Manchester, NH
Manchester electrical permit cost
A Manchester electrical permit is priced by what the work is
not by one rate. A new one-unit residential installation is $100.00 with $75.00 for each additional unit; residential additions, renovations, alterations, repairs and replacements are the calculated cost of the work multiplied by .01; commercial work is multiplied by .015; and low voltage and control wiring — phone, TV, data, alarm, carbon monoxide detectors — has its own three-band schedule from $10.00 up to $2,000 of cost to .005 of anything above $25,000. Every electrical permit also carries the $25.00 non-refundable application fee and the $30.00 minimum, which the City's own form prints as $55.00.
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 application fee, $25.00Other fee | $25.00 flat fee | Every permit of this type | — |
| Electrical permit — commercial workPermit fee | 1.5% of project valuation | commercial work is true | — |
| Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring up to $2,000 of costPermit fee | $10.00 flat fee | low voltage is true and Project valuation up to $2,000 | — |
| Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring $2,001 to $25,000 of costPermit fee | $75.00 flat fee | low voltage is true and Project valuation over $2,000 and Project valuation up to $25,000 | — |
| Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring above $25,000 of costPermit fee | 0.5% of project valuation | low voltage is true and Project valuation over $25,000 | — |
| Electrical permit — new residential dwellings, by unitPermit fee | $100.00 for the first dwelling unit, plus $75.00 for each additional dwelling unit | new residential dwelling is true | — |
| Electrical permit — residential alterations, renovations and repairsPermit fee | 1% of project valuation | residential alteration is true | — |
| Minimum permit fee, $30.00Permit fee | the shortfall up to the $30.00 minimum on calculated permit fee | permit fee under 3000 | — |
| Re-inspection fee, $30.00 minimumInspection fee | $30.00 flat fee | reinspection 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 commercial tenant fit-out: $180,000 of calculated electrical cost, with $25,000 of it low voltage and control wiring, and no other permit on the job.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project valuation | $180,000 |
| Low voltage | Yes |
| Commercial work | Yes |
Example total
$3,625.00
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 9
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Electrical permit application fee, $25.00Other feeSec. 109.8: "There shall be a $25.00 non-refundable application fee for all permits except yard sale permits". Charged on every permit, and charged in addition to the $30.00 minimum permit fee.Show the working
| $25.00 flat fee | $25.00 |
Electrical permit — commercial workPermit feeSec. 109.8 item 11(B) — for all other new commercial buildings, and their additions, renovations, alterations, repairs or replacements, except low voltage and control wiring, the permit fee is the calculated cost of the work multiplied by 0.015.Show the working
| 1.5% of project valuation | $2,700.00 |
Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring above $25,000 of costPermit feeSec. 109.8 item 11(C)(3) — calculated cost above $25,000 shall be multiplied by .005 for low voltage and control wiring.Show the working
| 0.5% of project valuation | $900.00 |
| Total | $3,625.00 |
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 — low-voltage wiring up to $2,000 of cost — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — low-voltage wiring $2,001 to $25,000 of cost — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — new residential dwellings, by unit — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Electrical permit — residential alterations, renovations and repairs — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Minimum permit fee, $30.00 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Re-inspection fee, $30.00 minimum — 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.
Both rates apply, because the low-voltage exclusion in item 11(B) only removes low-voltage work from the .015 rate — it does not remove it from the permit. The City's own convention is that the schedules are read together, so this site charges .015 on the commercial cost and lets the low-voltage band price the low-voltage portion; the figures below are the example's, and a filer whose form separates the two lines should confirm the split with the department.
- Commercial electrical work: $180,000 × 0.015 = $2,700.00.
- Low voltage: $25,000 of cost is in the second band, $2,001 to $25,000, which is $75.00.
- Application fee: $25.00, added rather than netted, and the $30.00 minimum never applies because the permit fee is far above it.
Read the other way — if the filer's form states the low-voltage work separately and the City charges .015 on the balance only — the same job is $155,000 × 0.015 = $2,325.00 plus $75.00 plus $25.00. That is a question about how a form is filled in rather than about the schedule, and it is worth asking the Building Regulations Division rather than assuming.
What is different in Manchester
Low-voltage wiring is the row most people get wrong, and it is the one that saves money. Where commercial electrical work is .015 of cost, a data and alarm installation of the same value is $10.00 up to $2,000, $75.00 from $2,001 to $25,000, and only .005 above $25,000. A $40,000 structured-cabling job is a $200.00 electrical permit rather than a $600.00 one.
The residential rows turn on whether the work is new or a modification. A brand new dwelling is priced per unit — $100.00 for the first, $75.00 for each one after — so a three-unit building is $250.00 no matter what it costs to wire. An alteration or replacement in the same building is .01 of the calculated cost instead, which on a $30,000 rewire is $300.00.
Commercial work pays .015 of calculated cost. Manchester also requires a licensed New Hampshire master electrician on all multi-family, non-owner-occupied single-family and commercial work, and takes trade applications on paper: the forms are printed, signed and mailed with the fee rather than filed through a portal.
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 Sec. 109.8 item 11 plus the application fee, the $30.00 minimum and the re-inspection fee. It excludes:
- Signs. The application form prints a row for electrical signs at $10.00 each, but the current Building Code does not, and the code prices signs on the building side instead — $50.00 up to 50 square feet plus $1.50 per square foot over it. This page does not charge a sign fee, because the City's operative schedule does not.
- Heating and gas piping permits — item 8 of the same schedule, including gas piping at $20.00 for the first fifty lineal feet and $4.00 an outlet.
- Elevators, escalators, amusement devices and special equipment — item 12, which covers the power side of those installations as its own permit.
- The 100% surcharge where work started without a permit, the $300.00 appeal fee, and the $35.00 retention on a refunded permit under Sec. 109.6.
- Re-inspection above the published minimum. Sec. 109.5(A) sets the re-inspection fee at "a minimum of $30.00", so a second visit for a job that was not ready can cost more than the figure charged here.
- Licensing. A New Hampshire master electrician's licence is a State charge, not a City permit fee, and the State's own permits and inspections for the work it covers are not part of this number.
What you need before applying
- A licensed New Hampshire master electrician on multi-family, commercial and non-owner-occupied workRequired
The application page: "all multi-family dwellings, non owner-occupied single family dwellings and commercial projects require a licensed NH Master electrician". An owner-occupant of a single-family dwelling may apply for their own electrical permit.
Common questions
How much is an electrical permit for a new house in Manchester?
$100.00 for a new one-unit residential dwelling, plus $75.00 for each additional unit over one. The fee is priced by the dwelling unit rather than by the cost of the wiring, and the $25.00 application fee is added to it.
What rate applies to a commercial electrical permit?
The calculated cost of the work multiplied by .015, for all new commercial buildings and their additions, renovations, alterations, repairs and replacements — except low voltage and control wiring, which has its own schedule.
How is low-voltage wiring priced?
In three bands: up to $2,000 of calculated cost is $10.00, over $2,000 to $25,000 is $75.00, and calculated cost above $25,000 is multiplied by .005. Phone, TV, data, alarm and carbon monoxide detector wiring are all in this row.
What is the smallest electrical permit fee?
$55.00 — the $30.00 minimum permit fee plus the $25.00 application fee, which is the total the City's own electrical application prints at the foot of its fee column.
Do I need a licensed electrician?
On multi-family dwellings, non-owner-occupied single-family dwellings and commercial projects, yes — the City requires a licensed New Hampshire Master electrician. An owner-occupant of a single-family dwelling applying for their own work is not in that list.
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Official documentCityPrimary source
Application for Electrical Permit, City of Manchester (form effective 09/02/14)
Read 2026-09-25 as a PDF. Its arithmetic column reproduces Sec. 109.8 item 11 line for line and prints the minimum as "$30 MINIMUM FEE + $25 APPLICATION FEE: $55.00" — the sentence this site's model reproduces exactly.
- Municipal codeCityPrimary source
Read 2026-09-25 as a PDF. Adopted July 6, 2021, and the operative ordinance: Sec. 151.10.4 states that "fees for any and all permits issued under the Building Code are defined in the Fee Table inserted as an amendment to the International Building Code at Section 109.8". Carries the building, plan-review, demolition, sign, storage-tank, heating, gas-piping, electrical and plumbing rows, the $25.00 application fee, the $30.00 minimum permit fee, the re-inspection minimum and the refund rule.
- City websiteCityPrimary source
Permit Applications — City of Manchester
Read 2026-09-25. The trade applications and the licensing requirement behind them: "all multi-family dwellings, non owner-occupied single family dwellings and commercial projects require a licensed NH Master electrician", and a licensed New Hampshire plumber for plumbing. States that trade applications "must be printed, signed and submitted to the Planning and Community Development Department by mail along with the appropriate fees".
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.