Permits and Inspections

When a permit is required

SPS 316.012 requires that the owner, or the owner’s agent, hold a permit from the designated inspection agency before starting a project that installs a new or added electrical service, feeder, or branch circuit serving ¹:

• a farm,
• a public building, structure, or premises,
• a place of employment,
• a campground, manufactured home community, public marina, pier, dock, or wharf, or an RV park,
• and, under a rule effective September 1, 2026, vacant land or any structure that doesn’t already have a permit under SPS 316 or the Uniform Dwelling Code, unless specifically exempted.

New one- and two-family homes are permitted and inspected under the Uniform Dwelling Code ¹. Local ordinances can require permits for other work, such as remodeling an existing house; ask your municipality or county.

Details worth knowing ¹:

• In an emergency (a storm-damaged service, say), work may start without a permit as long as the application is filed by the next business day.
• The application names the person responsible and the master electrician, unless the installer is exempt under Wis. Stat. 101.862(4), such as an owner wiring the home they occupy ².
• A permit expires after 12 months if work hasn’t started.

How inspections work

SPS 316.013 lays out the sequence ¹:

1. Notify the inspection agency when the wiring is ready for inspection.
2. Keep it accessible and exposed, and don’t energize it.
3. If the inspection hasn’t happened within 2 business days of notification, the wiring may be concealed or energized, except a service, unless you and the agency agreed otherwise.
4. Call for the final inspection when all fixtures, outlets, and faceplates are in place and the installation is energized.
5. The inspector approves compliant work, or issues orders to correct, which can require the wiring to stay open and unenergized until reinspection.

All inspections are done by inspectors certified by the state ¹.

Passing the first time

What inspectors check at rough-in is mostly what this course covers:

• correct wire size for each breaker, with cable labeled by its jacket,
• cables stapled and protected, clamped at boxes, with 6 inches of free conductor,
• boxes large enough for their fill,
• grounds spliced and continuous through every box,
• GFCI and AFCI protection where required,
• a properly grounded and bonded service, with neutrals and grounds together only at the service.

Have the permit posted, the panel labeled, and the work accessible. Ask questions before you cover anything: an inspector would rather explain something on the phone than fail it on site.

Why bother

A permit and inspection are a second set of trained eyes on wiring that will sit inside your walls for decades. They also matter later: insurers and buyers ask about unpermitted work after a fire or during a sale.

What to take from this

SPS 316 requires a permit before new or added services, feeders, or branch circuits at farms, public buildings, workplaces, and similar places, and, since September 1, 2026, on vacant land or structures without a prior permit; new homes go through the Uniform Dwelling Code, and local ordinances may cover remodels. Emergencies can start first if you apply by the next business day. Notify when ready, keep it open and unenergized, proceed after 2 business days if no one comes (never for a service), and call for final when everything is installed and energized.