Wisconsin Building Code & Construction Permit Law

Wisconsin Code · 5 sections

The following is the full text of Wisconsin’s building code & construction permit law statutes as published in the Wisconsin Code. For the official version, see the Wisconsin Legislature.

Wis. Stat. 145.02

145.02 Powers of department. (1) The construction, installation and maintenance of plumbing in connection with all buildings in this state, including buildings owned by the state or any political subdivision thereof, shall be safe, sanitary and such as to safeguard the public health and the waters of the state. (2) (a) The department shall have general supervision of all plumbing described under sub. (1). The department shall promulgate rules that shall uniformly apply to all types of buildings, private or public, rural or urban, including buildings owned by the state or any political subdivision. The rules promulgated by the department shall constitute the state plumbing code. The state plumbing code shall comply with ch. 160. To the extent that the historic building code applies to the subject matter of these standards, the standards do not apply to a qualified historic building if the owner elects to be subject to s. 101.121. The standards do not apply to a primitive rural hunting cabin, as defined in s. 101.61 (3). (b) The department shall promulgate rules that establish separate plumbing standards applicable only to camping units that are set in a fixed location in a campground for which a permit is issued under s. 97.67, that contain a sleeping place, and that are used for seasonal overnight camping. The standards established in the rules shall also take into account the uses, including seasonal use, that are unique to recreational and educational camps, as defined in s. 101.053 (1). If the department has appointed one or more committees under s. 227.13 to advise the department on rule making with respect to private on-site wastewater treatment systems or other plumbing systems, the department shall promulgate the rules required under this paragraph in consultation with those committees. (3) The department may exercise such powers as are reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. It may, among other things: (a) Employ competent supervisors who shall be licensed plumbers, and other assistants, prescribe their qualifications and assign their duties. (b) Conduct investigations and experiments for the advancement of technical knowledge relating to plumbing and may hold public meetings and attend or be represented at such meetings within or without the state. (c) Enter and inspect at reasonable hours plumbing installations on private or public property and may disseminate information relative to the provisions of this chapter. (d) Prepare and cause to be printed such codes, bulletins or other documents as may be necessary and furnish copies thereof to those engaged in the plumbing business and to the public upon request. (e) Furnish upon request of the owner of the building or of the plumber making the plumbing installation, recommendations or a certificate of inspection. (f) Issue special orders directing and requiring compliance with the rules and standards of the department promulgated under this chapter whenever, in the judgment of the department, the rules or standards are threatened with violation, are being violated or have been violated, except that the department shall issue orders related to occupational licenses, as defined in s. 101.02 (1) (a) 2., as provided in s. 101.022. The circuit court for any county where violation of such an order occurs has jurisdiction to enforce and shall enforce any order brought before it by injunctive and other appropriate relief. The attorney general or the district attorney of the county where the violation of the order occurs shall bring action for its enforcement. The department may issue an order under this paragraph to abate a violation of s. 254.59. (g) By rule, fix fees for the examination and approval of plans of plumbing systems and collect the same. (h) Promulgate rules concerning the testing of cross-connection control devices, including rules identifying the types of cross-connection control devices that may be tested only by a registered cross-connection control tester and the circumstances under which cross-connection control devices shall be tested. (4) (a) The department shall prescribe rules as to the qualifications, examination and licensing of master and journeyman plumbers and restricted plumber licensees, for the licensing of utility contractors, for the registration of plumbing apprentices and pipe layers and for the registration and training of registered learners. The plumbers council, created under s. 15.407 (16), shall advise the department in formulating the rules. (b) The department may promulgate rules for the qualification and registration of cross-connection control testers. (5) (a) The department may appoint a city, village, town, or county as an agent of the department that is authorized to review and approve plumbing plans and specifications for plumbing installations specified by the department for public buildings, as defined in s. 101.01 (12), and places of employment, as defined in s. 101.01 (11). (b) 1. In this paragraph, “agent appointment” means an appointment under par. (a) or s. SPS 382.20 (2), Wis. Adm. Code. 2. The department shall establish requirements for cities, villages, towns, and counties to electronically renew agent appointments every 5 years. The process shall allow cities, villages, towns, and counties with agent appointments made 5 years or more before April 5, 2018, to renew those agent appointments within deadlines specified by the department. History: 1971 c. 194; 1973 c. 90; 1975 c. 39; 1977 c. 275, 314; 1979 c. 34, 221; 1981 c. 341; 1983 a. 410; 1993 a. 27, 213, 322; 1995 a. 27; 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 49; 2017 a. 59, 198, 331, 365; 2019 a. 130; 2021 a. 238 s. 45. Cross-reference: See also chs. SPS 327, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, and 391, Wis. adm. code. Sub. (2) did not invalidate a town ordinance prohibiting residential sewage holding tanks. Konkel v. Town of Raymond, 101 Wis. 2d 704, 305 N.W.2d 190 (Ct. App. 1981). Counties must obtain state approval before permitting private experimental sanitation systems. Citizen committees appointed by the county board may not engage in setting plumbing standards. 60 Atty. Gen. 209.

Wis. Stat. 145.195

145.195 Building on unsewered property. (1) No county, city, town or village may issue a building permit for construction of any structure requiring connection to a private on-site wastewater treatment system unless a private on-site wastewater treatment system satisfying all applicable regulations already exists to serve the proposed structure or all permits necessary to install a private on-site wastewater treatment system have been obtained. (2) Before issuing a building permit for construction of any structure on property not served by a municipal sewage treatment plant, the county, city, town or village shall determine that the proposed construction does not interfere with a functioning private on-site wastewater treatment system. The county, city, town or village may require building permit applicants to submit a detailed plan of the owner’s existing private on-site wastewater treatment system. History: 1977 c. 258; 1999 a. 150 s. 87; Stats. 1999 s. 145.195; 2007 a. 147; 2011 a. 146; 2015 a. 197 s. 51. NOTE: Chapter 258, laws of 1977, which created this section, contains a prefatory note. Cross-reference: See also ch. SPS 383, Wis. adm. code. An onsite inspection of an existing private sewage system must be made before a building permit may be issued for any type of construction requiring a connection to that system. 75 Atty. Gen. 38.

Wis. Stat. 443.01

443.01 Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context provides otherwise: (1) “Architect” means a person who is legally qualified to practice architecture. (1m) “Construction surveying” means surveying or mapping that is performed in support of infrastructure design, in support of improvements related to private and public boundary lines, or in support of construction layout or historic preservation, and establishing any postconstruction documentation related to that surveying or mapping. (2) “Engineer-in-training” means a person who is a graduate in an engineering curriculum of 4 years or more from a school or college approved by the professional engineer section of the examining board as of satisfactory standing, or a person who has had 4 years or more of experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the professional engineer section; and who, in addition, has successfully passed the examination in the fundamental engineering subjects prior to the completion of the requisite years in engineering work, as provided in s. 443.05, and who has been granted a certificate of record by the professional engineer section stating that the person has successfully passed this portion of the professional examinations. (3) “Examining board” means the examining board of architects, landscape architects, professional engineers, designers, professional land surveyors, and registered interior designers. (3b) “Geodetic surveying” means surveying to determine the size and shape of the earth or the precise positions of points on the surface of the earth. (3c) “Interior alteration or interior construction project” means a project for an interior space or area within a proposed or existing building or structure, including construction, modification, renovation, rehabilitation, or historic preservation, that involves changing or altering any of the following: (a) The design function or layout of rooms. (b) The state of permanent fixtures or equipment. (c) The interior space or area if the change or alteration requires verification of the compliance of the interior space or area with a building code, fire code, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, or state or local regulations. (d) Interior furnishings. (e) Nonstructural elements of the interior space or area. (3e) “Interior technical submission” means a design, drawing, specification, study, or other technical report or calculation that establishes the scope of an interior design project, including a description of standards of quality for materials, skilled labor, equipment, and construction systems, and that may be signed and sealed by a Wisconsin registered interior designer in compliance with this chapter. (3g) “Landscape architect” means a person who practices landscape architecture. (3r) “Landscape architecture” means the performance of a professional service involving conceptual land planning and conceptual design for integrated land development based on the analysis of environmental characteristics, operational requirements, land use or commensurate land values. “Landscape architecture” includes the investigation, selection or allocation of land or water resources for appropriate uses; the formulation of graphic or written criteria for a land planning or land construction program; the preparation, review or analysis of a master plan for land use or development; the production of a graphic land area, grading, drainage, planting or land construction plan; and the planning of a road, bridge or other structure with respect to the aesthetic requirements of the area on which it will be constructed, except that “landscape architecture” does not include any of the following: (a) Professional services performed by a registered architect or by a person who has in effect a permit under s. 443.10 (1) (d). (b) Professional services performed by a professional engineer or by a person who has in effect a permit under s. 443.10 (1) (d). (c) Professional services performed by a professional land surveyor. (d) The practice of planning as is customarily done by a regional, park, or urban planner, or by a person participating on a planning board or commission, within the scope of that practice. (e) The practice of a natural resource professional, including a biologist, professional geologist, as defined in s. 470.01 (5), or professional soil scientist, as defined in s. 470.01 (7). (f) The actions of a person who is under the supervision of a licensed landscape architect or an employee of a licensed landscape architect, unless the person assumes responsible charge, design, or supervision. (g) Work performed on property by an individual who owns or has control over the property, or work performed by a person hired by an individual who owns or has control of the property. (h) Making plans or drawings for the selection, placement, or use of plants or site features. (5) “Practice of architecture” includes any professional service, such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, architectural and structural design, or responsible supervision of construction, in connection with the construction of any private or public buildings, structures, projects, or the equipment thereof, or addition to or alterations thereof, in which the public welfare or the safeguarding of life, health or property is concerned or involved. (5m) (a) “Practice of interior design” means the design of interior spaces as a part of an interior alteration or interior construction project in conformity with public health, safety, and welfare requirements, including the preparation of documents relating to building code descriptions, project egress plans that require no increase in the number of exits in the space affected, space planning, finish materials, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment and the preparation of documents and interior technical submissions relating to interior construction. (b) “Practice of interior design” does not include any of the following: 1. Services that constitute the practice of architecture or the practice of professional engineering. 2. Altering or affecting the structural system of a building, including changing the building’s live or dead load on the structural system. 3. Changes to the building envelope, including exterior walls, exterior wall coverings, exterior wall openings, exterior windows and doors, architectural trim, balconies and similar projections, bay and oriel windows, roof assemblies and rooftop structures, and glass and glazing for exterior use in both vertical and sloped applications in buildings and structures. 4. Altering or affecting the mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, electrical, vertical transportation, fire sprinkler, or fire alarm systems. 5. Changes beyond the exit access component of a means of egress system. 6. Construction that materially affects life safety systems pertaining to fire safety or the fire protection of structural elements, or alterations to smoke evacuation and compartmentalization systems or to fire-rated vertical shafts in multistory structures. 7. Changes of use to an occupancy of greater hazard as determined by the International Building Code. 8. Changes to the construction classification of the building or structure according to the International Building Code. (6) “Practice of professional engineering” includes any professional service requiring the application of engineering principles and data, in which the public welfare or the safeguarding of life, health or property is concerned and involved, such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, or responsible supervision of construction, alteration, or operation, in connection with any public or private utilities, structures, projects, bridges, plants and buildings, machines, equipment, processes and works. A person offers to practice professional engineering if the person by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card or in any other way represents himself or herself to be a professional engineer; or who through the use of some other title implies that he or she is a professional engineer; or who holds himself or herself out as able to practice professional engineering. (6s) “Practice of professional land surveying” means any of the following: (a) Any service comprising the establishment or reestablishment of the boundaries of one or more tracts of land or the boundaries of any of the following interests in real property: 1. The rights-of-way of roads or streets. 2. Air or subsurface property rights. 3. Public or private easements. (b) Designing or coordinating designs for the purpose of platting or subdividing land into smaller tracts. (c) Placing, replacing, restoring, or perpetuating monuments in or on the ground to evidence the location of a point that is necessary to establish boundaries of one or more tracts of land or the subdivision or consolidation of one or more tracts of land or to describe the boundaries of any interest in real property identified in par. (a). (d) Preparing maps that depict any interest in real property identified in par. (a) for the purpose of establishing the boundaries of any such interest in real property. (e) Preparing any of the following: 1. An official map established or amended under s. 62.23 (6), established or amended under the authority of s. 61.35, or adopted under s. 60.61. 2. An assessor’s plat under s. 70.27. 3. A map or plat of cemetery lands under s. 157.07. 4. A subdivision plat, certified survey map, or correction instrument under ch. 236. 5. A condominium plat or correction instrument under ch. 703. 6. A project and time-share property plat under s. 707.215. (f) Performing construction surveying or geodetic surveying in connection with any of the practices specified in pars. (a) to (e). (7) “Professional engineer” means a person who by reason of his or her knowledge of mathematics, the physical sciences and the principles of engineering, acquired by professional education and practical experience, is qualified to engage in engineering practice as defined in sub. (6). (7m) “Professional land surveyor” means a person who, by reason of his or her knowledge of law, mathematics, physical sciences, and measurement techniques, acquired by education and practical experience, is granted a license under this chapter to engage in the practice of professional land surveying. (8) “Responsible supervision of construction” means a professional service, as distinguished from superintending of construction, and means the performance, or the supervision thereof, of reasonable and ordinary on-site observations to determine that the construction is in substantial compliance with the approved drawings, plans and specifications. (9) “Wisconsin registered interior designer” means a person registered as a Wisconsin registered interior designer under this chapter. History: 1971 c. 42, 215, 307; 1975 c. 9, 39, 199, 200, 334, 421; 1977 c. 29, 125, 418; 1979 c. 34, 98; 1979 c. 162 s. 38 (7); 1979 c. 167; 1979 c. 221 s. 780; 1979 c. 355; 1983 a. 189 ss. 274, 329 (18); 1993 a. 463, 465, 491; 1997 a. 300; 2009 a. 123; 2011 a. 146; 2013 a. 358; 2021 a. 195. Discussing the duties of county surveyors and other land surveyors and minimum standards for property surveys. 69 Atty. Gen. 160.

Wis. Stat. § 443.05

443.05 , and who has been granted a certificate of record by the professional engineer section stating that the person has successfully passed this portion of the professional examinations.

443.01(3)

(3)

 

“Examining board” means the examining board of architects, landscape architects, professional engineers, designers, professional land surveyors, and registered interior designers.

443.01(3b)

(3b)

 

“Geodetic surveying” means surveying to determine the size and shape of the earth or the precise positions of points on the surface of the earth.

443.01(3c)

(3c)

 

“Interior alteration or interior construction project” means a project for an interior space or area within a proposed or existing building or structure, including construction, modification, renovation, rehabilitation, or historic preservation, that involves changing or altering any of the following:

443.01(3c)(a)

(a)

The design function or layout of rooms.

443.01(3c)(b)

(b)

The state of permanent fixtures or equipment.

443.01(3c)(c)

(c)

The interior space or area if the change or alteration requires verification of the compliance of the interior space or area with a building code, fire code, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, or state or local regulations.

443.01(3c)(d)

(d)

Interior furnishings.

443.01(3c)(e)

(e)

Nonstructural elements of the interior space or area.

443.01(3e)

(3e)

 

“Interior technical submission” means a design, drawing, specification, study, or other technical report or calculation that establishes the scope of an interior design project, including a description of standards of quality for materials, skilled labor, equipment, and construction systems, and that may be signed and sealed by a Wisconsin registered interior designer in compliance with this chapter.

443.01(3g)

(3g)

 

“Landscape architect” means a person who practices landscape architecture.

443.01(3r)

(3r)

 

“Landscape architecture” means the performance of a professional service involving conceptual land planning and conceptual design for integrated land development based on the analysis of environmental characteristics, operational requirements, land use or commensurate land values. “Landscape architecture” includes the investigation, selection or allocation of land or water resources for appropriate uses; the formulation of graphic or written criteria for a land planning or land construction program; the preparation, review or analysis of a master plan for land use or development; the production of a graphic land area, grading, drainage, planting or land construction plan; and the planning of a road, bridge or other structure with respect to the aesthetic requirements of the area on which it will be constructed, except that “landscape architecture” does not include any of the following:

443.01(3r)(a)

(a)

Professional services performed by a registered architect or by a person who has in effect a permit under s.

Wis. Stat. § 470.01

470.01 (7) .

443.01(3r)(f)

(f)

The actions of a person who is under the supervision of a licensed landscape architect or an employee of a licensed landscape architect, unless the person assumes responsible charge, design, or supervision.

443.01(3r)(g)

(g)

Work performed on property by an individual who owns or has control over the property, or work performed by a person hired by an individual who owns or has control of the property.

443.01(3r)(h)

(h)

Making plans or drawings for the selection, placement, or use of plants or site features.

443.01(5)

(5)

 

“Practice of architecture” includes any professional service, such as consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, architectural and structural design, or responsible supervision of construction, in connection with the construction of any private or public buildings, structures, projects, or the equipment thereof, or addition to or alterations thereof, in which the public welfare or the safeguarding of life, health or property is concerned or involved.

443.01(5m)

(5m)

 

443.01(5m)(a)

(a)

“Practice of interior design” means the design of interior spaces as a part of an interior alteration or interior construction project in conformity with public health, safety, and welfare requirements, including the preparation of documents relating to building code descriptions, project egress plans that require no increase in the number of exits in the space affected, space planning, finish materials, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment and the preparation of documents and interior technical submissions relating to interior construction.

443.01(5m)(b)

(b)

“Practice of interior design” does not include any of the following:

443.01(5m)(b)1.

1.

Services that constitute the practice of architecture or the practice of professional engineering.

443.01(5m)(b)2.

2.

Altering or affecting the structural system of a building, including changing the building’s live or dead load on the structural system.

443.01(5m)(b)3.

3.

Changes to the building envelope, including exterior walls, exterior wall coverings, exterior wall openings, exterior windows and doors, architectural trim, balconies and similar projections, bay and oriel windows, roof assemblies and rooftop structures, and glass and glazing for exterior use in both vertical and sloped applications in buildings and structures.

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2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes updated

through 2025 Wis. Act 103 and through all Supreme Court Orders and Controlled Substances Board Orders filed before and in effect on April 3, 2026.

Published and certified under s. 35.18. Changes effective after April 3, 2026, are designated by NOTES.

(Published 4-3-26)

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)