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Does Wisconsin Have an Age Verification Law? (2026)

Independently fact-checkedBy Recording Law Editorial Team5 min read
Does Wisconsin Have an Age Verification Law? (2026)

Wisconsin has no enacted law requiring age verification to access adult content online, but it came closer than any other state without one. Assembly Bill 105 passed both chambers of the Legislature, was vetoed by Governor Evers, and survived a subsequent veto-override attempt.

AB 105: Passed the Legislature, Stopped by a Veto

A reader who only encounters headlines about the Assembly's 69-22 vote in March 2025 could reasonably assume Wisconsin now has an adult-content age-verification law. It does not. Assembly Bill 105, introduced March 10, 2025 with companion Senate Bill 130, would have prohibited a business from knowingly publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on a website with a 'substantial portion' of such material without using reasonable age verification. An earlier version of the bill included a provision restricting VPN use for age-verification purposes; that provision was stripped before passage in response to pushback.

The bill's full path through the Legislature is well documented on Wisconsin's own bill-history page. The Assembly State Affairs Committee recommended passage 8-2 on March 13, 2025, and the full Assembly passed the bill on March 20, 2025, Ayes 69, Noes 22, Paired 2, per Wisconsin's own official terminology. It was then referred to the Senate's Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, and Children and Families Committee, which held a hearing on October 8, 2025 and recommended concurrence 3-2 on November 12, 2025. The Senate adopted an amendment and passed the amended bill on February 18, 2026.

Vetoed, and the Override Failed

AB 105 was presented to Governor Evers on April 2, 2026 and vetoed the following day, April 3, 2026. Under Wisconsin's process, a vetoed bill can still become law if two-thirds of each chamber votes to override the veto. The Assembly attempted that override on May 13, 2026, and the attempt failed, meaning the veto was sustained and AB 105 did not become law. As of this research, no Senate override vote has occurred, and none can succeed without the Assembly override having first succeeded.

the U.S. Capitol dome at a distance through haze, no people, muted tones

The Federal Backdrop

No federal law requires adult-content age verification either. The Supreme Court's 2025 decision in Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton upheld Texas's age-verification statute under intermediate scrutiny, but the ruling only settles that a state may enact this kind of law without automatically violating the First Amendment. It does not itself require Wisconsin, or any other state, to pass one. Congress has not filled the gap either: the Kids Online Safety Act and COPPA 2.0 remain separate, unenacted bills as of 2026.

a gavel resting beside a folded document on a dark wood surface, no readable text

What This Means for Wisconsin Residents

Because AB 105's veto was sustained, Wisconsin currently has no state trigger requiring adult sites to verify a visitor's age, and adult content sites generally do not restrict access from Wisconsin visitors. A visitor accessing adult content from a Wisconsin IP address is not, under current Wisconsin law, required to submit identification or complete any state-mandated age-verification step. That is the opposite of most states' story in this category: Wisconsin's Legislature acted, and a governor's veto is what stopped it, not legislative inaction.

a close crop of an app-store-style grid of blank rounded squares on a tablet

Researched directly against Wisconsin's own official bill-history page for AB 105, current as of 2026-08-13. Whether the Legislature attempts a Senate override vote, or reintroduces a revised bill in a future session, was not resolved in this research. Whether Wisconsin has a pending App Store Accountability Act-style or social-media age-verification bill was also inconclusive due to a search-access block encountered this session and should be treated as an open question, not a confirmed negative.

Last updated: 2026-08-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wisconsin require age verification to view adult content?

No. Assembly Bill 105 passed both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, but Governor Evers vetoed it and a veto-override attempt failed, so it never became law.

Did Wisconsin's age-verification bill pass the Legislature?

Yes. The Assembly passed AB 105 69-22 in March 2025, and the Senate passed an amended version in February 2026. Governor Evers vetoed the bill on April 3, 2026.

Was the governor's veto of AB 105 overridden?

No. The Assembly attempted a veto override on May 13, 2026, and the attempt failed, so the veto stands and AB 105 is not law.

Is adult content blocked for Wisconsin residents?

No. Because AB 105 never became law, adult sites generally do not restrict access from Wisconsin visitors.

Could Wisconsin's age-verification bill come back?

Possibly. This research did not confirm whether the Legislature will attempt another override, or whether a revised bill will be reintroduced in a future session.

Updates

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources

Sources and References

  1. Wisconsin Assembly Bill 105 (2025-2026 Session), Official Bill History(docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).gov
  2. Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, 606 U.S. 461 (2025), Opinion of the Court(supremecourt.gov).gov
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