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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Eight cities, one credential

Wisconsin City Electrical Licensing: What Cities Add

Every city we checked routes back to the DSPS credential for licensing and keeps permits and inspections for itself. Two are worth reading closely anyway: Milwaukee, because it adopts the state chapters by ordinance, and Green Bay, because its own wording sounds like a city license and is not one.

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On this page
  1. The short answer, with its limit
  2. Milwaukee
  3. Madison
  4. Green Bay
  5. Kenosha and Racine
  6. Appleton, Waukesha and Oshkosh
  7. Cities that published their own code notices
  8. What to do before you work in a city you do not know
  9. Questions people ask
  10. What this page cites

The short answer, with its limit

No Wisconsin city we read issues its own electrician license. The credential that decides whether you may do the work is the DSPS one.

Here is the limit on that sentence. Several city pages would not load or said nothing at all about licensing, so the honest statement is that the state credential governs and that we did not find a local card, rather than a flat claim that none exists anywhere in Wisconsin.

Where a city does something specific, it is below with its source.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee Code of Ordinances Chapter 222 adopts the state rules directly. Section 222-01 reads: "the city of Milwaukee adopts chs. SPS 305, SPS 316 and SPS 318, Wis. Adm. Code, as amended."

Section 222-1-1-b limits the work: "No person other than a state-licensed electrical contractor or person who is exempt from licensing under s. 101.862(4)(am) to (q), Wis. Stats., may install, alter, renew, replace or connect equipment." The homeowner exemption at 222-1-1-c covers a "replacement for an existing switch, receptacle or luminaire if the replacement switch, receptacle or luminaire has a rating of not more than 20 amperes."

Permits are the city's own business. Section 222-13-1 says "no electrical equipment shall be installed, altered, renewed, replaced or connected without first procuring a permit," and 222-13-2-a requires the state licensed electrical contractor to provide a copy of its license "and a copy of the license of the master electrician who is taking full responsibility."

No city issued electrical license, registration, bond or insurance requirement appears in Chapter 222 as we read it, and Milwaukee's fee ordinance, Chapter 81, carries roughly 135 fee categories with no electrical contractor license, electrician license, electrical permit or electrical inspection fee entry.

One caution about the city's own web copy. The Electrical Inspection Section page says "Currently, the state has adopted the 2011 National Electrical code," which is wrong by two full cycles as of September 1, 2026. Because Chapter 222 adopts the state chapters "as amended," the ordinance follows the state automatically and the page text is simply out of date. See the Milwaukee page.

Madison

The City of Madison's own list of every license and permit it issues does not include electrical work, electricians, electrical contractors or any electrical trades license. It does list "Plumbers & Water Contractors" as a business license, which shows the city licenses one trade and not the other.

An electrical permit is required for "Electrical Work, All," with Building Inspection at 608-266-4551 ext 2. On the online permit system, a contractor's license has to be associated with their account, and only electricians are listed in the applicant table for electrical permits.

Madison has a Chapter 19 Electrical Code in its ordinances. The PDF returned a 404 to us and the Municode chapter page returned only site chrome, so Madison's adoption wording and any Madison specific requirement are unconfirmed here.

Green Bay

Green Bay's FAQ uses wording that reads like a city license: "New residences, work on electrical services, and all other wiring in the City must be done by an electrical contractor licensed in Green Bay." The same FAQ allows the owner of an existing single-family dwelling where they reside to obtain an electrical permit for wiring in that dwelling.

The permit application settles what "licensed in Green Bay" means. The Licensed Contractor Electrical Permit Application asks for a "State of WI Electrical Contractor Certification #" and a "WI Master Certification #." Those are state credentials, not city ones.

The city's permit forms and fees page carries no city electrical contractor license, registration or fee. Its wider licenses page failed to load for us, so the full Green Bay list is unconfirmed.

Kenosha and Racine

Kenosha publishes a licensing requirements form that asks contractors doing electrical work for two state credentials: a "Wisconsin Master Electrician's License" with its number, and a "Wisconsin Electrical Contractor License" effective April 1, 2014, with its number and a designee signature. The document describes no separate City of Kenosha electrical license or registration.

Racine's Building Inspection Department "enforces City and State Building, Heating, Plumbing, Electrical, and Zoning Codes" and points to Municipal Code Chapter 18. It offers an electrical permit application for download, and the page as we read it does not state who may pull an electrical permit or what credential is required. We did not read Chapter 18.

Appleton, Waukesha and Oshkosh

Appleton's electrical permit form asks for a "State Electrical Contractors No" and a "State/Masters License No," and carries an undertaking to "faithfully comply with the laws and regulations of the State of Wisconsin and the ordinances of the City of Appleton." No City of Appleton electrical license or registration appears on the form.

Waukesha's inspections page describes electrical inspections scheduled online through eTrackit, names inspector Peter Lenti and gives Building Inspection at 262-524-3533. It says nothing about electrical contractor licensing, credentials or code adoption.

Oshkosh's license information page for contractors and homeowners names two DSPS credentials, the Dwelling Contractor Credential and the Dwelling Contractor Qualifier Credential, renewed every two years, and directs readers to DSPS for the rest. On homeowners it says only that "A homeowner who is also an occupant may apply for and obtain permits for remodeling their home."

Cities that published their own code notices

West Bend published a citizen notice describing "the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) with Wisconsin-specific amendments" effective September 1, 2026.

Mequon published a staff memo describing the move "from the 2017 National Electrical Code (NEC) to the 2023 NEC" but saying "The effective date for the updated NEC has not yet be set." That memo is stale, and it is a good example of why you check the date on a city page before you rely on it.

What to do before you work in a city you do not know

Ask the inspection office two questions. Who may pull an electrical permit here, and what do you want to see on the application.

The answer in every city we read came back to the state credential plus a permit. If a city tells you something different, get it in writing and check it against the ordinance.

Questions people ask

Do Wisconsin cities issue their own electrician licenses?

None of the eight cities we read does. Every one of them routes licensing back to the DSPS credential and keeps permits and inspections for itself.

What does an electrical contractor licensed in Green Bay mean?

It means the state license. Green Bay's own permit application asks for a State of WI Electrical Contractor Certification number and a WI Master Certification number.

Does Milwaukee have its own electrical code?

Chapter 222 adopts chs. SPS 305, SPS 316 and SPS 318, Wis. Adm. Code, as amended, so the city follows the state chapters. It adds its own permit and inspection requirements on top.

Why does Milwaukee's website mention the 2011 code?

The Electrical Inspection Section page carries an out of date sentence. The ordinance adopts the state chapters as amended, and the state moved to the 2023 National Electrical Code on September 1, 2026.

Does Madison license electricians?

Its list of licenses and permits does not include electrical work, electricians or electrical contractors, though it does list plumbers and water contractors. Madison's Chapter 19 Electrical Code would not load for us, so its wording is unconfirmed.

Who pulls the permit in Milwaukee?

The state licensed electrical contractor, who under section 222-13-2-a provides a copy of its license and a copy of the license of the master electrician taking full responsibility.

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What this page cites

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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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