Fitchburg, WI Building Safety: Electrical Permits (2026)

Fitchburg City Code Sec. 35-101 bars anyone from commencing electrical work covered by chapter 35 without first getting an electrical permit from the building inspector. That permit requirement sits alongside Sec. 35-77, which adopts Wis. Admin. Code SPS 316 (the Electrical Code) by reference, along with subsequent amendments and recodifications, as if fully set forth in the city's own ordinance; a violation of the adopted state code is treated as a violation of the city chapter and enforced the same way. Applications follow the general building-permit process: a written application on the building inspector's form describing the work and identifying the contractor (Sec.

35-135), plans where required, and payment of the fee set under Wis. Admin. 31. Electrical installations get a rough inspection after wiring is run but before it is covered or concealed, and a final inspection before any part of the building is occupied (Sec. 35-220(4), (6)); work may not be enclosed until the building inspector has signed off, except where an inspection request has gone unanswered for more than two business days (Sec. 35-219). Sec. 35-78 makes clear that where the referenced code conflicts with or is less stringent than the city or state code, the more stringent standard controls, and the building inspector decides how to apply any topic the referenced code covers that the city code does not address.