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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

The arithmetic behind the application

Wisconsin Electrician Hours: Experience by License

Every licensed grade in Wisconsin has its own hours rule, and the rule and the application form sometimes say the same thing in different words. Both are printed here so you can see which route you already qualify under.

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On this page
  1. The hours, grade by grade
  2. Where the form says more than the rule
  3. What a semester of school is worth
  4. The experience tables and the witnesses
  5. Apprenticeship time, and the certificate
  6. The kind of work each grade counts
  7. Questions people ask
  8. What this page cites

The hours, grade by grade

Each figure below is quoted from the rule section that carries it.

The registered electrician enrollment and the electrical contractor license have no hours rule at all. SPS 305.45 asks only for an application, an application fee and a registration fee.

Where the form says more than the rule

The application forms carry routes the rule sections do not spell out, so read both.

Form 3106, Rev. 12/04/2025, Category A prints three journeyman routes: a completed electrical construction apprenticeship recognized under Wis. Stat. ch. 106 or the federal Department of Labor; 48 months with at least 8,000 hours; or "at least 1,000 hours per year for at least five (5) years."

Form 3107, Rev. 12/04/2025, Category A prints three master routes. One is "Completed at least 12 months of experience as a licensed Journeyman Electrician." One is an experience route reading "during a period of at least 60 months, with at least 10,000 hours of experience over that period; OR at least 1,000 hours per year for at least 7 years," which is a single route with two ways to meet it. The third is a "Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering from an accredited engineering university or college." Category B on the same form covers a Wisconsin master license that had been exchanged for a journeyman license.

Two of those get missed. A licensed journeyman with a year on the card qualifies for the master exam without counting to 10,000, and an electrical engineering degree qualifies with no hours at all.

What a semester of school is worth

SPS 305.44 puts it this way: "Each semester spent full-time in a school of electrical engineering or other accredited college, university, technical or vocational school in an electrical-related program shall be considered equivalent to 500 hours of experience, with no more than 2,000 hours and two 2 years of experience through education being credited toward the required experience."

The cap moves with the grade. On the journeyman and residential journeyman grades it is 2,000 hours and two years. On the master and residential master grades, SPS 305.43 and SPS 305.435 raise it to 3,000 hours and three years.

Four full-time semesters is the most that will ever count on a journeyman application, and six on a master application. Everything above that has to be worked.

The experience tables and the witnesses

Every experience route on a licensed grade is filed with an Experience Table carrying witness signatures. The form numbers are 3106T for journeyman, 3107T for master, 3111T for residential journeyman, 3112T for residential master and 3105T for industrial journeyman.

The reciprocity route uses the same paper. Form 3106 tells an out of state applicant to "Fill in your Iowa or New Hampshire license number on Form 3106T to facilitate verification from the relevant state licensing agency."

There is a clock on follow up documents. Forms 3105 and 3112 both say requested documents "must be uploaded within three (3) months from the date they were requested," after which you resubmit the application and pay the fee again.

Apprenticeship time, and the certificate

An apprenticeship is an alternative to counting hours rather than a way of counting them. On form 3105 the industrial journeyman apprenticeship route asks for a "certificate of completion from the Wisconsin Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards."

On the residential journeyman side, SPS 305.447 accepts "evidence of completing a residential electrical wiring apprenticeship program" recognized by the state and federal labor departments, and form 3111 words the same route as completion of a program recognized under Wis. Stat. ch. 106 or the federal Department of Labor.

Which route you used follows you afterwards. The renewal trap in SPS 305.44(6)(b)3. only applies to a licensee who never sat the exam.

The kind of work each grade counts

The wording is not the same across the grades, and the difference matters when you file.

Residential journeyman counts "residential electrical wiring work." Industrial journeyman counts "industrial electrical wiring work." Residential master counts "electrical wiring work," and master counts "electrical construction work."

A person whose hours are all in one building's maintenance department is on a different footing from a person on construction sites, and the grade you apply for should match the hours you can actually witness.

Questions people ask

How many hours do I need for a journeyman electrician license in Wisconsin?

At least 8,000 hours over a period of not less than 48 months under SPS 305.44(3), or at least 1,000 hours per year for at least five years under form 3106. A construction electrician apprenticeship of at least three years is the third route.

How many years for a Wisconsin master electrician license?

SPS 305.43(2) sets 1,000 hours a year for at least seven years. Form 3107 also accepts 10,000 hours over 60 months, twelve months of experience as a licensed journeyman electrician, or a bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering.

Does technical college count toward Wisconsin electrician hours?

Yes. A full-time semester in an electrical related program is worth 500 hours. The cap is 2,000 hours and two years on the journeyman grades and 3,000 hours and three years on the master grades.

What is form 3106T?

It is the Experience Table filed with a journeyman application, carrying witness signatures for your hours. It is also where a reciprocity applicant writes an Iowa or New Hampshire license number for verification.

Do maintenance hours count?

The rule sections name the kind of work each grade counts, and they are worded differently. Master counts electrical construction work, residential master counts electrical wiring work, and the industrial journeyman grade counts industrial electrical wiring work.

How long do I have to send DSPS extra documents?

Forms 3105 and 3112 both say requested documents must be uploaded within three months from the date they were requested. Miss that and you resubmit the application and pay the fee again.

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What this page cites

If your book is the other edition

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

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The Wisconsin examinations are open book, and the allowance is a generous one: the code book or handbook, one binder holding SPS 305, SPS 316 and printed notes, and up to two bound reference books. The DSPS exam pages still name the 2017 National Electrical Code, DSPS expects its exam updates to be completed by 1 October 2026, and the trade press reports the questions changing from that date. The field code, SPS 316, went to the 2023 edition on 1 September 2026, so for one month the book you work to and the book you test on are different.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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