Continuing education for drillers and pump installers
In brief
- Renewal cycle: One calendar year
- License & registration expiration: December 31
- Renewals
- Deadline: December 31
- Method: Online or by U.S. mail
- Eligibility: Six continuing education credits (CECs) for each license
- CEC accruement: One CEC for each hour of attendance at approved training
- Reporting: Provider of pre-approved training reports attendance to the DNR
- Repeat attendance: Training cannot be repeated for CEC within three years
- First time licensee: CECs are not required for the first renewal
Find pre-approved training:
Check CECs on record with the DNR: Continuing education status portal
Need help? Email DNRDGCONTINUINGEDUCATION@wisconsin.gov or call 920-946-1149
Licensee requirements
- Licenses expire on December 31 and must be renewed each year.
- Renewal eligibility is granted when six CECs are on record for each license.
- One CEC is earned for each hour of attendance at approved training.
- If six CECs are not earned by December 31, the license expires without renewal eligibility.
- Passing the license exam is required to reinstate a license that has expired without renewal eligibility.
- CECs are not required for the first renewal if it is the first time the license has been issued.
Rig operator registration requirements
- Rig operator registrations expire on December 31 each year.
- Renewal eligibility is granted when six CECs are on record at the DNR for each registration.
- One CEC is earned for each hour of attendance at approved training.
- If required CECs are not earned by December 31, the registration expires without renewal eligibility. The rig operator must reapply for registration in the following year and current calendar year drilling experience is not applicable towards license application experience requirements. Training attendance and registration renewal are required for each calendar year’s drilling experience to accrue.
- No CECs are required for the first renewal unless the rig operator intends to apply for a driller license.
Required & elective CECS by license type
Annual renewal eligibility requirement: six continuing education credits (CECs)
Training topics & CECs by license type Pump installer (PIP)
Water well driller / rig operator (WDP/WDRO)
Heat exchange driller / rig operator (HEDI/HEDRO)
Minimum
Maximum
Minimum
Maximum
Minimum
Maximum
Wisconsin Administrative Code No limit
No limit
No limit
Business practice 2
2
2
Safety/First aid 2
2
2
Specific to PIP 3
No limit
2
N/A
Specific to WDP/WDRO 2
3
No limit
2
Specific to HEDI/HEDRO N/A
2
3
No limit
WWWA/WRWA Trade Show/Exhibit 1
1
1
- A minimum of three CECs required from training specific to the license held.
- Additional (elective) CECs may be earned in other topic areas within the limit approved for the license held.
- Attendance at training having topics specific only to heat exchange drilling will not be approved for pump installer credit.
- Attendance at training having topics specific only to pump installing will not be approved for heat exchange driller credit.
- A minimum of one administrative code CEC will be required starting in 2027.
What is pre-approved training
- "Pre-approved training” is submitted by application to the DNR for review and approval prior to the curricula being offered for CECs.
- An agenda is included with the application for training approval.
- The application and agenda are reviewed to determine which license types receive CECs for attendance and the number of CECs that are approved.
- The provider receives approval, updates the agenda to include CEC approvals, and makes the final agenda available to prospective attendees.
- The final agenda must include the number of CECs available by license type.
- The training provider records and reports attendance to the DNR within 10 business days of training completion.
- Pre-approved training attendees should not report attendance to the DNR.
Obtaining license and rig operator registration renewal eligibility
- Find pre-approved in-person or on-demand training.
- Contact the provider, register, and attend pre-approved training.
- The provider records attendance and sends the attendance report to the DNR.
- The DNR uploads attendance CECs to the licensing database.
- Use the CE status portal to check the number of CECs on record at the DNR.
- Eligibility is obtained when six CECs are on record for the license or rig operator registration that is to be renewed.
- Renew online or by mail starting on October 1 each year.
- If training attended is not pre-approved, the attendee must apply for approval to receive CECs for the attendance:
- Review Form 3300-190 Training Report Instruction.
- Use Form 3300-190 to report the attendance to the DNR.
- Need help? EmailDNRDGCONTINUINGEDUCATION@wisconsin.gov or call 920-946-1149.
Training provider pre-approval process
- Refer to the Training Provider Application Instruction.
- Complete application Form 3300-322.
- A draft agenda must be submitted with the application.
- Email the application to DNRDGCONTINUINGEDUCATION@wisconsin.gov.
- Allow one week for DNR review.
- CECs are approved by license type.
- The DNR will send CEC approval confirmation.
- The final agenda will list CECs approved by license type.
- The final agenda will be made available to training attendees.
- Record training attendance.
- Within 10 business days of training completion, report attendance to the DNR on the required attendance form [XLS].
- Approvals for in-person training and online scheduled training will expire on the date of completion. Online/On-demand training will expire three years from the date of approval.
- Need help? Email DNRDGCONTINUINGEDUCATION@wisconsin.gov or call 920-946-1149.
Licensee / rig operator FAQ
I completed continuing education requirements for this year. Why am I getting renewal reminder notices from the DNR telling me that I still need to renew?
Completing continuing education attendance is the first step towards renewal. It does not renew your license. Once you have completed continuing education and earned six CECs, you must then apply for renewal. Renewal applications are processed online or by U.S. mail. You will not receive an application by mail, and you will not be able to renew online until after you have 6 CECs on record with the DNR.
Do I need to report my training attendance to the DNR?
You should not report your attendance to the DNR if the training was pre-approved. Providers of pre-approved training are responsible for reporting attendance to the DNR within 10 business days of completion.
If training you attend is not pre-approved, the provider will likely not be reporting the attendance to the DNR, and you should report the attendance on your own. Review Form 3300-190 Training Report Instruction and use Form 3300-190 to report the attendance to the DNR.
There is a discrepancy in the number of credits that the DNR has on record for me. What should I do?
Send an email inquiry to DNRDGCONTINUINGEDUCATION@wisconsin.gov or call 920-946-1149.
I just completed all of my continuing education online. I am trying to renew my license online, but I am getting a message saying that I do not have enough continuing education credits on record. Why isn’t it allowing me to renew?
Allow time for your attendance to be reported by your training provider to the DNR. Use the CE status portal to check how many CECs you have on record at the DNR. If there are less than six CECs on record, you will not be able to renew online. It is likely that your attendance has not yet been reported to the DNR, or the attendance has been reported and is in the process of being uploaded to the DNR’s database. Online providers report attendance anywhere from one day to two weeks after training completion. Attendance is typically uploaded to the DNR database within one day of the receiving the attendance report from the provider.
Forms and instructions
Training provider references