Cambridge, MA
Cambridge electrical permit cost
A Cambridge electrical permit is a price list, not a ladder:
the Electrical/Wiring Fees page charges line items that stack — a new or existing service at $10.00 per 100 amperes, receptacles at $1.00 to $15.00 each by their ampere rating, a meter at $5.00 each, a generator at $100.00, an alarm at $25.00 residential or $75.00 commercial. There is no branch to fall into and no application fee: each line on the application pays its own row.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical permit — alarm system, commercial, $75.00Permit fee | $75.00 flat fee | alarm system is true and Occupancy is none of residential | — |
| Electrical permit — alarm system, residential, $25.00Permit fee | $25.00 flat fee | alarm system is true and Occupancy is residential | — |
| Electrical permit — generator, $100.00Permit fee | $100.00 flat fee | generator is provided | — |
| Electrical permit — $5.00 each meterPermit fee | $5.00 per meter | Each meter on the permit | — |
| Electrical permit — receptacles at 15 amps, $1.00 eachPermit fee | $1.00 per outlet | receptacle amps is none of 20, 30, 50, 70 | — |
| Electrical permit — receptacles at 20 amps, $4.00 eachPermit fee | $4.00 per outlet | receptacle amps is 20 | — |
| Electrical permit — receptacles at 30 amps, $5.00 eachPermit fee | $5.00 per outlet | receptacle amps is 30 | — |
| Electrical permit — receptacles at 50 amps, $8.00 eachPermit fee | $8.00 per outlet | receptacle amps is 50 | — |
| Electrical permit — receptacles at 70 amps, $15.00 eachPermit fee | $15.00 per outlet | receptacle amps is 70 | — |
| Electrical permit — new or existing service, $10.00 per 100 amperesPermit fee | $0.1 per ampere | service change is true | — |
| Electrical permit — re-inspection of code violation, $50.00Inspection fee | $50.00 flat fee | re inspection is true | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A kitchen remodel's electrical work on one permit: a 200-ampere service upgrade, four 20-ampere receptacles for the appliances, and one meter.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of meters | 1 |
| Number of outlets | 4 |
| Service amperage | 200 A |
| Service change | Yes |
| Receptacle amps | 20 |
Example total
$41.00
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 3Rules considered 11
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit — $5.00 each meterPermit feeCambridge's Electrical/Wiring Fees page: "Meter, each — $5.00". The word "each" is on the page, so this is charged per meter on `custom.meters` — two meters are $10.00 — and it is excluded when no count is supplied, because a per-unit rule cannot price an absent count. The same page prices generators and alarm systems with no "each", which is why those rows are flat instead.Show the working
| $5.00 per meter | $5.00 |
Electrical permit — receptacles at 20 amps, $4.00 eachPermit feeCambridge's Electrical/Wiring Fees page, under the line "Receptacles/air conditioners, check amps": "20 amps, each receptacle, disposal, dishwasher — $4.00". The schedule prices one count of receptacles five ways by the rating the applicant states — the custom fact receptacle_amps — so exactly one of the five rows can charge, and the 15-ampere row doubles as the default when no rating is given. The rows also name the appliance each rating typically serves (disposal and dishwasher at 20 amps, dryer at 30, range and hot water heater at 50), which is the schedule's own hint that the rating, not the appliance, is what sets the price.Show the working
| $4.00 per outlet | $16.00 |
Electrical permit — new or existing service, $10.00 per 100 amperesPermit feeCambridge's Electrical/Wiring Fees page prints the row twice: "New Service — Per 100 AMPS — $10.00" and "Service per 100 amps — $10.00/100 amps". Both are one rate — ten dollars a hundred amperes, or ten cents an ampere — stated as an exact rate on the service's amperage, so a 200-ampere service is $20.00 and a 400-ampere one $40.00. The same page prices solar panels at the identical "$10/100 AMPS", which is named here rather than charged as a second service row.Show the working
| $0.1 per ampere | $20.00 |
| Total | $41.00 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- Electrical permit — alarm system, commercial, $75.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — alarm system, residential, $25.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — generator, $100.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — receptacles at 15 amps, $1.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — receptacles at 30 amps, $5.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — receptacles at 50 amps, $8.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — receptacles at 70 amps, $15.00 each — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — re-inspection of code violation, $50.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 3 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The rows stack: the service at $10.00 per 100 amperes is 2 × $10.00, or $20.00; the four 20-ampere receptacles at $4.00 each are $16.00; the meter at $5.00 each is $5.00. The permit is $41.00.
Nothing branches. Had the same four receptacles been rated at 50 amperes — the range and hot-water-heater row — they would be $8.00 each and the permit $61.00; had no rating been stated, the schedule's first row would price them at $1.00 each and the permit $25.00. The rating, not the appliance, is what sets the receptacle price — the schedule's own hint, "check amps".
A generator or an alarm would add $100.00 or $25.00/$75.00 once per permit, because those rows print no "each" where the meter's does. There is no application fee to add: every dollar here is a line item.
What is different in Cambridge
The service row is printed twice at one price — "New Service — Per 100 AMPS — $10.00" and "Service per 100 amps" — so a 200-ampere service is $20.00 and a 400-ampere one $40.00, charged on the service's amperage. Receptacles are five prices for one count, by the rating the applicant states: 15 amps $1.00 each, 20 amps $4.00 (the disposal and dishwasher row), 30 amps $5.00 (dryer), 50 amps $8.00 (range and hot water heater), 70 amps $15.00 — and the 15-ampere row doubles as the default when no rating is given, so a reader who counts receptacles without saying what they are is priced on the schedule's first row rather than charged nothing.
The rows stack, which is the structural contrast with Boston: a permit for a new service and four receptacles pays the service row *and* the receptacle rows, where Boston's sheet branches and exactly one branch answers. The meter's "each" is on the page, so two meters are $10.00; the generator and alarm print no "each", so they charge once per permit.
No application fee, no plan review percentage and no state surcharge exists on the page, and the schedule's one note names a testing requirement rather than a fee: "All service equipment greater than 1,000 amps to be tested by certified testing firm".
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This is ISD's Electrical/Wiring Fees page, charged line by line. It excludes:
- Rows priced by a count this site does not collect: motors (by horsepower), heating units (by kilowatt), air conditioners (by tonnage), ductless A/C units, solar arrays ($100.00 each; the page prices solar service at the same $10.00 per 100 amperes the service rule charges), maintenance permits (quarterly $100.00, yearly $400.00), and data/low-voltage/audio-visual work by occupancy ($25.00 residential / $100.00 commercial).
- The electrical re-inspection ($50.00) — charged as an inspection component when one actually happens, not part of a first-time permit.
- The triple fee for work started before the permit issues — a multiplier printed on the page, not a charge.
- Bounced cheques ($35.00) and shutdowns ($100.00 plus inspection) — consequences and later acts rather than permit fees.
- Plan review, technology and state surcharges — none exist on the page.
- The 1,000-ampere testing note, which is a requirement ("to be tested by certified testing firm") rather than a fee.
What you need before applying
- Employers of permanent electricians may take a period permit (Ordinance 15.08.020)May be required
City Ordinance 15.08.020 & 15.12.020, "Co-Work Completed By Others": a person or firm — other than electrical or plumbing contractors or public service agencies — who employs permanent electricians or plumbers "may obtain a permit covering the work done by such permanent electrician/plumber for a period of time to be determined in each case. The fee … will be charged in the same manner as if separate permits had been given for each job." A period permit is priced as separate permits would be, so it changes no arithmetic here.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit in Cambridge?
It is the sum of the rows on the application: $10.00 per 100 amperes on a new or existing service, $1.00 to $15.00 for each receptacle by its ampere rating, $5.00 for each meter, $100.00 for a generator, $25.00 residential or $75.00 commercial for an alarm. The rows stack, and there is no application fee.
How are receptacles priced?
By their ampere rating, under the line "Receptacles/air conditioners, check amps": 15 amps $1.00 each, 20 amps $4.00 (disposal, dishwasher), 30 amps $5.00 (dryer), 50 amps $8.00 (range, hot water heater/tub), 70 amps $15.00. The 15-ampere row is the default when no rating is stated. The rows also name the appliance each rating typically serves — the rating, not the appliance, is what sets the price.
Do the rows stack or does one branch apply?
They stack. The page carries no "when…" branch language: it is a price list, so a service and four receptacles pay both rows. Boston's electrical sheet, by contrast, branches three ways and exactly one branch answers — the structural contrast between the two cities' schedules, asserted in their tests.
Why does the meter say "each" but the generator does not?
Because the page prints it that way: "Meter, each — $5.00" charges per meter, while "Generator — $100.00" and the alarm rows print no "each" and charge once for the permit. If ISD charges generators or alarms per device, multi-device jobs are undercharged here — the research record carries it as an open question.
Is there a plan review or application fee on an electrical permit?
Neither appears on the Electrical/Wiring Fees page. There is no application fee, no plan review percentage, no technology fee and no state surcharge — the schedule is a list of line items and nothing else. What the page does carry beyond prices is a note: service equipment over 1,000 amperes is to be tested by a certified testing firm, a requirement rather than a fee.
What about solar panels?
The page prices the panels themselves at $100.00 per array — a count this site does not collect — but prices the solar *service* at the same "$10/100 AMPS" the ordinary service row charges, so a solar service is charged by the service rule on the same basis. The array row is named rather than charged.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
ISD — "Electrical/Wiring Fees" (the itemised price list)
Read 2026-09-25: the schedule prices line items rather than applications — "New Service — Per 100 AMPS — $10.00" and the identical "Service per 100 amps" row, receptacles priced five ways by ampere rating ($1/$4/$5/$8/$15 at 15/20/30/50/70 amps) under "Receptacles/air conditioners, check amps", "Meter, each — $5.00", "Generator — $100.00" and "Alarm system (security & fire) — Residential $25.00 / Commercial $75.00". No branch language anywhere on the page: a service and four receptacles pay both rows, which is why the rules here stack where Boston's branch.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.