Permit and Inspection FAQs | chrisleeelectric

Inspection/Permit FAQs

Why is there a permit?

Your job requires a permit and inspection by your local municipality (Raleigh, Wake County, Johnston County, etc). A permit is generally required for any modifications to existing circuits or additions of new circuits to ensure the work is done in accordance with the current National Electrical Code (NEC).

How do I get a permit? What is the fee for the permit?

Unless other arrangements are made due to the scope of the job, Chris Lee Electric will apply for the permit and coordinate the inspection with you and the inspector. The fee varies based on the municipality that governs the location of the job. CLE includes an administrative fee to cover our time applying for the permit and coordinating the inspection.

When will the inspection be?

For most jobs, the inspection will not be the same day as the work is to be done (except in one instance, noted below).

We will schedule an inspection on a day convenient for you - either the day after the work is completed or sometime in the following weeks, depending on your schedule. We can generally request an “AM” or “PM” timeslot but depending on the inspector’s schedule, that cannot be guaranteed.

On the morning of your scheduled inspection, CLE will contact the inspector assigned to your permit and try to get an ETA from them and then let you know. It usually is a two-hour window but varies depending on the amount of inspections assigned to them that day and where your job is located within their inspection radius.

Will there need to be more than one inspection?

For most small residential permitted jobs (addition of a circuit for new lights, installation of a car charger, installation of a generator lock-out, etc.), there will only need to be one (“final”) inspection.

If your job is a service/panel change, and requires Duke Energy (or your electricity provider, if other) to remove power from your home so we can safely work on the panel, the inspection will be the same day as the work and we will coordinate and meet the inspector. Once the inspection is completed, the inspector releases a power ticket back to Duke (or other utility provider) to restore power to the home. Once that is done, we have no control over how quickly the power will be restored. It is usually relatively soon, but on occasion, it has been later in the evening before power was turned back on.

If your job is a multi-phase job (remodel, addition, etc.), it might require multiple inspections. A ‘rough-in’ inspection is done after the first phase of the job and before drywall is installed, so that the inspector can see the wiring within the walls. After the rough-in inspection, the work can continue to ‘trim-out’ the job. After the electrical work is completed, the final inspection will be scheduled.

Who will meet the inspector?

CLE coordinates the inspection with you and the inspector, but we rely on the homeowner (or your designee) to be available to meet the inspector and grant access to the home/job location. We are available by phone if any questions arise that you are unable to answer.

How long does the inspection take?

Most inspections are fairly quick as the inspector just needs to look at the work completed and either pass the job as is, partially pass, or fail it. Some municipalities send an email to our office with inspection results, but not all do. If you are able, we would appreciate you letting us know the outcome of the inspection. If it wasn’t fully passed, we can contact the inspector to get more information.

What if there needs to be a reinspection?

In some cases, the inspector finds something in our work that needs to be changed or improved and will fail the inspection and require that we fix the issue and request another inspection. If this is the case, we will schedule the work as quickly as possible and then coordinate with you for the reinspection.

Will I need to pay a reinspection fee?

For a reinspection due to CLE’s work, you will not need to pay the reinspection fee.

For a reinspection due to the inspector not having access to the job after we coordinated the inspection with you, we will request that you pay any reinspection fees.

Restrictions

While there is an open permit using our company and license, no other electrical work can be completed at the same time (by another contractor or by the homeowner) to ensure that all work completed and inspected is completed by CLE employees. If you have other work you’d like to have done, we request you wait until our work is done and our permit is finalized. We may also ask that you wait to complete any patching, painting, or other cosmetic repairs if it would cover the work that needs to be seen by the inspector.

Do you have another question that isn’t listed here? Let us know!