Madison, WI
Madison electrical permit cost
Madison's electric permit is an area fee on new work and a count of openings on existing work.
A new building or addition pays $.09 a square foot in Group I, $.11 in Group II and $.06 in Group III, each with a $25.00 minimum — the same square footage and the same groups as the building permit. Alterations and repairs to existing structures instead pay $25.00 for the first ten openings and $1.00 for each one after, where an opening is the ordinance's own list: switches, convenience outlets, fixtures and fixed appliance connections. Replacing or relocating the electric service on the same premises is $50.00 per service panel.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical permit — new construction or addition, by fee groupPermit fee | Fee group per sq ft | fee group is provided and not (shell only is true or interior build out is true), and where the schedule publishes a rate for Fee group | min $25.00 |
| Electrical permit — shell-only or interior build-out, half the group feePermit fee | Fee group × 0.5 per sq ft | fee group is provided and shell only is true or interior build out is true, and where the schedule publishes a rate for Fee group | min $25.00 |
| Electrical permit — alterations, $25.00 for the first ten openings and $1.00 each afterPermit fee | $25.00 for the first 10 openings, plus $1.00 for each additional opening | Work type is one of alteration, remodel, repair, replacement and fee group is not provided | — |
| Electric service replacement, $50.00 per service panelPermit fee | $50.00 per electrical panel | Work type is one of alteration, remodel, repair, replacement and fee group is not provided and panels over 0 | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
An electrical remodel of an existing single family house: fourteen new or altered openings, and the service entrance relocated and replaced on the same premises.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $8,000 |
| Project area | 1,800 sq ft |
| Type of work | Alteration |
| Number of electrical panels | 1 |
| Number of openings | 14 |
Example total
$79.00
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 2Rules considered 4
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit — alterations, $25.00 for the first ten openings and $1.00 each afterPermit feeMGO 19.11 Group IV, Alterations And Special Fees: "$25.00 first ten (10) openings, $1.00 each additional opening", and the same section says what an opening is — "switches, convenience outlets, fixtures, and fixed appliance connections." The first ten are a block rather than ten separate dollars: fifteen openings is $25.00 plus five at $1.00, which is $30.00, and five openings is still $25.00 because it is the block that is priced. The count is supplied as custom.openings.Show the working
| $25.00 for the first 10 openings, plus $1.00 for each additional opening | $29.00 |
Electric service replacement, $50.00 per service panelPermit feeMGO 19.11: "Electric Service Replacement — $50.00 per service panel. The fees for a change of location or replacement of equipment on the same premises shall be the same as that for a new installation." Priced by the panel rather than by the work around it, and only when the calculation states a panel count: custom.panels is the number of service panels replaced or relocated, and a permit that gives none does not touch the service and must not carry the row.Show the working
| $50.00 per electrical panel | $50.00 |
| Total | $79.00 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- Electrical permit — new construction or addition, by fee group — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — shell-only or interior build-out, half the group fee — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 2 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
Fourteen openings is the first ten as one $25.00 block plus four at $1.00, which is $29.00. The service replacement is priced by the panel count the calculation gives — one panel at $50.00 — and MGO 19.11 says a change of location is priced the same as a replacement. There is no $25.00 minimum to reach because the block already is $25.00, and no area fee, because the calculation states an alteration and no fee group.
Read the same job as new construction and the mechanism changes completely: 1,800 square feet at Group I is $.09 a square foot, $162.00, whatever the electrician actually wires. That is the whole difference between Madison's two electrical rows — one prices the building, the other prices the work.
What is different in Madison
The openings block is the row people get wrong. It is not ten dollars each: the first ten openings are a single $25.00 block, and only the eleventh costs anything. Five outlets in a kitchen remodel is $25.00; fifteen is $30.00; forty is $55.00. Madison counts switches, convenience outlets, fixtures and fixed appliance connections as openings, so a new bath with a vanity light, an exhaust fan, a GFCI and two switches is five of them.
On new construction the count disappears entirely. The electrical permit is $.09 a square foot for a house, $.11 for an office block, $.06 for a warehouse — a 2,400 square foot house is $216.00 of electrical permit however many outlets it has — and the City's own online-permits page says plainly that new buildings, additions and first-time shell buildouts are calculated "by square footage of the space" and cannot be filed online at all.
Two rules around the edges are worth knowing. MGO 19.09(2) defines minor repair work — replacing broken or defective sockets, snap, push or toggle switches, convenience outlets, lighting fixtures and portable electric appliances — as the one thing that needs no permit; and a residential property owner doing their own wiring on a single-family home they own and occupy is exempt from the licence requirement, but pays "the same fee as required of electrical contractors".
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This is MGO 19.11's fee schedule — the three group rates, the Group IV opening ladder, the service-panel row and the $25.00 minimum. It excludes:
- The State's money. DSPS licence and examination fees are not permit fees and are not here; so is the State's plan review, which is collected only where plans are required.
- The mechanical column on the same table — an HVAC permit on new work is $.09, $.11 or $.06 a square foot — and the heating and air-conditioning rows of the City's existing-building list: replacement heating equipment at $25.00 up to 100,000 BTU, $50.00 from 100,001 to 165,000 BTU and $75.00 above that, an air-conditioning unit at $25.00, a ductless split or wall pack at $25.00.
- The round-up. Madison rounds every fee up to the next highest dollar; this site rounds to the cent.
- The 50% shell reduction on the electrical column is modelled — set shell_only or interior_build_out — but the plan review that goes with such a permit is not, because that row belongs to the building page.
- Priority Review at double the plan review fee, Early Start at $50.00 plus $0.01 a square foot, and the plan review table as a whole.
- The penalty for unpermitted work — double the fee plus $100.00 a day — the certificate of service inspection MGO 19.10 requires before a utility will energise the work, and the extension fee of half the original inspection fee.
What you need before applying
- A State electrical licence on the application, signed by the licence holderRequired
MGO 19.08: "No person may work as an electrician or as an electrical contractor unless the person is licensed by or registered with the State of Wisconsin", and no person may install, repair or maintain electrical wiring unless licensed as an electrician or registered as a beginning electrician, with a master electrician responsible for the work at all times. MGO 19.09(1) then requires the permit to be obtained "by a person properly licensed for the category of work", proof that the applicant "has been employed to perform the work", fees "paid in full at the time of submitting the permit application", and that "All applications for permits shall be signed by the license holder." MGO 19.08(4)(a) exempts a residential property owner installing, repairing or maintaining wiring on premises they own and occupy as a single-family residence — and says the Division may issue such a permit only if the owner shows they are competent to do the work, and that they pay "the same fee as required of electrical contractors under Section 19.11".
- Minor repair work is the only wiring that needs no permitRequired
MGO 19.09(2): "Minor repair work shall be construed to mean the replacement of broken or defective sockets, snap, push or toggle switches, convenience outlets, lighting fixtures and portable electric appliances." Everything else needs the permit first, and MGO 19.10 forbids connecting the wiring to a supply — or turning the current on — until an Electrical Inspector has issued a certificate of service inspection, which the utility must see before supplying service. In an emergency MGO 19.09(4) lets the work start without a permit number provided one is obtained the next business day and the application and fees follow within ten days.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit for a new building in Madison?
Nine, eleven or six cents a square foot, by use group: $.09 in Group I, $.11 in Group II and $.06 in Group III, each with a $25.00 minimum. It is the same square footage and the same groups as the building permit, and the City's online-permits page confirms new buildings are calculated "by square footage of the space".
MGO 19.11, enacted by ORD-21-00026, effective 2021-03-27.
How much is an electrical permit for alterations?
$25.00 for the first ten openings and $1.00 for each additional one. The schedule defines openings as switches, convenience outlets, fixtures and fixed appliance connections, so the count is of devices and connection points rather than of rooms or circuits.
MGO 19.11 Group IV, including the schedule's own definition of an opening.
How much is it to replace an electric service panel?
$50.00 per service panel. The same section adds that the fees for a change of location or replacement of equipment on the same premises are the same as for a new installation, so relocating the service costs what replacing it costs.
MGO 19.11, Electric Service Replacement.
Who is allowed to pull an electrical permit in Madison?
Somebody licensed or registered with the State of Wisconsin. MGO 19.09 requires the permit of a person properly licensed for the category of work, proof that the applicant is employed to do it, fees paid in full at submission, and the licence holder's signature. A residential property owner wiring a single-family home they own and occupy is exempt from the licence rule under MGO 19.08(4)(a) — and pays the same fee as a contractor.
MGO 19.08 and 19.09(1).
Does replacing a light switch need a permit?
Not if it is the replacement of a broken or defective item. MGO 19.09(2) defines minor repair work as the replacement of broken or defective sockets, snap, push or toggle switches, convenience outlets, lighting fixtures and portable electric appliances. Anything beyond that needs the permit first.
MGO 19.09(2).
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- OrdinanceCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 as a PDF, twice. File 63538, effective 2021-03-27. §19.11 enacts Group I $.09, Group II $.11 and Group III $.06 per sq. ft. with a $25.00 minimum, Group IV at $25.00 for the first ten openings plus $1.00 each additional with the schedule's own definition of an opening, and Electric Service Replacement at $50.00 per service panel. §19.08 requires a State licence and grants the residential property owner exception; §19.09 requires the permit, requires proof of employment and the licence holder's signature, and defines the minor repair work that needs none.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.