Pier FAQ

These are questions that are frequently asked about pier requirements and regulations. They are provided to help you better understand what you need to do to ensure that you can continue to place your pier(s) on the water for many years to come.

I want to place a new pier. Do I need a permit?

If you own property with a shoreline and plan to install a new pier or wharf, it does not need a permit if it meets DNR pier planner standards and the eligibility criteria in the pier exemption checklist. The Pier Planner includes diagrams and details for designing a pier that meets exemption standards.  If your pier is exempt, you do not need to contact DNR prior to placement. 

• DNR Pier Planner
• Pier exemption checklist

If your pier does not meet exemption standards, you may apply for a pier individual permit. Apply online in ePermitting.

• Pier Individual Permit Checklist

Is my existing pier exempt from needing a permit (exempt legacy piers)?

An existing pier or wharf that was initially placed before April 2012 is exempt and does not need a DNR permit. An exempt legacy pier may continue to have the same number of boat slips. If your pier was placed after April 2012 and currently meets DNR Pier Planner standards and all exempt eligibility criteria, it does not need a DNR permit.

• DNR Pier Planner
• Pier exemption checklist

How many piers or docks can I have on my property?

Wisconsin pier laws do not regulate the number of pier dock or wharf structures that you can place on your property. Wisconsin pier laws do regulate the size of the structure (e.g., width) and how you use the structure (e.g., boat slips/berths). However, there may be local ordinances that restrict the number of structures placed on your property either directly or indirectly by requiring side setbacks with structure placement.

How many boat slips can I have?

For new piers,* the number of boat slips, berths, mooring spaces, etc. allowed on your property is determined by the amount of shoreline owned. The law states that for non-commercial properties or properties with less than three dwelling units, up to two boat slips are allowed for the first 50 feet of shoreline owned and one for each additional full 50 feet of shoreline owned. For non-commercial properties you can also place two personal watercraft for the first 50 feet of shoreline owned and one personal watercraft for each additional 50 feet of shoreline owned. You can place this number without a permit.

*Existing piers placed before April 17, 2012 are able to keep existing boat slip usage.

For commercial properties, or properties with three or more dwelling units, up to four boat slips are allowed for the first 50 feet of shoreline owned and two for each additional full 50 feet of shoreline owned. Commercial properties or properties with three or more dwelling units using this boat slip formula must apply for an Individual Permit.

	Non-commercial property Example A	Non-commercial property Example B	Commercial property Example A*	Commercial property Example B*
Amount of shoreline owned in feet	125	225	125	225
Maximum number of boat slips allowed	3	5	6	10
Maximum number of personal watercraft allowed	3	5	-	-

*Individual Permit required

Can I remove vegetation and debris on my shoreline to place and access my pier?

As a riparian, you have the right to maintain the area around your pier for navigational purposes. You may clean up debris to meet this purpose. You may do so without a permit if the cleanup is by hand and meets one of the following. Removal of less than 2 cubic yards of material from the lakebed is considered minimal impact and does not require a DNR permit. You may also dredge to clear around a pier or boathouse without a DNR permit if you remove up to 100 square feet of area at up to 1 foot deep in a calendar year. For any larger projects involving the use of machinery to dredge a lakebed a permit may be required.

You may also remove vegetation on exposed lakebed areas up to a 30 foot wide path measured along the shoreline to maintain pier and boat access. All vegetation (except for wild rice or other state or federally listed endangered species) may be removed in this 30 foot wide path. You can remove it by hand without a DNR permit. This means that you can hand pull it, use a string trimmer (weed whacker), or a push lawn mower. The cut material must be removed and disposed of in an upland location. When removing invasive plants such as Phragmites and purple loosestrife, it is important to dispose of them so they don’t spread – such as placing them in garbage bags for pickup.

Can I clear the vegetation above my shoreline or place a boardwalk through a wet area to access my pier?

County or local zoning ordinances may apply to vegetation management for shoreline areas above the ordinary high water mark. DNR does not regulate typical vegetation maintenance such as cutting trees and bushes, mowing, etc. DNR does regulate herbicide spraying in wetlands through the Aquatic Plant Management Program. Currently, an APM permit is required for chemical plant control in any wetland area. If a boardwalk is placed through a wetland to access a pier, dock, or wharf, no DNR permit is needed if you place the boardwalk on pilings driven into the ground or on pans and/or puncheons placed on the ground. If you are not excavating or placing fill such as sand, gravel, or stone, and follow these guidelines, then the boardwalk project is exempt from DNR wetland permitting and you do not need to contact DNR to proceed.

• DNR does not have any prescriptive design codes for elevated walkways over a wetland.
• The boardwalk should be supported on pilings and/or pans that do not result in the discharge of fill material. To avoid a DNR permit, you must pound the pilings into the ground and avoid placing any fill material, such as concrete footings, gravel, etc., around the pilings for stability. Pans and puncheons are acceptable in construction and do not require permitting.
• The boardwalk should be elevated sufficiently off the ground to allow the movement of hydrology below and for sunlight to penetrate for the growth of wetland plants.
• If you are not familiar with the term “pan” or “puncheon”, please refer to the below figure(s).

I have questions or concerns about my neighbors and my riparian rights, can DNR get involved?

If you are concerned that a neighbor’s pier, boat lift, or other structure is placed too close to or in your riparian zone, DNR recommends trying to achieve a solution with that neighbor. Unless public rights or interests are adversely affected by the placement of the structures, DNR does not get involved since the parties can resolve their private dispute by negotiation or litigation if negotiation fails. A judge is the only civil entity that can enforce private property rights, as the DNR’s role is to protect the public's interest in public waters and not individual private riparian rights.

For determining riparian zones, state statutes don’t prescribe one method over another, and there are multiple methods that can be used. There are several examples in the DNR Pier Planner with graphics showing methods that fit different shorelines. DNR NR 326, the state administrative code for piers, also contains methods that may be used in more detail. Therefore, there is flexibility based on the character of the shoreline for neighbors to come to an agreement on each other's riparian rights. 

• DNR Pier Planner
• DNR NR 326.07, Wis. Adm. Code - Riparian Rights Determinations

When determining the length of my pier, do I include my loading platform?

Yes, the loading platform should be included when measuring the length of your pier.

When determining the surface area of my loading platform, do I include my pier?

Yes, the pier should be included when calculating the square footage (surface area) of your loading platform.

My pierhead line is established at 100 ft out from the shore, but the pier planner says the length of my pier can be to the 3-foot water depth, which would allow my pier to extend 120 ft from the shore. How long can my pier be?

Your pier can be 100 feet long or less. Wis. stats. 30.13 (3) allows for the establishment of pierhead lines. If your municipality establishes a pierhead line your pier cannot exceed it regardless of what length pier you would have been allowed under state law. In addition, Lake District ordinances are treated the same way.

Water levels are lower this year, can I extend my existing pier into deeper water?

If your pier was authorized by a DNR permit, the conditions of the permit dictate the size and configuration of the pier. To extend your pier and make it larger it must still adhere to the permit conditions. If you are proposing to change the size or configuration outside of the permit conditions, please send a request to DNR Waterways General Questions.

If you have a pier that meets the standards outlined in the DNR Pier Planner and Pier exemption checklist, you may extend the pier. As long as the enlargement still meets the Pier Planner guidelines you do not need to contact DNR.

If you have an existing pier with no state permit authorization that does not meet DNR Pier Planner standards, the pier can only be repaired and maintained but cannot be enlarged or replaced. Extending the pier would be considered an enlargement and would require a pier individual permit. Apply online in ePermitting.

• Pier Individual Permit Checklist

I am part of an 'out lot,' 'back lot' or 'keyhole development' with a common use shoreline frontage and our three or more dwelling units (e.g., condominium) or commercial structure are not located on the waterfront parcel. Are we still eligible to apply for a permit for a new pier* to have up to four boat slips for the first 50 feet of shoreline and two for each additional full 50 feet of shoreline?

No. To be eligible to use the 'double density' slip formula for new piers* that is allowable for parcels of land that contain commercial structures or three or more dwelling units, the commercial structure or condominium has to be on the property that touches the water.

*Existing piers placed before April 2012 are able to keep existing boat slip usage.

I have a question about ownership, easements, and riparian rights related to placing a pier, can you help?

DNR does not keep statewide land records or ownership information. These are available through your local government and current property owners. DNR does not get involved in legal questions or give advice regarding riparian rights, ownership, easement, or access agreements, as these are best resolved by the interested parties. Relevant statutes and code that may be helpful for reference are:

• Section 30.12, Wis Stats. - Structures and deposits in navigable waters.
• Section 30.13, Wis. Stats. - Regulation of wharves, piers and swimming rafts; establishment of pierhead lines.
• Section 30.131, Wis. Stats. - Wharves and piers placed and maintained by persons other than riparian owners.
• Section 30.132, Wis. Stats. - Riparian rights.
• Section 30.133, Wis. Stats. - Prohibition against conveyance of riparian rights.
• DNR NR 326.07, Wis. Adm. Code - Riparian rights determinations.

I have a commercial property or a property with three or more dwelling units located on a river. When placing a new pier,* do I get double the boat slips allowed versus a non-commercial property?

No. The ability to apply for an Individual Permit to place the commercial property boat slip calculation/formula is only applicable to parcels of land on a lake, not a river.

*Existing piers placed before April 2012 are able to keep existing boat slip usage.