Wyoming contractor licenses: electrical and pesticide are state, the rest is local

Wyoming keeps its state licensing narrow. Two agencies issue credentials that matter to a home-service company, and almost everything else is a decision made by a city or county building department. If you already run a crew in another state, the biggest adjustment is that nobody at the state level hands you a general contractor license, and the place that does may be the city you are standing in. This page walks through what is licensed statewide, what is not, and the Cheyenne rules as an example of how local licensing looks in practice. Read it with our Wyoming startup page and the national contractor license guide. Everything here was read on official sites in October 2026.

What does Wyoming license at the state level?

On "no statewide license found": the Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety site lists wiring permits and electrical licensing only, and it mentions the 2024 International Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes as adopted codes without describing a plumbing or mechanical license program. We read that as a reason to ask your local building office, not as a promise that no rule applies. Confirm with the department at wsfm.wyo.gov if you plan to work across several counties.

How does Wyoming electrical licensing work?

Electrical is the one trade where the state sets the rules for everyone. Wyoming statute 35-9-123 says licensed electrical contractors employing licensed master or journeyman electricians, or registered apprentices supervised by one of them, must install all electrical equipment. The statute then lists waivers. They include property that a person (or a partner, or a major stockholder of a family corporation) owns or leases and wires personally when it is not for immediate resale, farms or ranches of 40 acres or more on deeded land, oil and gas field operations, public utilities, and cable, satellite and telecommunications providers limited to low voltage work. The statute adds that the exceptions do not reach anyone who contracts or subcontracts for an exempt party.

The contractor license itself works like this, per statute 35-9-125 and the department's licensing page:

• The contractor applies each year, for each firm, and the license expires on July 1. The department lists the fee at $400 for a new or renewed electrical contractor license, and $200 for a low voltage or limited contractor, as listed in October 2026.
• The applicant must be, or actively employ full time, a Wyoming-licensed master electrician of record who answers for compliance with the National Electrical Code on all the firm's work. That person cannot be master of record for, or employed by, any other contractor.
• Journeymen and masters working in Wyoming must be employed by a licensed contractor. The department's page does not address self-employed electricians, so a solo electrician should call it before taking work.
• A supervising journeyman or master may oversee no more than two apprentice electricians at once (W.S. 35-9-127).

Individual routes are demanding. The department lists a journeyman exam as requiring 8,000 hours of work experience and 576 hours of classroom instruction from a Department of Labor approved program, with no more than 75 percent of the hours in any one of residential, commercial or industrial work. Master requires 16,000 hours total, including 8,000 as a licensed journeyman. Exams are written on the current National Electrical Code, which the state adopts without modification (the 2026 edition is listed). Licenses run three years and need 16 continuing education units, 8 of them code-related, with training that meets department criteria.

Reciprocity exists but is limited. For journeymen the department lists 17 states, from Alaska and Arkansas to Texas and Utah; for masters, only Idaho, South Dakota and Iowa. Reciprocity waives the exam, not the other requirements, it can be used once, and the applicant needs the out-of-state license held at least a year from the exam date. If you are an electrician moving in, how to become a licensed electrician covers the general path.

The low voltage and limited classes matter for adjacent trades. The statute lets the chief electrical inspector license low voltage contractors for systems under 90 volts, including alarm, sound, television and control systems and lawn sprinkler systems. Limited contractors may work on the wiring load side of the disconnect for HVAC, elevators, signs, water wells and irrigation, and routine light fixture ballast replacement. An HVAC or irrigation company that wires its own equipment should find out which class covers the job.

Penalties are written into statute 35-9-130. A violation is a misdemeanor, punishable for an individual by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or license revocation, and for a corporation by a fine of up to $1,000 or revocation. A breach of the 35-9-123 installation requirement can also draw a civil penalty set by the department of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for a later one within three months, after written notice and a 60-day window to pay or appeal.

What do lawn and pest companies need?

Mowing, pruning and planting are not licensed in the sources we reviewed. Applying a pesticide to someone else's property for pay is. The Wyoming Department of Agriculture rule on commercial applicators (010-28 Wyo. Code R. section 28-3) says anyone making a commercial application must be certified in the right category and hold a commercial applicator license, be at least 18, and show government photo ID at the exam.

• You must pass the core exam and at least one category exam with 70 percent or better. If both are not passed within 90 days of the first attempt, you restart with the core exam.
• The initial license fee is $25 and recertification is $25, non-refundable, as the rule reads.
• Licenses expire January 31 of the third year after issue. To renew you either finish 24 hours of approved continuing education in the term or retake the exams at 70 percent or better.
• Adding a category later costs nothing and does not change the expiry date.
• After repeated failures the rule imposes waiting periods or a University of Wyoming education course before another attempt.

Rules are about the person who sprays, so a crew leader who handles weed control for a lawn client needs to hold the certification personally. If you are adding weed control to a mowing route, start with the lawn care startup guide, then the pest control license guide.

What does a city license look like? The Cheyenne example

Wyoming's largest city shows what "handled locally" means. Cheyenne's Contractor Licensing Regulations (revised March 10, 2026) rest on Chapter 5.44 of the city code and say no one may perform work, services or advertising related to building a structure in the city without the contractor and trade licenses the ordinances require. The Building Safety Department takes the applications.

Other details from the same document: a qualified supervisor for Class A needs seven years and 14,000 hours of experience or education the board accepts, Class B needs five years and 10,000 hours. The license holder must employ a master or qualified supervisor in the trade. Plumbing, electrical, refrigeration and HVAC employees on a job site must hold a master, journeyman or apprentice license or be a qualified supervisor. A license is not issued until a certificate of insurance naming the City as certificate holder and a Wyoming workers' comp letter of good standing are on file. Class D licensees may not act as general contractor or hire subcontractors, so a painter cannot take on a whole remodel. The city defines "advertise" to include giving estimates or telling the public you are authorized to do licensed work, so an unlicensed company advertising building work in the city is inside the rule.

Other cities have their own versions or very little. We did not read other municipal codes for this page, so do not assume what you learned in Cheyenne holds in Casper, Laramie or a county seat.

Insurance and tax questions that go with licensing

Wyoming's workers' comp is sold by the state for industries it classifies as extra-hazardous, so a new hire can change what you owe before the first job. Sales tax applies to repair and alteration services on tangible personal property under W.S. 39-15-103, but not to mowing or house cleaning as the statute is written, and materials you sell are taxable. Both are on our Wyoming page with sources.

What to check before you bid a Wyoming job

1. Is any part of the job electrical, including controls on HVAC, irrigation or signs? If yes, a licensed contractor with a master of record must do it.
2. Will you apply any pesticide? Hold the certification and license first.
3. Phone the building department for the town or county. Ask whether your trade needs a license, a registration or only a permit, and what insurance they want.
4. Keep every license number and expiration date on the company record.

This is general information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change; confirm with the agency or building department before you act.

Frequently asked questions