Wisconsin installation guides.
Wisconsin’s Uniform Dwelling Code (s. SPS 323.045) requires solid-fuel-burning appliances in the one- and two-family homes it covers to be tested and listed, and bars them from garages unless listed for that use. Permits are issued locally.
Wis. Admin. Code ch. SPS 323 (PDF)Choose your city.
Appleton
Fox Cities / Outagamie, Calumet and Winnebago countiesAppleton’s HVAC permit form has its own “Stove/Fireplace, Res.” line, and the city code sets a separate permit fee category for wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.
Read the guideBeloit
Rock County / StatelineIn Beloit’s historic districts and on landmark sites, city staff can approve chimney repair and tuckpointing, but other exterior changes need a Landmarks Commission certificate before any building permit issues.
Read the guideBrookfield
Waukesha County / Milwaukee metroThe City of Brookfield’s permit chart lists fireplaces and wood-burning stoves as needing a building permit, and inspection requests phoned in before 8 a.m. are done the same day.
Read the guideEau Claire
Eau Claire and Chippewa counties / Chippewa ValleyEau Claire’s permit guide names wood-burning stoves among the work that needs an HVAC permit, and the city no longer accepts paper permit applications.
Read the guideFitchburg
Dane County / Madison metroFitchburg’s Fire Department issues backyard burn permits only for the day you call, and allows open burning only outside the city’s urban service area.
Read the guideFond du Lac
Fond du Lac County / Lake WinnebagoFond du Lac’s zoning code allows an outdoor wood furnace only on a single-family lot of at least half an acre, in the rear yard, 150 feet from a neighbour’s door, window or air intake, with a heating permit first.
Read the guideFranklin
Milwaukee County / Milwaukee metroFranklin’s 2025 fee ordinance prices wood-burning appliances at $60 per unit up to 150,000 BTU and charges triple fees for starting HVAC work without a permit.
Read the guideGreen Bay
Brown County / Northeast WisconsinGreen Bay’s permit table says a fireplace needs a permit, and only an owner who lives in the home may pull permits and do the work; rentals need a licensed contractor.
Read the guideGreenfield
Milwaukee County / Milwaukee metroGreenfield’s homeowner HVAC permit form lists ‘Fireplace and Wood Burning Stove’ as its own $10 line, under a $60 minimum permit fee.
Read the guideJanesville
Rock County / south central WisconsinJanesville requires an HVAC permit to install any new heat-producing appliance, and owner-occupants of single-family homes may pull heating permits themselves.
Read the guideKenosha
Kenosha County / southeast WisconsinKenosha has its own fireplace permit form, which requires the manufacturer’s installation instructions on site and rough and final inspections.
Read the guideLa Crosse
La Crosse County / Coulee RegionIn La Crosse’s Tenth and Cass historic district, building a new chimney is “major work” that the Heritage Preservation Commission must review before the city will issue a permit.
Read the guideMadison
Dane CountyMadison asks owners of its 184 local landmarks and five local historic districts to get a Certificate of Approval before applying for a building permit.
Read the guideMenomonee Falls
Waukesha County / Milwaukee metroMenomonee Falls’ HVAC permit application lists wood-burning stoves as a $50-per-unit item and doubles the fee when work starts before the permit.
Read the guideMilwaukee
Milwaukee County / Southeastern WisconsinMilwaukee allows no exterior changes to a designated historic property until the owner obtains a Certificate of Appropriateness, whatever the permit rules say.
Read the guideMount Pleasant
Racine County / Village of Mount PleasantMount Pleasant’s HVAC permit application has a ‘Wood’ equipment box, and the village fee schedule prices solid fuel burning appliances at $60 per unit.
Read the guideNew Berlin
Waukesha County / Milwaukee metroNew Berlin’s permit form prices ‘Heating & Wood Burning Units’ at $65 per unit plus a $7 technology fee, and charges double fees when work starts before the permit is issued.
Read the guideOak Creek
Milwaukee County / Milwaukee metroOak Creek’s Residential HVAC permit page names wood-burning stoves, and the city asks for the stove’s specs with the HVAC application before any work starts.
Read the guideOshkosh
Winnebago County / Lake WinnebagoOshkosh has no local historic preservation ordinance, so its Landmarks Commission says National Register listing alone does not require approval for changes to a historic home.
Read the guideRacine
Racine County / Southeastern WisconsinRacine’s 2026 fee schedule lists heating permits at $100 per unit and doubles the permit fee for any project started without a permit.
Read the guideSheboygan
Sheboygan County / Lake Michigan shoreSheboygan’s HVAC Division publishes its own Woodburning Stoves handout, and its fireplace handout warns inspectors to be “especially suspicious” of stoves or inserts retrofitted into factory-built fireplaces.
Read the guideSun Prairie
Dane County / Madison metroSun Prairie’s building code has its own section for wood and coal room heaters and stoves: plans and the maker’s instructions must be approved before a permit, and the stove can’t be used until it passes final inspection.
Read the guideWaukesha
Waukesha County / Southeastern WisconsinWaukesha’s HVAC permit form says fireplace and wood-burning stove permits are issued under building permits, and its Landmarks Commission requires approval for chimney repair in the city’s historic districts.
Read the guideWausau
Marathon County / north-central WisconsinWausau’s code bans outdoor wood boilers inside the city, so an indoor stove or insert, permitted through the city’s Inspections & Zoning division, is the wood-heat route for city homes.
Read the guideWauwatosa
Milwaukee County / Metro MilwaukeeWauwatosa requires a mechanical permit for a wood stove, chimney or liner, but classes wood-burning stoves as non-HVAC equipment, so an owner who lives in the home may install one after getting the permit.
Read the guideWest Allis
Milwaukee County / Metro MilwaukeeWest Allis’s permit guide says installing a fireplace, wood stove or pellet stove needs a building permit, and the unit must be listed by a national testing agency such as UL.
Read the guideWest Bend
Washington County / north of MilwaukeeWest Bend’s remodel and replacement permit application prices ‘Woodburning/Gas-Stoves-Fireplaces-Pellet Stoves’ as its own line, at $60 per unit under the fee schedule that took effect in 2025.
Read the guide
We add guides as local research is completed. Rules and business coverage vary by address. Explore national planning guides for areas not yet covered.