Badger HomeownerWisconsin home guide

Lead Paint and Asbestos: Renovation Rules

Wisconsin runs its own lead renovation rule and its own asbestos certification, and DNR handles asbestos notification. Here is when each applies, what a contractor must do, which test kits count, and what an owner may do in their own home.

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When the Lead Rule Applies

  • Whose rule. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires anyone paid to disturb paint in a pre-1978 home to be certified. Wisconsin is authorized to run its own version, the Lead-Safe Renovation Rule, DHS 163, in effect since 2010.(EPA)(Wisconsin DHS) Where state and federal rules differ, the stricter applies.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • The thresholds. The rule covers work that disturbs more than 6 square feet of paint in a room inside, more than 20 square feet outside, any window replacement, or demolition.(Wisconsin DHS) Jobs in the same room within 30 days count as one.(DHS 163)
  • Windows always count, even replacing vinyl windows.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • You can't opt out for a contractor, even with no children in the house.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Exceptions include a house being razed, and paint shown not to contain lead by a certified inspector or risk assessor, or by a certified renovator using an EPA-recognized kit.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • A rule change is coming. DHS took comments on proposed changes to DHS 163 through October 8, 2026.(Wisconsin DHS)

What the Contractor Must Do

  • Both the company and the person must be certified: a certified lead-safe renovator working for a certified lead company. A general contractor who sells the job and any sub doing it must both be certified companies.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Before work starts, give you EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet and have you sign for it.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Contain the work: plastic 6 feet beyond the work inside, 10 feet outside, ducts sealed, doors covered, warning signs.(40 CFR 745.85)
  • Banned practices: open-flame burning, power sanding or grinding without a shroud and HEPA vacuum, and heat guns at 1,100°F or hotter.(40 CFR 745.85) Wisconsin also bans methylene chloride strippers and dry sweeping.(DHS 163)
  • Clean with a HEPA vacuum, then verify by wiping sills and floors and comparing the cloth to EPA's card. In Wisconsin the certified renovator does that check personally.(Wisconsin DHS)(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Ask for copies of the certifications, the signed pamphlet form and the cleaning verification, and keep them for a future sale or rental.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Check the company on DHS's certified lead company list (Excel, updated monthly) before you sign.(Wisconsin DHS) Here's the lead-safe certification to look for. Penalties run $100 to $5,000 per violation per day.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Renovation isn't abatement. Work meant to permanently remove lead hazards, often ordered after a child is poisoned, is abatement and needs certified abatement workers and a supervisor.(Wisconsin DHS)

Lead Test Kits

  • EPA recognizes three kits: LeadCheck, D-Lead and the State of Massachusetts kit. LeadCheck and D-Lead are recognized for wood, ferrous metal, and drywall and plaster; the Massachusetts kit for drywall and plaster only.(EPA)
  • Recognition means a negative is reliable: no more than 5% false negatives at 95% confidence. No kit has met EPA's limit on false positives, so a positive result can be wrong.(EPA)
  • 3M stopped making LeadCheck in 2023 and sold it to Luxfer Magtech in 2024; EPA recognizes the Luxfer version, and unexpired 3M kits still work.(EPA) Wisconsin DHS recognizes Luxfer LeadCheck and D-Lead.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Homeowners may use a kit, but DHS recommends a certified lead inspector or risk assessor. Test down to the deepest layer, keep kits from freezing, and write down the results: you must disclose known results if you sell or rent.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • If a contractor asks you to run the kit to decide whether it needs lead-safe practices, DHS says consider hiring someone else.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Public Health Madison & Dane County stopped testing paint chips on October 1, 2025 and refers people to the Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory, 608-224-6210.(Public Health Madison & Dane County)

Doing It Yourself

  • Lead: Wisconsin's rule doesn't apply to your own home if only you and your immediate family live there, no child has a high blood lead level, and no part is rented. It does apply to rentals and to vacant homes you plan to sell or rent.(Wisconsin DHS)(DHS 163.10)
  • EPA still recommends a certified contractor. If you do it: contain the area, wear an N-100 respirator, mist before scraping, wet-sand, keep a heat gun under 1,100°F, HEPA-vacuum, and clean daily.(EPA) EPA says don't do lead abatement yourself.(EPA)
  • Madison: Public Health enforces the City's lead ordinance on painting and remodeling in older housing. If you can't show the paint was tested before power washing, you can be held responsible for cleaning up every chip.(Public Health Madison & Dane County)(Public Health Madison & Dane County)
  • Asbestos: state certification isn't required for an owner working on their own non-rental single-family home.(DHS 159.06) But DHS's flowchart says only a certified company may remove vermiculite, and EPA says not to remove it yourself.(Wisconsin DHS)(EPA)

Selling or Renting a Pre-1978 Home

  • The federal disclosure rule: before a sale or lease, give the buyer or tenant EPA's lead pamphlet, disclose known lead paint and hazards, hand over reports, and include a Lead Warning Statement. Buyers get 10 days to test. It doesn't require testing or removal.(EPA)(EPA)
  • Wisconsin's Real Estate Condition Report asks sellers about lead in paint and soil, asbestos, and lead in water.(Wis. Stat. 709.03) See the condition report guide.

Help Paying

DHS's Lead-Safe Homes Program pays for lead-safe repairs like windows, doors and paint in pre-1978 homes where a child under 19 or a pregnant woman living there or visiting often is on, or eligible for, Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus. It covers 100% for owner-occupants and 90% for landlords, and work may take 12 months or more to start. Call 608-267-9191.(Wisconsin DHS) We found no separate city or county lead repair grant.

Asbestos

  • Where it hides. EPA lists vermiculite insulation; vinyl floor tiles, sheet flooring backing and adhesives; roofing and siding shingles; textured paint and patching compounds; stove-area boards; pipe covering; and furnace gaskets.(EPA) Wisconsin DHS assumes any untested material other than wood, metal, glass or fiberglass contains asbestos, and all vermiculite does.(Wisconsin DHS)
  • Leave it or test it. If it's not damaged and won't be disturbed, you don't need to test. Test before remodeling or if it's damaged, but EPA doesn't recommend sampling yourself. Use separate firms to inspect and to remove, and an NVLAP-accredited lab.(EPA)(EPA)
  • Vermiculite. Pebble-like, gray-brown or silver-gold pour-in insulation. Most U.S. vermiculite from 1919 to 1990 came from a Libby, Montana mine contaminated with asbestos. Don't disturb it or store things in that attic.(EPA)
  • Who may remove it. Anyone other than the owner on their own home needs a DHS-certified asbestos company. An "exterior asbestos company" may do only outdoor non-friable work such as most roofing and siding.(Wisconsin DHS)(Wisconsin DHS) Check the certified asbestos company list.(Wisconsin DHS) Here's the asbestos certification to look for.

DNR Notification

  • DNR doesn't require an asbestos inspection or notification for a single house with four or fewer units.(Wisconsin DNR) NR 447 excludes those buildings from its definition of a facility.(NR 447)
  • The exemption ends when the house is part of a larger project, such as a road project or development, or when two houses on one property come down together.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Regulated jobs file Form 4500-113 with 10 working days' notice. Fees run $135 to $1,325.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • We found nothing saying a Madison demolition permit requires an asbestos inspection; the City's demolition page doesn't mention one.(City of Madison)

Disposal in Dane County

  • Waste with at least 1% asbestos falls under DNR's disposal rules whatever its source. Keep it wet and sealed in leak-tight containers.(Wisconsin DNR)(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Dane County takes asbestos only at Rodefeld Landfill, on the first Wednesday of each month, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., at $82.10 a ton in 2026, with a Special Waste Form. Call 608-838-9555.(Dane County (archived))
  • Most lead-safe DIY waste is ordinary trash for a licensed landfill.(EPA) Disposal covers paint and other items.

Report unsafe lead or asbestos work to DHS at 608-261-6876.(Wisconsin DHS) Air quality and home safety covers mold, CO and smoke alarms.

Badger Homeowner doesn't recommend contractors and takes no money from them.

Questions

Do I need lead-safe certification to work on my own house in Wisconsin?

No, if only you and your immediate family live there, no child living there has a high blood lead level, and no part is rented. The rule applies to rentals, including the unit you live in if you rent out another, and to vacant homes you plan to sell or rent.

Are lead paint test kits reliable?

EPA recognizes three kits, LeadCheck, D-Lead and the Massachusetts kit, and only for a reliable negative result. No kit has met EPA's limit on false positives, so a positive can be wrong. Wisconsin DHS recognizes LeadCheck and D-Lead and recommends a certified inspector or risk assessor instead.

Can I remove asbestos myself in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's asbestos certification rule doesn't apply to an owner working on their own non-rental single-family home. DHS's own flowchart says only a certified company may remove vermiculite insulation, and EPA says not to remove vermiculite yourself. Waste must still be handled and disposed of under DNR rules.

Do I need to notify DNR before removing asbestos from my house?

Not for a single house with four or fewer units that isn't part of a larger project. Two houses on the same property, or a house removed for a road or development project, are regulated and need 10 working days' notice.