767.301.Residence requirements.

Subch. IV: Annulment, Divorce, and Legal Separation · Last amended 2005 · Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 · Last verified September 8, 2026

In one sentenceSection 767.301 requires 30 days' bona fide residence in the county before an action to affirm a marriage or for annulment may be brought.

Full Text of Section 767.301

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No action to affirm marriage or for annulment under s. 767.001 (1) (a) or (b) may be brought unless at least one of the parties has been a bona fide resident of the county in which the action is brought for not less than 30 days next preceding the commencement of the action, or unless the marriage has been contracted within this state within one year prior to the commencement of the action. No action for divorce or legal separation under s. 767.001 (1) (c) or (d) may be brought unless at least one of the parties has been a bona fide resident of the county in which the action is brought for not less than 30 days next preceding the commencement of the action. No action for divorce under s. 767.001 (1) (c) may be brought unless at least one of the parties has been a bona fide resident of this state for not less than 6 months next preceding the commencement of the action.

End

Official Notes

Wisconsin prints certain labelled notes with the statute — effective-date notes, cross-references, and notes of the Judicial Council. They are reproduced verbatim below. The unlabelled digest of court decisions that the Legislative Reference Bureau prints after them is annotation rather than statute, and is not reproduced.

NOTE: 2005 Wis. Act 443 contains explanatory notes. When a divorce action was brought before the residency requirement was met, an action was never commenced and the petition could not be amended after the requirement was met. Siemering v. Siemering, 95 Wis. 2d 111, 288 N.W.2d 881 (Ct. App. 1980).

Amendment History

Wisconsin prints each section’s legislative history as a single “History” line naming every act that created or amended it, and every renumbering. It is reproduced verbatim below.

History: 2005 a. 443 s. 27.

Plain-English Summary

A short residence rule, and one that applies to the two status actions rather than to divorce. No action to affirm a marriage or for annulment may be brought unless at least one of the parties has been a bona fide resident of the county in which the action is brought for not less than 30 days immediately preceding commencement — or unless the marriage meets the alternative the section provides.

Note what it asks for: bona fide residence, not merely an address. And it is county residence, not state residence — a venue rule as much as a jurisdictional one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long must I live in a Wisconsin county before filing for annulment?

At least one of the parties must have been a bona fide resident of that county for not less than 30 days immediately preceding the commencement of the action.

Does this rule apply to divorce?

This section governs actions to affirm a marriage and actions for annulment. The requirements for a divorce judgment are in Section 767.35.

Source & verification. The statutory text, official notes and history are reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 767 (Wis. Stat. § 767.301), published by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: Wisconsin annulment residency requirement30 days county residence767.301 residence