When You Need an Electrician Permit?

I’m not going to pretend that a permit is taken out for every electrical job, even if the local building regulations call for it. It’s tough to justify the time and expense to obtain a permit when you’re only adding a single receptacle to a circuit that can easily support the addition. Nevertheless, I would be remiss as an author if I ever advocated anything less than playing by the rules, especially given the possibility of harm and damage from wayward electrical work. As a case in point, our own electrician recently was telling me about some receptacles added in a residence—by another electrician—without a permit, and none of them were grounded correctly.
You need a permit any time you alter the existing system. This includes …

• Adding additional receptacles or fixtures.
• Adding new circuits.
• Installing a new service or a subpanel.
  

You usually do not need permits for repairs or updates that do not extend the existing system. This includes …

• Replacing existing lights with new fixtures.
• Replacing broken switches or receptacles.
• Replacing defective circuit breakers.

Always consult your local code to confirm whether you need to take out a permit before you do your work.