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Wisconsin LLC Operating Agreement Template

Not required by statute; the operating agreement may be oral, implied, in a record, or a combination (Wis. Stat. § 183.0102(13)), but several defaults change only through a written operating agreement. Fill in the form to build a Wisconsin operating agreement for a single-member or multi-member LLC, governed by the Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law. Download it as PDF or Word and keep the signed copy with the company records; it is not filed with the state.

This template is a starting point, not legal advice, and Jupid is not a law firm. LLC law differs by state, and Wisconsin courts apply Wisconsin law. Have an attorney licensed in your state review the agreement before every member signs, especially if members contribute property, receive unequal rights, or plan to bring in investors.

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Governed by the Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law. Not required by statute, but strongly recommended. Wisconsin rules

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Match what your Articles of Organization says, if it states the management structure.

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Lets the LLC continue without a gap in ownership. Coordinate with your will or trust.

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Operating Agreement of Blue Harbor Studio LLC

A Wisconsin single-member, member-managed limited liability company

This Operating Agreement (this "Agreement") of Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") is made effective as of March 2, 2026 (the "Effective Date") by its sole member listed in Schedule A (the "Member").

Article 1. Formation

1.1 Formation. Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") was formed as a Wisconsin limited liability company on March 2, 2026 by filing its Articles of Organization with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. The Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law (the "Act") and this Agreement govern the Company. Where this Agreement differs from a default rule of the Act, this Agreement controls to the extent the Act allows.

1.2 Purpose. The purpose of the Company is graphic design, branding and marketing services, and any other lawful business for which a limited liability company may be formed under the Act.

1.3 Principal Office. The Company's principal office is at 1200 Main Street, Suite 300, Madison, WI, or at another place the Member chooses.

1.4 Registered Agent. The Company's registered agent and registered office in Wisconsin are those stated in its most recent filing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

1.5 Term. The Company continues until it is dissolved and its affairs are wound up under Article 10.

Article 2. Sole Member and Capital

2.1 Sole Member. Alex Rivera (the "Member") is the sole member of the Company and owns 100% of the membership interests. The Member's address and Capital Contribution are listed in Schedule A.

2.2 Capital Contribution. The Member has contributed or will contribute the money, property or services stated in Schedule A. The Member is not required to make any additional contribution but may do so at any time.

2.3 No Interest on Capital. The Member earns no interest on its Capital Contributions. A loan from the Member to the Company is not a Capital Contribution.

Article 3. Allocations and Distributions

3.1 Profits and Losses. All profits and losses of the Company are allocated to the Member.

3.2 Distributions. The Member decides when the Company makes distributions and in what amounts.

3.3 Limits on Distributions. The Company will not make a distribution if, after the distribution, the Company could not pay its debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, its total liabilities would exceed its total assets, or the distribution would otherwise violate the Act.

Article 4. Tax Classification

4.1 Classification. The Company has one Member. Under Treasury Regulations Section 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii), it is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner for federal income tax purposes unless the Member elects otherwise by filing IRS Form 8832 or Form 2553. Being disregarded for income tax purposes does not change the Company's separate legal existence or the Member's limited liability under the Act.

Article 5. Management

5.1 Management by the Member. The Company is member-managed. The Member has full authority to run the business, sign contracts, open accounts and take any other action for the Company. The Member may act by signing a written consent and is not required to hold meetings.

5.2 Officers and Agents. The Member may appoint officers or agents, give them titles and delegate authority to them in writing.

Article 6. Transfers and Additional Members

6.1 Transfers. The Member may transfer all or part of its membership interest. A person who receives the Member's entire interest is admitted as a member when the transfer takes effect.

6.2 Additional Members. The Member may admit additional members by written consent. When a second member is admitted, the members will sign an amended operating agreement that covers voting, distributions and transfers. Once the Company has two or more members, it is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes unless it has elected to be taxed as a corporation.

Article 7. Death or Incapacity of the Member

7.1 Successor on Death. On the Member's death, the person who inherits the Member's interest under the Member's will or trust or under the laws of intestacy succeeds to the Member's entire interest and is admitted as the member effective as of the date of death, so that the Company continues without dissolution. Until the successor is admitted, the Member's personal representative may exercise all of the Member's rights to manage the Company.

7.2 Incapacity. If the Member becomes unable to manage the Company because of a physical or mental condition, the Member's agent under a durable power of attorney, or a court-appointed guardian or conservator, may exercise the Member's management rights until the Member can act again.

Article 8. Books, Records, Bank Accounts and Separateness

8.1 Books and Fiscal Year. The Company keeps complete and accurate books of account. Its fiscal year is the calendar year unless tax law requires otherwise, and its books are kept on the cash or accrual method the Member chooses for its tax returns.

8.2 Records. The Company keeps the records required by Wis. Stat. § 183.01075, at the location that section requires, including a copy of its Articles of Organization and all amendments, this Agreement and all amendments, a current list of its Member with addresses, Capital Contributions, and its federal, state and local tax returns and financial statements for at least the three most recent years.

8.3 Bank Accounts. All Company money is deposited in accounts in the Company's name and used only for Company purposes. Company funds are never mixed with the personal funds of the Member. The Member, and anyone they authorize in writing, may sign on Company accounts.

8.4 Separate Existence. The Company holds itself out as a legal entity separate from the Member. It signs contracts in its own name, pays its debts from its own funds, keeps its own books and accounts, and does not pay the personal expenses of the Member. These practices help preserve the limited liability the Act gives to the Member.

Article 9. Limited Liability, Exculpation and Indemnification

9.1 Limited Liability. To the fullest extent the Act allows, no Member or officer is personally liable for any debt, obligation or liability of the Company, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, solely because of that role. A failure of the Company to observe formalities is not a ground for imposing personal liability on the Member.

9.2 Exculpation. No Member or officer is liable to the Company for any act or omission in good faith on behalf of the Company, except for gross negligence, willful misconduct, a knowing violation of law, a transaction from which the person received an improper personal benefit, or a breach of this Agreement.

9.3 Indemnification. To the fullest extent the Act allows, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Member and each officer against losses, judgments, settlements and reasonable legal fees arising from claims related to the Company's business, except for conduct listed as an exception in Section 9.2. The Company may advance legal fees if the person agrees in writing to repay them if it is later determined that the person was not entitled to indemnification.

9.4 Insurance. The Company may buy insurance on behalf of any person it may indemnify.

Article 10. Dissolution and Winding Up

10.1 Events of Dissolution. The Company dissolves only on:

  1. the Member's written decision to dissolve;
  2. the sale of all or substantially all of its assets, after the sale proceeds are collected;
  3. the Company having no member, if no successor is admitted under Article 7 and the Company is not otherwise continued as the Act permits;
  4. entry of a court order of dissolution; or
  5. any other event that requires dissolution under the Act.

10.2 Winding Up. On dissolution, the Member will wind up the Company's affairs, sell or distribute its assets, and file the dissolution or cancellation documents the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions requires.

10.3 Order of Payment. Company assets are applied in this order: first, to creditors, including the Member if it is a creditor, in satisfaction of the Company's debts; second, to reasonable reserves for contingent liabilities; and third, to the Member.

Article 11. General Provisions

11.1 Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, including the Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law (Wis. Stat. § 183.0101 et seq.).

11.2 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including its schedules, is the entire agreement of the Member about the Company and replaces any earlier oral or written agreement on the same subject.

11.3 Amendments. This Agreement may be amended only by a writing signed by the Member.

11.4 Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement stays in effect, and the provision is enforced to the greatest extent allowed.

11.5 Binding Effect; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement binds and benefits the Member and its permitted successors and assigns. No creditor or other third party may enforce it.

Signatures

The Member signs this Agreement effective as of the Effective Date.

Member: Alex Rivera

Date: ________________

Schedule A: Member

MemberAddressCapital contributionPercentage interest
Alex Rivera48 Oak Lane, Madison, WI$5,000 (Cash)100%
Total$5,000100%

Template from jupid.com. Not legal advice; Wisconsin law varies, so have an attorney review this document before signing.

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Wisconsin Operating Agreement Facts

LLC statute

Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law (Wis. Stat. § 183.0101 et seq.)

Required?

Not required by statute; the operating agreement may be oral, implied, in a record, or a combination (Wis. Stat. § 183.0102(13)), but several defaults change only through a written operating agreement.

Filed with the state?

No. You file the Articles of Organization with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions; the operating agreement stays with the company records.

What the statute calls it

operating agreement

Records rule

The LLC must maintain at its principal office a copy of all written operating agreements and any amendments and restatements, among other required information (Wis. Stat. § 183.01075(5)); an operating agreement may not vary this list (§ 183.0105(3)(h)).

Annual or biennial report

Annual Report, $25, due during the calendar quarter in which the anniversary of the articles' effective date falls, each year after the year of formation (Wis. Stat. § 183.0212(3)(a)).

Series LLCs

Not authorized (no series provisions found in chapter 183)

Community property state

Yes. Spouses who own an LLC as community property may treat it as a disregarded entity or a partnership (IRS Rev. Proc. 2002-69). The template's spousal consent exhibit is on by default.

Wisconsin's Uniform LLC Law and the operating agreement

Wisconsin LLCs are governed by chapter 183 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Wisconsin Uniform Limited Liability Company Law (§ 183.0101), enacted by 2021 Wisconsin Act 258. The law does not require an operating agreement. Section 183.0102(13) defines it as the agreement of all members, including a sole member, whether oral, implied, in a record, or a combination. Where it is silent, chapter 183 governs (§ 183.0105(2)). Two people planning to form an LLC, or one founder alone, may agree on terms that become the operating agreement at formation (§ 183.0106(3)).

Wisconsin gives written agreements extra weight. Several defaults change only through a written operating agreement, including the choice to be manager-managed (§ 183.0407(1)). The company must keep a copy of all written operating agreements, with amendments and restatements, at its principal office, along with a member list and other records (§ 183.01075), and an operating agreement cannot vary that list (§ 183.0105(3)(h)).

Wisconsin's default rules, which follow contributions

Wisconsin ties default voting and money to contributions. In a member-managed LLC, each member's management rights are proportional to the value of that member's contributions as recorded, or to the partnership capital account if the company is taxed as a partnership, and differences are decided by a majority of the members' transferable interests (§ 183.0407(2)(b), (c)). All members must consent to amend the articles, issue a transferable interest, accept an additional contribution, or allow a partial redemption, among other acts (§ 183.0407(2)(d)), and to amend the operating agreement (§ 183.0407(2)(e)). Unless a written operating agreement says otherwise, action without a meeting needs the written consent of all members entitled to act (§ 183.0407(4)).

Distributions are made in proportion to the value of contributions or capital accounts on the same basis (§ 183.0404(1)). A member may dissociate at any time (§ 183.0601(1)), but dissociation does not entitle the person to a distribution (§ 183.0404(2)); the person holds the interest as a transferee (§ 183.0603(1)). A transferee receives distributions but no management rights (§ 183.0502).

Marital property and the Wisconsin annual report

Wisconsin is a community property state. A married couple that owns an LLC as community property may treat it as a disregarded entity or as a partnership for federal tax purposes under IRS Rev. Proc. 2002-69. Chapter 183 does not provide for series LLCs.

Each domestic LLC delivers an annual report to the Department of Financial Institutions during the calendar quarter in which the anniversary of its articles' effective date falls, starting the year after formation (§ 183.0212(3)(a)). The Department's form instructions list a fee of $25 per year for a domestic LLC. Check the current statute before relying on a default rule.

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