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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

The letters and the limits

Wisconsin Electrician License Types: All Thirteen

DSPS prints thirteen electrician and electrical credential types in its license count file, and each one has its own two or three letter code. This page gives the scope sentence DSPS uses for each, whether it carries an exam, and what it costs.

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On this page
  1. How the set is organized
  2. The grades that do the work
  3. The grades that carry responsibility
  4. The business license
  5. The inspection credentials
  6. How many people hold each one
  7. Which one to aim for
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

How the set is organized

Three things are being licensed at once in Wisconsin, and mixing them up is the usual source of confusion.

The person doing the work holds an electrician credential. The business taking the job holds an electrical contractor license. Inspection work sits in its own pair of credentials with their own exams.

The rule chapter is SPS 305 subchapter IV, which runs SPS 305.40 Electricians, 305.405 Terminology, 305.41 Electrical contractors, 305.43 Master electricians, 305.435 Residential master electricians, 305.437 Registered master electricians, 305.44 Journeyman electricians, 305.443 Industrial journeyman electricians, 305.447 Residential journeyman electricians, 305.45 Registered electricians, 305.46 Electrical apprentices and 305.47 Reciprocity.

The grades that do the work

Registered Electrician, code BE. DSPS: a registered electrician "shall perform electrical wiring activities under the direct supervision of a person who holds a license either as a licensed Master Electrician or a licensed Journeyman Electrician." No exam, no hours to start. Application $15, enrollment fee $20, one year term. Full page.

Electrical Apprentice, code EA. DSPS: an apprentice "shall perform electrical wiring activities under the general supervision of a person who holds a license as a licensed Master Electrician or a registration as a Registered Master Electrician." Needs an apprentice contract. No exam. Application $15, registration fee $15, one year term. Residential and industrial variants exist, with the residential one carrying its own code, REA.

Journeyman Electrician, code JE. DSPS: a journeyman "shall perform electrical wiring activities under the general supervision of a person who holds a license as a licensed Master Electrician." Exam required. Application $35, exam fee $30, license fee $100, four year term. Full page.

Residential Journeyman Electrician, code RJE. Work "limited to wiring associated with dwellings, dwelling units and detached accessory buildings and structures serving the dwellings or the dwelling units, such as garages, carports, gazebos, and swimming pools." Exam required. Same $35, $30 and $100. Full page.

Industrial Journeyman Electrician, code IJE. Work "within the facilities or properties of the business establishment where the person is employed," with supervision exceptions for other work. Exam required. Same $35, $30 and $100. Full page.

The grades that carry responsibility

Master Electrician, code ME. Responsible for the work of journeymen, apprentices and registered electricians, and the person who pulls the permit before installation work begins. Exam required. Application $35, exam fee $30, license fee $200, four year term. Full page.

Residential Master Electrician, code RME. Master scope "limited to wiring associated with dwellings, dwelling units and detached accessory buildings," with non-residential work only under a licensed master or journeyman electrician. Exam required. Same $35, $30 and $200. Full page.

Registered Master Electrician, code RRME. A legacy registration. DSPS says a registered master electrician "is responsible for the installation, repair or maintenance of electrical wiring shall utilize the appropriately licensed or registered individuals," and that "This registration does not expire." Registration fee $150, no exam. Whether it still admits new registrations is not something we could confirm, because SPS 305.437 and form 3109 were not read for our source file.

The business license

Electrical Contractor, code EC. DSPS states the duty in full: "No person or entity may engage in the business or offer to engage in the business of installing, repairing, or maintaining electrical wiring unless the person or entity holds a license or certification issued by the Department as a licensed Electrical Contractor."

There is no examination for it. SPS 305.41 asks that the applicant be the owner, a partner, or the chairman of the board or chief executive officer applying on behalf of the corporation, and that the application carry a statement certifying compliance with worker's compensation requirements under ch. 102, Stats., and unemployment compensation requirements under ch. 108, Stats. Application $35, license fee $200, four year term. Full page.

The inspection credentials

Three more codes appear in the DSPS count file and are not electrician licenses at all.

Commercial Electrical Inspector, CEI, and UDC Electrical Inspector, UEI, are inspection credentials with their own examinations. Pearson VUE prices the commercial inspector exam at $95.00 with four hours of seat time and the UDC inspector exam at $90.00 with three hours. Both renew every four years at $40.00.

Electrical Inspection Agency, EIA, is a firm credential for inspection agencies. We did not research the qualification routes for any of the three, so nothing here should be read as a full account of them.

How many people hold each one

DSPS publishes a license count file with an as-of date of 06/01/2026. In state active counts read: Journeyman Electrician 6,791; Master Electrician 5,480; Electrical Contractor 3,005; Electrical Apprentice 2,718; Registered Electrician 2,518; Registered Master Electrician 856; Industrial Journeyman 770; Commercial Electrical Inspector 754; Electrical Inspection Agency 558; UDC Electrical Inspector 488; Residential Master 352; Residential Journeyman 256; Residential Electrical Apprentice 4.

The scale of the residential grades is worth noticing. There are 256 active in state residential journeymen against 6,791 journeymen, so the general license is the one nearly everybody holds.

DSPS prints no combined electrician total in that file. Adding the thirteen in state active rows gives 24,550, and adding the total active column gives 27,655, but neither figure is published by the department.

Which one to aim for

If your work is houses and you want it sooner, the residential journeyman grade asks for three years at 1,000 hours a year against the journeyman grade's 8,000 hours over 48 months.

If your work is inside one plant, the industrial journeyman grade fits the hours you can actually witness, but it asks for five years and its scope stops at your employer's facilities.

If you want to run jobs and pull permits, the target is master, and the shortest route on form 3107 is twelve months as a licensed journeyman electrician.

Questions people ask

How many electrician license types does Wisconsin have?

Thirteen electrician and electrical credential types appear in the DSPS license count file, covering the working grades, the master grades, the contractor license, two inspector credentials and the inspection agency credential.

What is the difference between a registered electrician and an apprentice in Wisconsin?

A registered electrician works under the direct supervision of a licensed master or journeyman electrician and needs no contract. An electrical apprentice works under the general supervision of a master and must be entered into an apprentice contract recognized under ch. 106, Stats.

What can a residential journeyman electrician do in Wisconsin?

Work limited to wiring associated with dwellings, dwelling units and detached accessory buildings and structures serving them, such as garages, carports, gazebos and swimming pools.

Is a registered master electrician the same as a master electrician?

No. The registered master electrician is a registration rather than a license, it carries no examination, its fee is $150 and DSPS says it does not expire. The master electrician license carries an exam, a $200 fee and a four year term.

Which Wisconsin electrician licenses need an exam?

Journeyman, residential journeyman, industrial journeyman, master and residential master. The registered electrician enrollment, the apprentice registration, the registered master registration and the electrical contractor license carry no examination.

Does Wisconsin have an electrical inspector license?

Yes, two of them: Commercial Electrical Inspector and UDC Electrical Inspector, each with its own examination and a $40.00 renewal fee every four years. There is also an Electrical Inspection Agency credential for firms.

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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.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Department of Safety and Professional Services, Pearson VUE, or any licensing authority, school or union.

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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