We often get asked by our customers when is an electrical permit required?
Most of the time our customers are surprised by the answer, which is pretty much all the time when you are having electrical work done. There are a few exceptions but 95% of the time a permit is required.
The law in the province of Ontario states that all electrical work must be completed by a licensed electrical contractor (or homeowner) and a permit or inspection notification must be filed.
The only exceptions to this rule are the replacement of fixtures and small hard wired appliances with a like for like replacement. So if you are simply replacing a light switch or fixture, that work would not legally require an inspection notification to be filed.
However, if you are adding a new outlet, relocating a switch or adding pot lights, you are required to have a permit for that work.
The permit or notification protects you in multiple ways:
it ensures that the contractor you are working with is licensed
it ensures that the contractor you are working with is covered by WSIB and is insured, ESA requires a minimum of $2,000,000.00 of liability insurance.
in the event that something goes wrong, the Certificate of Inspection you receive when the job is complete provides proof that the job was inspected and that it would be covered by insurance.
If you are working with or considering working with a contractor that is telling you that either you don’t need a permit or that you as the home owner needs to file for that permit yourself, then chances are that you are not working with a Licensed Electrical Contractor. Run! Get them out of your house or business as fast as you can. We have been called in after these types of “contractors” make a mess, create unsafe living conditions for families and take your money and don’t return. It’s never a good situation.
Verify that who you’re working with is a Licensed Electrical Contractor. There are multiple ways to do this.
Ask for their electrical contractors license and number. We all have a unique number that identifies us as being licensed. Ours is 7013880. This number legally must be included on trucks/ vans, websites, emails, quotes, etc.
Check them out on the Electrical Safety Authorities website. All licensed electrical contractors in Ontario will be listed on their website. You can filter by location and type of services we offer. Here is a link to that website: https://esasafe.com/newsroom-2020/how-to-verify-a-licensed-electrical-contractor/
If you have any questions about any of this information or if you would like to schedule your next project, we would love to hear from you.
We can be reached at:
Phone: 519-648-ELEC (3532)
Email: info@electrade.ca
Web: www.ElecTrade.ca
