Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Wisconsin's official board.
Statewide licensing under DSPS.
| Requirements | Apprentice: 18+, five-year registered apprenticeship (annual registration renewal). Journeyman: complete the five-year apprenticeship and pass a two-part exam (open book, 70% to pass). Master: hold an active Wisconsin journeyman license for at least one year plus documented experience (approx. 4 years / 8,000 hours) and pass the master exam. No person may work at plumbing in the state unless licensed by DSPS. |
| Reciprocity | No plumbing reciprocity, but a defined comity pathway. Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 305 contains no plumbing reciprocity section, its only reciprocity provision, SPS 305.47, sits in the electrical subchapter and by its terms covers electricians, electrical apprentices, electrical contractors and electrical inspectors. What exists for plumbers instead is 'Comity (Out-of-State)', set out in the Department of Safety and Professional Services application-information forms under Wis. Stat. ch. 145, and it never waives the Wisconsin examination. For Journeyman Plumber (Form #3126, rev. 1/8/2024) the out-of-state routes are: completing a five-year, 576-hour out-of-state apprenticeship and then sitting the Wisconsin journeyman exam; or having passed a journeyman exam in any other state and practised at least five years under that state's journeyman license or equivalent, where the department determines that state's licensure provisions are substantially similar to ch. 145, which makes the applicant eligible to sit the Wisconsin exam. For Master Plumber (Form #3129, rev. 1/8/2024) the route is an out-of-state apprenticeship plus three years at 1,000 hours per year as a licensed journeyman, or eight years of plumbing experience including hours worked under another state's or municipality's laws, and then sitting the Wisconsin master exam. No partner states are named; the department makes an individualised substantial-similarity determination. |
| Renewal | Journeyman and Master licenses expire March 31 on a four-year cycle, renewed via the LicensE portal (license.wi.gov). Continuing education: 24 hours per renewal for journeyman and master; 12 hours for journeyman-restricted service and master-restricted classes (per DSPS/SPS 305 rules). |
| Notes | Statewide licensing under DSPS. |
A free report on your market: what the trade pays, how that compares with nearby counties, and where your credential sits against the local licensed workforce. No account needed.
Sources: dsps.wi.gov, dsps.wi.gov, dsps.wi.gov, docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
This page is a free snapshot of Wisconsin. Track the same market every night and see which contractors just got licensed, added a trade, or dropped off, and pull the full record, with contact details where available, on any of them. Get the weekly intelligence email on the markets you follow. ATI is in private beta; apply for access.