a seller opts out.
2025 Wisconsin Act 69 was signed by Governor Tony Evers in December 2025 and codified as a 2025 Wisconsin Act. The bill makes wide-ranging changes to the practice of real estate in Wisconsin, applicable to transactions involving residential property of one to four dwelling units. The statutory changes include renumbering Wisconsin Statutes § 452.19, amending §§ 452.133(3)(a) and (c), and creating new sections 452.1355, 452.136(1m), 452.19(3), and 452.19(4).
The private-listing piece — the focus of this page — operates through obligations placed on listing firms. Listing firms must share information, respond to inquiries, show property, and advertise the property on Internet platforms for residential transactions, with the practical effect that a property shown or marketed privately must move to public marketing within one business day. The opt-out exists: a seller may provide written direction to withhold the listing from public marketing, in which case the obligations are modified accordingly. The statutory mechanism for the opt-out direction will be implemented through Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board procedures before the January 1, 2027 effective date.
Act 69 creates a binary at the point of listing: public marketing within one business day, or signed written direction to withhold. The LSDR documents the deliberation behind the seller's direction when they choose the withhold path. The state-required written direction satisfies the procedural opt-out. The LSDR satisfies the evidentiary expectation that the direction was informed — that the seller understood the specific tradeoffs in their specific market and chose accordingly. Act 69's written-direction-plus-LSDR-deliberation pairing is the same architectural pattern that applies in Connecticut and (pending) New York, with different specific statutory mechanics.
Wisconsin's trigger differs from Connecticut's "first instance of public marketing" and New York's "one calendar day after listing agreement." Wisconsin counts from the first private showing or marketing activity, with public marketing required to follow within one business day.
The practical mechanics: if a listing firm shows the property to a prospective buyer on a Monday, public marketing must occur by end of business Tuesday. If the showing occurs on a Friday, public marketing must occur by end of business Monday (the "business day" framing excludes weekends). Brokers cannot hold a listing privately for several days while shopping it to a select buyer pool — the one-business-day window forecloses that approach unless the seller has affirmatively signed the written direction to withhold.
The trigger applies to any private showing or marketing, not only to instances that involve other brokerages. A listing firm showing the property to its own buyer client privately, without contemporaneous public listing, falls under the same one-business-day rule. The rule treats the question of public access as a matter of timing and substance, not of which brokerages or networks are involved.
The LSDR's per-state configuration captures Wisconsin's specific timing trigger and the operational implications for the listing conversation. When a seller and broker discuss marketing strategy, the LSDR's comparison table shows what the one-business-day window means concretely: which marketing activities trigger the obligation, what the seller's options are if they want a longer private window (which requires the written-direction opt-out), and what the consequences are of either path. The deliberation record captured at the time of the listing conversation establishes that the seller understood the timing constraint before signing the written direction.
While this page focuses on the private-listing provision, brokers preparing for January 1, 2027 should understand that Act 69 contains substantially more than the private-listing piece. The non-private-listing changes affect day-to-day practice in significant ways:
Brokers focused only on the private-listing piece of Act 69 will miss material changes to how their compensation flows, what they disclose to sellers, and what they affirmatively must do as listing firms. The LSDR's role is specifically within the private-listing piece; the compensation and disclosure changes are operationally separate but are part of the same enacted statute.
The opt-out under Act 69 is the seller's signed written direction to withhold the listing from public marketing. The mechanism is conceptually similar to the opt-out forms under Connecticut's SB 340 and New York's S10274, with two key differences. First, Act 69's specific form content was not written into the bill itself; the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board will issue implementing regulations or standardized forms governing the direction's content. Second, the trigger relationship is different — Wisconsin's direction precedes private marketing or showing, while Connecticut's form follows the first instance of public marketing.
What the Wisconsin written direction will likely require, based on the bill's text and standard regulatory practice: the seller's affirmative statement that they understand the implications of withholding the listing from public marketing, the seller's signature, the listing firm's acknowledgment, and a date. The Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board's implementing regulations may add specific disclosure language similar to the standardized disclosures used in Connecticut and proposed in New York.
The Wisconsin written direction will document that the seller chose to withhold the listing. The LSDR documents how the seller arrived at that choice. Three questions a regulator or claimant will ask, looking back 18 months after the fact:
A seller's signature on the Act 69 written direction proves they directed. The LSDR proves they understood what they were directing.
Wisconsin real estate practice is regulated by the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board, which operates under the Department of Safety and Professional Services. The board has authority to investigate complaints, issue disciplinary findings, and impose sanctions including fines, license suspension, and license revocation. Act 69 does not establish a separate fine schedule for the private-listing piece; violations are handled through the board's existing disciplinary framework.
Specific penalty amounts and procedural rules for Act 69 violations are expected to be issued by the Examining Board before the January 1, 2027 effective date. Brokers should monitor the board's rulemaking process during 2026 for the specific compliance procedures.
Beyond Examining Board enforcement, marketing practices that produce discriminatory effects can give rise to claims under the federal Fair Housing Act and Wisconsin's anti-discrimination statutes. Wisconsin's legislative findings around Act 69 did not focus on fair-housing concerns to the same extent as New York's S10274, but the federal Fair Housing Act applies independently to any marketing arrangement in Wisconsin regardless of state-law specifics.
For a Wisconsin broker operating after January 1, 2027, a defensible private-listing file has three components:
The seller signs the written direction. The LSDR documents the substance behind the signature. The MLS paperwork addresses the listing's handling within the MLS's own rules. All three are produced together when documentation is challenged.
Wisconsin's law is most similar in structure to Connecticut's SB 340 and New York's S10274 (the other opt-out-model states), and differs substantially from Washington's SB 6091 (the prohibition-model state).
When does Wisconsin Act 69 take effect?
January 1, 2027. Governor Tony Evers signed the bill into law in December 2025 — making Wisconsin the first state in the country to enact private-listing restrictions. The 13-month gap between signing and effective date was deliberate, allowing the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board and the brokerage industry time to prepare implementing procedures.
What does the private-listing provision of Act 69 require?
Act 69 creates obligations for listing firms to share information, respond to inquiries, show property, and advertise the property on Internet platforms for transactions involving residential property of one to four dwelling units. The private-listing piece operates through a one-business-day rule: if a property is shown or marketed privately to anyone outside the listing firm, public marketing must follow within one business day — unless the seller has signed written direction to withhold the listing from public marketing.
What other changes are in Act 69 beyond private listings?
Act 69 is a broader real-estate reform package. The most consequential non-private-listing provisions: real estate firms cannot accept compensation from another firm for brokerage services without prior written consent of all parties — effectively ending the traditional commission-split structure between listing and buyer agents in residential transactions. Sellers must specify whether the listing firm is authorized to disclose any compensation being offered to a buyer's firm. Act 69 also amends Wisconsin Statutes 452.133 (broker duties), creates new sections 452.1355, 452.136, and 452.19, and renumbers various existing provisions. Brokers preparing for the January 1, 2027 effective date should review the entire bill, not just the private-listing piece.
Can a Wisconsin seller still choose private marketing?
Yes, through a signed written direction to the listing firm. The opt-out path under Act 69 requires the seller's affirmative direction to withhold the listing from public marketing. The Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board is expected to issue implementing regulations or standardized forms governing the content of this written direction before the January 1, 2027 effective date. The direction must be in writing and signed; oral preferences do not satisfy the requirement.
What's the difference between Wisconsin's law and other states' laws?
Wisconsin's structure is most similar to Connecticut's and New York's (the other opt-out-model states) — but with three notable differences. First, the trigger: Wisconsin uses one business day after the first private showing or marketing activity; Connecticut uses the first instance of public marketing; New York uses one calendar day after the listing agreement itself. Second, Act 69 is bundled with broader real-estate reform (commission-split changes, compensation-disclosure rules), while Connecticut's SB 340 and New York's S10274 are private-listing-specific. Third, Wisconsin's effective date (January 1, 2027) is the latest among the four enacted state laws, though Wisconsin was first to sign.
What MLS rules apply alongside Act 69?
Wisconsin has multiple regional MLSes — Metro MLS (Milwaukee region), South Central Wisconsin MLS, Wisconsin REALTORS Association MLS, and others. Each maintains its own internal procedures for restricted-distribution listings, which continue to apply on top of Act 69's state-level requirements. Brokers should expect to maintain MLS-specific paperwork alongside the Act 69 written direction and any deliberation record. The architecture pattern (state-required documentation + deliberation record + MLS paperwork) is consistent across all four enacted state laws, though the specific MLS procedures vary by region.
Where does the Listing Strategy Decision Record fit?
The LSDR is the configured deliberation artifact that pairs with the Act 69 written direction. The written direction satisfies the statutory opt-out requirement — that the seller's choice to withhold the listing is in writing and signed. The LSDR documents the substantive deliberation behind that signature: the seller's comparison of public and restricted marketing, their ranked priorities, the tradeoffs they weighed, the timing of the one-business-day trigger, and the specific reasoning that supports the choice. Brokers maintain both as part of a defensible file.
Generate a configured deliberation record for your brokerage. Wisconsin-specific framing for Act 69, regional MLS data, the one-business-day trigger explained in the seller comparison, dual signatures, build-fingerprint timestamp. The artifact that pairs with the Act 69 written direction.
Start configuration → See pricing →Sources cited. 2025 Wisconsin Act 69 (signed December 2025 by Governor Tony Evers; effective January 1, 2027). Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 452 (real estate practice), as amended by 2025 Wisconsin Act. Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Real Estate Examining Board (regulatory authority). Coverage: reThought Real Estate (December 9, 2025), Wisconsin Examiner (October 8, 2025), HousingWire (March 17, 2026), RealEstateNews.com (June 1, 2026). This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific implementing regulations and standardized forms for Act 69 are pending issuance by the Wisconsin Real Estate Examining Board before the January 1, 2027 effective date; brokers should monitor the board's rulemaking process and consult counsel for guidance on compliance with Act 69 as applied to their specific practice and regional MLS participation.