NICOLET BANKSHARES INC

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision, and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e)) as of December 31, 2025. Based upon that evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

During the fourth quarter of 2025, there were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f)) that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by the Company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the Company’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:

•Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

•Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

•Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management has assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, based on criteria for effective internal control over financial reporting established in “Internal Control — Integrated Framework,” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Management also conducted an assessment of requirements pertaining to Section 112 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act. This section relates to management’s evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, including controls over the preparation of financial statements in accordance with the instructions to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Bank Holding Companies (Form FR Y-9C) and in compliance with laws and regulations. Our evaluation included a review of the documentation of controls, evaluations of the design of the internal control system and tests of the effectiveness of internal controls. Based on this assessment, management has determined that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, was effective.

Forvis Mazars, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the consolidated financial statements of the Company included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, audited the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025. Their report, which expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025 is included under the heading “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” In Part II, Item 8.