Electrical Permit Cost Calculator

Pick your electrical job, enter the electrician's price, and choose your location type. The calculator returns a planning range for the electrical permit, any plan review, and inspections.

This calculator is for informational purposes only. Results are estimates, not a fee quote; your city, county, or state electrical program's schedule is what you will actually pay.

What the electrical estimate includes

• Base permit estimate: a base fee for the type of job plus a small share of the electrical contract value
• Plan review allowance: on by default (15% to 35% of the base); turn it off for most residential jobs
• Inspection allowance: on by default ($75 to $300 times the location factor)
• Reinspection allowance: off by default ($75 to $250 times the location factor)
• Expedited review: off by default

The tool does not estimate utility fees, meter work, or a building permit for related construction.

The four electrical job types

Electrical permits have no square-footage input because departments do not price them by area. They charge per item or by the value of the electrical work.

Before you run it, check whether you need a permit at all. The model IRC R105.2 exempts minor repairs, replacing lamps, reinstalling receptacles on existing outlets, replacing a breaker with one of the same rating in the same location, and low-voltage wiring under 25 volts and 50 watts. New circuits, new outlet locations, and service work are not exempt.

Inputs, explained

Location cost level. Small town (0.8), typical city (1.0), higher-cost metro (1.35). A state program with low per-item fees, like Washington L&I or Minnesota DLI, fits the lower tier. A city that adds administrative and technology fees to every permit, like Seattle, fits the higher tier.

Estimated project value. The electrician's price for the electrical work only. If the panel upgrade is part of a remodel, separate the electrical portion.

Complexity level. Simple for a like-for-like swap. Complex for service relocations, underground feeders, older homes with mixed wiring, or anything needing a load calculation and engineered drawings.

How the electrical math works

Base low = base minimum + project value × low rate

Base high = base maximum + project value × high rate

Both are multiplied by location × complexity. Plan review adds 15% of the low base and 35% of the high base. Inspection and reinspection allowances are fixed ranges multiplied by location only.

Because the value rates are small (0.2% to 2%), the job type matters more than the price for most electrical permits. That mirrors real schedules: Seattle's fee for a 200-amp service is the same whether your electrician charges $3,000 or $6,000.

Worked examples

Example 1: 200-amp panel upgrade, typical city

$3,500 contract, panel upgrade, standard, inspections on, plan review off.

• Base low: $125 + ($3,500 × 0.004 = $14) = $139
• Base high: $450 + ($3,500 × 0.015 = $52.50) = $502.50
• Inspections: $75 to $300
• Total: about $214 to $803

With plan review left on, the range is about $235 to $978.

Real fees for the same job: $109.90 from Washington L&I (eff. July 1, 2026), $231 in Phoenix on a $3,500 valuation (eff. Jan. 20, 2026), and $364.85 in Seattle including its administrative and technology fees (eff. Jan. 1, 2026). All three fall inside or below the range, with Seattle near the middle.

Example 2: Level 2 EV charger

$1,500 contract, EV charger, typical city, standard, defaults on.

• Base low: $75 + $4.50 = $79.50; high: $250 + $18 = $268
• Plan review: $12 to $94; inspections: $75 to $300
• Total: about $166 to $662

Turn plan review off and it drops to about $155 to $568. For comparison, Seattle's Level 2 charger item (30 to 50 amps) is $52.56 plus a $55.48 administrative fee and 5% technology fee, about $113, and Washington L&I's one-to-four-circuit residential permit is $78.80.

Example 3: a single new circuit in a small town

$600 job, single circuit, small town, simple, inspections only: about $95 to $345. A Minnesota permit for one circuit is $25 plus $12 per circuit, subject to the state's $55 minimum per on-site inspection (Minn. Stat. 326B.37), so the real fee can sit near the low end.

Example 4: whole-home rewire

$25,000 contract, rewire, typical city, standard, defaults on.

• Base low: $250 + ($25,000 × 0.006 = $150) = $400
• Base high: $900 + ($25,000 × 0.02 = $500) = $1,400
• Plan review: $60 to $490; inspections: $75 to $300
• Total: about $535 to $2,190

A rewire is where valuation cities and itemized programs diverge most. In Phoenix, $25,000 of work is $303 + (15 × $10) = $453 before plan review. In an itemized program, the fee depends on the number of circuits: Washington L&I's residential "circuits only" rate is $78.80 for the first four and $8.20 for each additional, so 30 circuits come to $78.80 + (26 × $8.20) = $292.

How five fee systems price the same rewire

A 1,800 sq ft house getting 30 new circuits and a new 200-amp service shows how much the method matters:

Sources: Miami-Dade IO 4-63 (eff. Oct. 1, 2026), WAC 296-46B-906 (eff. July 1, 2026), Phoenix fee schedule (eff. Jan. 20, 2026), Chicago 2027 fee tables, LAMC electrical fees (base amounts adjusted for inflation each July 1).

The calculator's typical-city range of $535 to $2,190 sits above the itemized programs and brackets the valuation and flat-fee cities. If you are in a per-item or per-square-foot system, use the low end.

Example 5: panel upgrade in a strict metro with a reinspection

$4,000, panel upgrade, higher-cost metro, standard, inspections and reinspection on: about $393 to $1,431.

When to switch on the reinspection allowance

Electrical reinspection fees are published and predictable: $55 in Minnesota, $59.50 per trip from Washington L&I, $83.85 in Austin, $146 in Seattle, and $195 in Phoenix. Turn the allowance on if:

• You are doing the work yourself under a homeowner permit
• The house has older wiring that may surface problems when walls open
• The service change depends on the utility being on site at the inspection
• The job has a rough-in inspection that must happen before drywall

How to read the result

• Low end: state programs and cities with itemized fees and no plan review.
• Middle: valuation cities, or itemized cities that add administrative fees.
• High end: strict metros with plan review, per-trip inspection fees, and percentage surcharges, or complex jobs.

To get the exact number, open your electrical program's fee schedule, find the line for your job (service amperage, number of circuits, or the equipment), and add any per-permit administrative fee and surcharge. If your city prices by valuation, run the electrical contract value through its table.

Costs outside the permit

• Utility disconnect, reconnect, and meter work
• Drywall patching after a rough-in
• A building permit if the panel moves or walls are opened for other work
• Load calculation or engineering for large services
• Renewal fees if the job stalls; Seattle charges one quarter of its $292 base fee to renew an expired electrical permit, or half if more than a year has passed since expiration

Related tools and guides

The electrical permit cost guide compares job-by-job fees across cities and states. For what the inspector checks and what private safety inspections cost, read electrical inspection costs. Wiring a basement or addition? Use the basement permit cost calculator or the building permit cost calculator, and add this electrical estimate if your city bills trades separately.