Electrical permits in Harford, Baltimore County and the City.

An electrical permit is how the county or city knows work is happening, and the inspection is how they confirm it was done to code. Jobs like a panel replacement or service upgrade, new circuits, a generator hookup or an EV charger all go through it. The rules for who can file differ by jurisdiction, and that's the part homeowners most often get caught on. Here's how it works in the three places we work.

At a glance

Harford County

In Harford County, the electrical permit is applied for by a master electrician licensed in Harford County. Applications go through the county's Permit Center at 220 S. Main Street in Bel Air. Once issued, an electrical permit is valid for 12 months, which matters on longer projects like additions and new homes: the work and its inspections need to happen inside that window.

Harford enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code, adopted in Bill 24-06. Our guide to which electrical code applies in Maryland explains the effective date and why the county's pages don't all agree on it.

Baltimore County

Baltimore County is strict about who files. Only a licensed electrical contractor who is registered with the county may apply for an electrical permit. Electrical work done without a required permit carries a $1,000 civil penalty. Inspections are handled by the county's Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections (PAI).

Baltimore County enforces the 2023 NEC for permits issued after August 31, 2023.

Baltimore City

Baltimore City runs electrical permits online through its ePermits system, managed by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The contractor must be registered in the ePermits database before they can apply. The city enforces the 2020 NEC with its own amendments, adopted in Part III of its Building, Fire and Related Codes, so work in the city is inspected to a different edition than work in the two counties.

Much of the city's housing is older attached rowhomes. If that's your house, our guide to rowhome service upgrades in Baltimore covers what's different about the work itself.

Licensing: state license, local registration

Maryland licenses master electricians through the State Board of Master Electricians, part of the Maryland Department of Labor. To hold that license, a master electrician has to show proof of general liability insurance of at least $300,000 and property damage coverage of at least $100,000.

The state license isn't the end of it. Counties can require their own local licensing or registration, and the state license can be the gateway to that rather than a replacement for it. That's why each of our three jurisdictions has its own rule about who can file: an electrician licensed by the state still has to be registered with Harford County, Baltimore County or Baltimore City to pull a permit there.

How a permitted job usually runs

1. Scope and price. We look at the work, explain what it involves and give you the price before anything starts.
2. Permit filed. We apply in the right jurisdiction under our registration.
3. Work done to the edition in force. Larger jobs, like new construction or additions, can have a rough-in inspection before walls close, then a final.
4. Inspection. The county or city inspector checks the work. The job isn't finished until it passes.

Service upgrades also involve BGE, which owns the meter and the lines to the house, so the utility has to be part of the schedule. We coordinate that part.

Why it's worth doing right

• Safety. The inspection is a second set of trained eyes on work that sits inside your walls for decades.
• Cost. In Baltimore County, skipping a required permit can mean a $1,000 civil penalty on top of the cost of fixing the work.
• Selling the house. Buyers' home inspectors and appraisers notice electrical work. A permit record is the simplest proof it was done properly.

How to check your electrician

Before you hire anyone for permitted work, ask three questions: Are you a Maryland-licensed master electrician? Are you registered in my county or with the city? Will you pull the permit under your own license? If the answer to the last one is “you can pull it yourself,” treat that as a warning sign. You can look up a Maryland license through the Department of Labor.

Wyatt Electric has worked in Harford County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City since 1986, with 4 Master Electricians on staff. We file the permit, do the work and stay with it through inspection.