Basement finishing and remodeling requests are welcome from any of these 24 communities. On every town page you'll find that municipality's own permit wording or fees, with the source linked at the bottom.
Cities with full permit notes
- Milwaukee: the city's permit checklist marks basement alterations or conversions "Probably" [1].
- Wauwatosa: new walls or habitable space need a permit, and a basement bedroom needs another exit [2].
- Brookfield: rec rooms need building and electrical permits, with 2026 alteration fees by the square foot [3, 4].
Other communities
- Cudahy
- Elm Grove
- Franklin
- Germantown
- Glendale
- Greendale
- Greenfield
- Hales Corners
- Kenosha
- Menomonee Falls
- Mequon
- Muskego
- New Berlin
- Oak Creek
- Racine
- Shorewood
- South Milwaukee
- St. Francis
- Waukesha
- West Allis
- Whitefish Bay
What changes from town to town
The permit itself is common, but the details aren't. A few examples from the town pages:
- Ceiling height in older homes: New Berlin's guide allows 6 feet 4 inches in homes built before June 1, 1980 [5], while Greendale's checklist asks for 6 feet 8 inches [6].
- Fees: Franklin charges $0.45 per square foot with a $165 minimum for alterations [7], and Oak Creek lists a $60 remodel permit plus $90 plan review [8].
- Starting early: South Milwaukee charges triple fees if work begins before approval [9].
If your town isn't listed
Send a request anyway and tell us where the house is. Permit rules differ from one municipality to the next, so call your building department before work starts. The state rules on how it works apply in every town.
We're a referral service, not a contractor, and independent contractors may pay us for referrals.
Sources
- City of Milwaukee DNS, Does It Need a Permit? (fetched Nov 11, 2026) https://city.milwaukee.gov/DNS/permits/PermitChecklist
- City of Wauwatosa, Building & Safety, FAQ (fetched Nov 11, 2026) https://www.wauwatosa.net/government/departments/building-safety
- City of Brookfield, Items Requiring Permits (fetched Nov 11, 2026) https://www.ci.brookfield.wi.us/744/Items-Requiring-Permits
- City of Brookfield, Residential Building Permit Fees as of January 1, 2026 (PDF) https://www.ci.brookfield.wi.us/DocumentCenter/View/24944
- City of New Berlin, Recreation Rooms guideline (PDF, dated 08/26/2022) https://www.newberlin.org/DocumentCenter/View/500
- Village of Greendale, Basement Rec-Room Checklist for Plan Submittal (PDF) https://greendale.org/departments/inspection_services/docs/BASEMENT%20REC%20ROOM-PLAN%20REVIEW%20CHECKLIST-website.pdf
- City of Franklin, One & Two Family Addition/Alteration Permit Applications (PDF, 2026) https://www.franklinwi.gov/Files/Inspection/One-and-Two-Family-Addition-Alteration-Permit-Application-2026.pdf
- City of Oak Creek, Building Permit Application (PDF) https://www.oakcreekwi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1697/Building-Permit-Application-General-PDF
- City of South Milwaukee, Building Permits. https://www.southmilwaukee.gov/196/Building-Permits