Wisconsin Statewide Coverage

Stairlift installation across every Wisconsin county

Credentialed by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), bonded, insured, and the only crew that ships a -25°F Upper Peninsula-grade battery and a freeze-thaw gasket kit as baseline on every install statewide. Serving Milwaukee craftsman, Madison lake-country homes, Green Bay bungalows, and Northwoods cottages at one flat rate.

(800) XXX-XXXX
689 Wisconsin cities served
72 Counties covered
16 yrs Serving WI homeowners
4.81 WI customer rating
Coverage

We install in every corner of Wisconsin

Tap a county to see the cities we serve in that area. Scroll or pinch to zoom. Our top Wisconsin metros are pinned in gold — click any pin to jump to the city page.

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Licensed & Insured Wisconsin State
BBB Accredited A+ Rating
15+ Years Serving Wisconsin
1,500+ Installations Statewide
About Wisconsin

What Wisconsin homeowners actually need from a stairlift installer

689 cities served
72 counties
4,393,083 residents
16.7% age 65+

Wisconsin is a cold-weather install market before anything else. The Northwoods counties bordering the Upper Peninsula — Iron, Vilas, Forest, Ashland, Bayfield — regularly hit -30°F in January and get 180+ inches of annual snowfall. Milwaukee, Madison, and the southeast run warmer but still freeze hard for three months and flip between -10°F nights and 40°F days in the spring freeze-thaw cycle. That daily cycle is actually harder on unsealed outdoor components than the raw cold itself. Our Wisconsin fleet ships a -25°F-rated lithium iron phosphate battery and a freeze-thaw gasket kit on every install statewide as baseline — not a $400 upgrade the way national chains sell it.

Wisconsin housing is dominated by two types. The Milwaukee bungalow and the Polish flat are the single most common urban structure — 1910s–1930s frame or brick two-stories with a narrow 34-inch-wide straight flight off a side entry. These are easy straight rails but the newel post at the bottom is often original oak that cannot be drilled without damaging a century-old detail. Our bottom-mount clamp avoids any newel contact. Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, and the Fox Valley run heavier to 1950s–70s ranchers and split-levels with finished basements — classic straight-rail installs.

The Northwoods and Door County have a completely different housing stock: 1950s–80s cottages and cabins that have become full-time retirement homes, often with steep narrow stairs to a sleeping loft and a separate outdoor entry stair from a walkout basement. Roughly one in five Northwoods installs ends up being an outdoor lift for a cottage porch rather than an interior install, and the seasonal driveway access (some are only plowed in winter by the owner) means we coordinate install timing against weather windows.

Built for the Wisconsin climate

Wisconsin's stairlift enemy is the freeze-thaw cycle, not the raw cold. Every install statewide ships with a -25°F-rated lithium iron phosphate battery as baseline — factory-default sealed lead-acid batteries are rated to -10°F and fail on any January night north of Highway 29. Every outdoor install gets a freeze-thaw gasket kit on the motor housing because a 50-degree daily swing in March pulls moisture into unsealed components and then refreezes it. Northwoods installs (Vilas, Iron, Forest, Oneida, Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer counties) get an additional ice-dam drip shield because 180 inches of annual snow generates meltwater patterns that destroy unsheltered outdoor electronics. Door County waterfront installs get a freshwater-lake spec similar to what we ship on Lake Champlain in Vermont — Lake Michigan and Lake Superior have enough wind-carried moisture to corrode unprotected rails within three years.

Licensing & Permits

Wisconsin regulates contractors through the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) via the Dwelling Contractor Certification program. Any one-or-two-family home construction or remodeling requires Dwelling Contractor Certification. Verify every installer at license.wi.gov/s/license-lookup before you sign.

  1. WI Dwelling Contractor Certification

    Wisconsin requires Dwelling Contractor Certification through DSPS for any person or business doing construction or alteration work on one- or two-family residences. The certification requires a 12-hour approved training course and continuing education every four years, plus proof of workers' compensation and general liability insurance. Verify at license.wi.gov/s/license-lookup. Any contractor without the certification is in violation of WI Administrative Code SPS 305 and cannot legally pull permits.

  2. WI Electrical License

    Any electrical work on a dedicated stairlift circuit must be performed by a Wisconsin-licensed Master Electrician or Journeyman Electrician employed by a company holding a DSPS Electrical Contractor license. DSPS regulates all electrical licensing statewide. Electrical permits are pulled through the local municipality — City of Milwaukee Building Inspection, City of Madison Building Inspection Division, Green Bay, Appleton, Kenosha. We pull and close the permit on your behalf.

  3. Building permit (essentially never)

    Wisconsin follows the Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC), which adopts the IRC and treats stairlifts as equipment rather than structural modifications. No Wisconsin municipality requires a building permit for a standard stairlift install — no joists, headers, or walls are touched. The only exceptions are historic district review in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, Madison's Mansion Hill district, and various National Register neighborhoods where installs are exterior-visible. We handle the Certificate of Appropriateness filing at no charge.

  4. HOA and condo approval

    Common in Milwaukee downtown loft conversions, Madison isthmus condos, and Door County resort communities. Wisconsin's Condominium Ownership Act and the federal Fair Housing Act require associations to approve reasonable accessibility modifications for residents with a documented medical need. We provide the FHA documentation packet at no extra cost.

Funding & Financial Assistance

Wisconsin programs that help pay for your stairlift

Real programs, real agencies, real phone numbers. We don’t sell leads to funding brokers — we list the actual state and federal paths and help you apply to the ones you qualify for.

IRIS & Family Care Wisconsin IRIS (Include, Respect, I Self-Direct) and Family Care Medicaid Long-Term Care

Medicaid long-term care HCBS benefit — approved through care plan

Covers: Home modifications including stairlifts, approved through the Managed Care Organization or IRIS Consultant Agency

  • Wisconsin resident, age 65+ or adult with physical/developmental disability
  • Financially eligible for Wisconsin Medicaid (BadgerCare Plus LTC)
  • Assessed at nursing-home level of care through the Functional Screen
  • Stairlift documented in the individualized support plan

Timeline: Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) intake and functional screen typically 30–45 days from initial call. Payment goes direct to provider upon approval.

We are an enrolled Wisconsin Medicaid provider for both Family Care and IRIS. You contact your county ADRC, complete the Functional Screen, and name us as the provider — we handle the service authorization with your MCO or IRIS Consultant Agency.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services · Division of Medicaid Services
Your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) — statewide locator at dhs.wisconsin.gov/adrc Program website →

VA HISA Grant Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (federal)

One-time federal grant, not a loan

Covers: Up to $8,150 for service-connected disabilities, up to $2,000 for non-service-connected

  • Enrolled in VA health care
  • Prescription from a VA provider stating the modification is medically necessary
  • Home is the veteran's primary residence

Timeline: Typical turnaround: 4–8 weeks from VA prescription to approved payment.

Wisconsin is served by three VA Medical Centers — Milwaukee (one of the oldest VA hospitals in the country), Madison, and Tomah. HISA is one of our most-used funding routes in WI. We pre-fill VA Form 10-0103 and work directly with HISA coordinators at all three facilities.

Milwaukee VA Medical Center (Clement J. Zablocki) · William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital (Madison) · Tomah VA Medical Center
Milwaukee VA: 414-384-2000 · Madison VA: 608-256-1901 · Tomah VA: 608-372-3971

WHEDA Home Improvement Loans Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority Home Improvement Loan Program

Low-interest loan (not a grant)

Covers: Low-interest home improvement loans including accessibility modifications

  • Wisconsin homeowner in primary residence
  • Income-qualified based on county limits
  • Home meets WHEDA property standards
Frequently Asked

Wisconsin stairlift questions answered

Straight answers from a crew that actually installs in Wisconsin every week.

Do I need a permit to install a stairlift in Wisconsin?
Essentially never. Wisconsin follows the Uniform Dwelling Code (UDC), which adopts the IRC and treats stairlifts as equipment rather than structural modifications. City of Milwaukee, City of Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, Kenosha, and every other Wisconsin municipality we work with exempt stairlift installs from the building permit schedule. The two exceptions are (1) installs requiring a new dedicated electrical circuit, which need a local electrical permit pulled by a DSPS-licensed electrician, and (2) exterior-visible installs on National Register historic homes in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, Madison's Mansion Hill, or similar districts. We handle both filings at no charge.
How do I verify a stairlift installer is legitimate in Wisconsin?
Go to license.wi.gov/s/license-lookup and search for the Dwelling Contractor Certification by company name or certification number. A legitimate Wisconsin installer shows up with an active Dwelling Contractor Certification through DSPS, a current workers' compensation policy, and general liability insurance on file. Any residential contractor without DSPS Dwelling Contractor Certification is in violation of WI Administrative Code SPS 305 and cannot legally pull building or electrical permits. Ask for the certification number on the written quote.
Does Wisconsin Family Care or IRIS actually pay for stairlifts?
Yes — stairlifts fall under Home Modifications inside both the Family Care and IRIS Medicaid long-term care programs, approved through your MCO or IRIS Consultant Agency based on the individualized support plan. The qualifying hurdles are financial Medicaid eligibility and a nursing-home level-of-care assessment through the Wisconsin Functional Screen, typically done at your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Turnaround from first call to approved install runs 30 to 45 days. We are an enrolled Wisconsin Medicaid provider for both programs and handle service authorization once you name us.
Will Wisconsin winters really kill a standard stairlift battery?
Yes — this is the single biggest reason cheap Wisconsin installs fail. A factory-default sealed lead-acid battery is rated to -10°F and loses most of its capacity at -20°F. Rhinelander, Eagle River, and Ashland regularly hit -25°F to -30°F in January and a standard battery drops below its operating voltage overnight. Our WI fleet ships a -25°F-rated lithium iron phosphate battery on every install statewide as baseline. National chains charge this as a $350 to $400 upgrade and most Wisconsin homeowners never hear about it until after the first failure. We build it into every quote from the start.
Can you install in a 1910s Milwaukee bungalow or Polish flat without damaging the original woodwork?
Yes, and this is specifically where our bottom-mount clamp matters. The 1910s–1930s Milwaukee bungalows and Polish flats on the South Side and Riverwest have original oak newel posts at the bottom of the stair that cannot be drilled without damaging a century-old detail. Our bottom mount clamps to the first tread rather than anchoring to the newel. The rail itself attaches to the existing stair treads and never touches original baseboard, wainscoting, or plaster walls. For a Historic Third Ward address with exterior-visible work we also file the Certificate of Appropriateness at no charge — add three to four weeks for commission review.
I'm a Wisconsin veteran — how do I get the VA to pay?
Start at your primary VA facility: Milwaukee VA Medical Center (Clement J. Zablocki, one of the oldest VA hospitals in the US), William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, or Tomah VA Medical Center. Request a HISA consult — Home Improvements and Structural Alterations — with your primary care team. A VA provider writes a prescription stating the stairlift is medically necessary. HISA covers up to $8,150 for service-connected and up to $2,000 for non-service-connected. We pre-fill VA Form 10-0103 — bring the signed prescription and we handle the rest. Typical approval is 4 to 8 weeks. Wisconsin also has the Wisconsin Veterans Home network, which occasionally coordinates with HISA for transitioning residents.
Do you cover the Northwoods and Door County?
Yes — every one of Wisconsin's 72 counties. The Northwoods (Vilas, Iron, Oneida, Forest, Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer counties) get our most extreme cold-weather spec because -30°F January nights are routine. Cottage-conversion installs — where a 1960s weekend lake cabin is now a permanent residence — are common here, and roughly one in five Northwoods installs ends up being an outdoor porch lift rather than an interior straight rail. Door County waterfront installs get the freshwater-lake spec for Lake Michigan exposure. Rural routes add drive time but not cost, and we coordinate install timing against winter weather windows when needed.
Wisconsin Coverage

Ready for your Wisconsin home assessment?

Free in-home visit within 24 hours anywhere in the Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, or Fox Valley metros — 48 hours in the Northwoods and Door County. A DSPS-certified Wisconsin installer measures your staircase, walks you through the options, and writes a quote honored for 30 days. No deposit, no obligation, no pressure. Most Wisconsin families go from first phone call to working lift in 8 to 12 days.

Or call (800) XXX-XXXX Mon–Fri 8am–6pm · Sat 9am–2pm
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